6400/6600 Series FPGA

Wayne

Does the 6400/6600 Flex Series use the Virtex-6 FPGA as does the 6500 and 6700 series?

Marc Lalonde

based on picture send on news letter ,i bet a 2$ on that ;-)

and see no reason for change 

Wayne

Is there somewhere on this Flex Radio Site where I can view all the newsletters?

Marc Lalonde

it repost from time to time 

but think that this the one you look 
https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/flex-6400-m-flex-6600-m-update-dec-12-2017

Wayne

Thanks!

Jerry Gardner

Wow! You must have eyesight like Superman if you can tell the FPGA used by looking at those pictures.

Marc Lalonde

no need to be able to read part number on it  ;-)

package is Ruggedized Flip-Chip BGA  , very easy to see since it metal top and recess on 4 corner  , only chip that use that package is  Virtex-6  and the new 7 family (Kintex , Zynq  etc ) 

problem is that new "7"  use the new Vivado  tool , that NOT backward compatible whit ISE  ,so this force to have and maintain 2 separate dev tool and code !!

on other hand flex already have working code for the Virtex-6 to reuse  and also still need to update code for  old radio  ,put a couple of "IF DEF" into code and you  have only 1 code to handle  ,much less $$$$ 

so i ready to put a 2$ bet on this ,but as my day job i work whit ton of PCB so yup whit time i got Falcon Eye for spot part  ;-)

Jerry Gardner

I'd still like to know the actual FPGA part number.

It it were me, I'd run, not walk, to Vivado. ISE is primitive in comparison.

Wayne

the part number was alreadu given in the thread regarding the chip updates question related to the newest malware and flex suseptabolity.

Clay N9IO

New chipset = new coding.
Start from scratch, seriously???
Current chipset working fabulously.
Sorry Jerry I don't see the urgency.

Wayne

Xilinx XC6VLX75T is what I found, of course the one in the 6600M might be the next higher version

Id bet $2 on that :-)

Marc Lalonde

6700  =  TMS320C6A8167 + XC6VLX130T
6500 =   TMS320C6A8167 + XC6VLX75T

Jerry Gardner

What are you talking about? Who said start from scratch? I assume the FPGA code is written in Verilog or VHDL. Porting it to a new FPGA family isn't that difficult, especially if the new family is from the same vendor--I've done it several times myself.

I've ported designs originally done on Altera to Xilinx and vice versa. It's not rocket science.

Jerry Gardner

What's the part number of the FPGA on the 6600?

KC2QMA_John

I wonder how much DSP headroom the FPGA’s in the 6000 radio have with the current ssdr software.

Or I guess another way of asking is, Under full load with a current 6000 radio with every thing maxed out on the current software (WNB, NB, NR, 30fps, ect..) how much DSP is left in % ?

I know this might be a bit tricky to figure out because of variance in operating conditions but just wanted to get an idea how much DSP horsepower is left for some of the cool things coming in future software enhancements.

Marc Lalonde

pick one of both above ;-)  ,only way to be sure it got a radio and see inside 
personally i not planted to unglued the heatshink  or try to JTAG for have definitive answer   , on my side i prefer play whit the "Zynq" running some TARP code   he he ;-)

Marc Lalonde

usually FPGA is wired logic  ,so it not care about data load  ,every ting is here and fixed used or not
cannot said for DSP  but it probably similar  ,let trust Flex for have room it need ;-) ,specially on new model

and if it really need it ,wly not transfer bit more processing into PC side ? noting forbid that 

KC2QMA_John

"and if it really need it ,why not transfer bit more processing into PC side ? noting forbid that"

So distributed processing is is still possible, That is good to know.

Tim - W4TME

We are committed to a thin client / thin pipe architecture.  I do not foresee offloading DSP processing to an unknown variable (consumer PC running a desktop OS) which relinquishes control of the user experience.

Marc Lalonde

yup flex is the only thin client / thin pipe  , really big advantage for remote operation

my SunSDR take near 10 time the band-whit for a single "slice"  and 96khz wide panadapter  ,really need unlimited internet for this one ;-)   may hit 32G / day  !!

KC2QMA_John

Any idea of how much DSP headroom is used or available currently in percentage?

Is there any way to monitor DSP load? 

I do not doubt that there is plenty of DSP available just trying to get a general idea.

Rich McCabe

"I do not foresee offloading DSP processing to an unknown variable (consumer PC running a desktop OS)"  Yea, please don't.  The reason I finally jumped on the Flex bandwagon was because you don't do this.

KC2QMA_John

Yes I'm glad the 6000 radios have very powerful FPGA's but it's nice to know if a special situation came up where offloading some of the processing to a PC  would be necessary the architecture allows for this. That is just another thing that makes these radios great and “Flexible”.

Tim - W4TME

John - I need to clearly set your expectation.  The current SmartSDR architecture does not allow for offloading DSP processing to the PC.  It is not designed to do this.

It is the responsibility of engineering to write software in such a manner that the software features provided run on the existing radio resources.

KC2QMA_John

OK that's fine, I would rather have all the DSP in the radio anyway.

My original questions were:

Any idea of how much DSP headroom is used or available currently in percentage with ssdr 2.0 with everything maxed out (WNB, NB, NR, 30fps, ect..) how much DSP is left in % ?

Is there any way to monitor DSP load via radio or SSDR?

I do not doubt that there is plenty of DSP available just trying to get a general idea.

Tim - W4TME

That is not a question that can be easily answered as a %. We continuously optimizing the DSP and FPGA and this happens during every release.  This is what we mean when we indicate there are "under the covers" changes and enhancements.

KC2QMA_John

Well anyway I can't wait to have my 6600M in the shack.