> Does anybody have a suggestion on how to make the Spartan 3 starter
> board a host on a LAN?
You will need an ethernet adapter. The usual approach is to buy it as
an add-on module or to use an old ISA ethernet card that is fully
documented (vs one of the ones that itsn't). If you buy an add-on
module all the protocol stuff may be taken care of for you, if you use
the card you are going to have to have something on the FPGA capable or
running what is basically "software" - in theory you might do it with
logic, but in practice you will want a processor core in there to runa
program.
It is also possible to couple the ethernet signals fairly directly into
the FPGA. See fpga4fun.com for an example - but again, you'll need to
run protocol "software" somewhere in the device.
> Also, how can we connect a USB camera device to the Spartan 3 starter
> board? What hardware and software are required for this purpose?
This is close to impossible. Implementing device side USB has several
possibilities, but talking to a USB device is a far more complicated
task because you must play the host function. You'll either need to
add a USB host controller chip and software to run it, or make your own
USB host controller in the FPGA.
Both of your questions suggest that an FPGA, or at least an FPGA alone,
may not be the right platform for your application. Have you
considered a small controller board which might already include
ethernet and USB host capabilities? What is the driving requirment for
an FPGA architecture? Perhaps you can find a controller board that
also has a user FPGA.
Reply by drma...@gmail.com●March 13, 20062006-03-13
Hi,
I have a Spartan 3 starter board and NET1 ethernet daughter card. I was
expecting to use NET1 to connect the starter board to ethernet LAN.
According to Xilinx tech support the NET1 card can be used only for
transferring data between a PC and the starter board, but not for
connection as a host on a LAN.
Does anybody have a suggestion on how to make the Spartan 3 starter
board a host on a LAN?
Also, how can we connect a USB camera device to the Spartan 3 starter
board? What hardware and software are required for this purpose?
mali