@inproceedings{83,
  keywords = {real-time ethernet, real-time networking},
  author = {Gonzalo Carvajal and Miguel Figueroa and Robert Trausmuth and Sebastian Fischmeister},
  title = {Atacama: An Open FPGA-based Platform for Mixed-Criticality Communication in Multi-segmented Ethernet Networks},
  abstract = {<p>Ethernet is widely recognized as an attractive networking technology for modern distributed real-time systems. However, standard Ethernet components require specific modifications and hardware support to provide strict latency guarantees necessary for safety-critical applications. Although this is a well-stated fact, the design of hardware components for real-time communication remains mostly unexplored. This becomes evident from the few solutions reporting prototypes and experimental validation, which hinders the consolidation of Ethernet in real-world distributed applications. This paper presents Atacama, the first open-source framework based on reconfigurable hardware for mixed-criticality communication in multi-segmented Ethernet networks. Atacamauses specialized modules for time-triggered communication of real-time data, which seamlessly integrate with a standard infrastructure using regular best-effort traffic. Atacama enables low and highly predictable communication latency on multi-segmented 1Gbps networks, easy optimization of devices for specific application scenarios, and rapid prototyping of new protocol characteristics. Researchers can use the open-source design to verify our results and build upon the framework, which aims to accelerate the development, validation, and adoption of Ethernet-based solutions in real-time applications.</p>
},
  year = {2013},
  journal = {Proc. of the 21st IEEE International Symposium on Field-Programmable Custom Computing Machines (FCCM)},
  pages = {121-128},
  month = {April},
  doi = {10.1109/FCCM.2013.54},
}