FPGA and PC communication

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Boomslang

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 28, 2007
Messages
451
Hello, I'm not really sure where to put this post, so I'll try here.

We've recently been introduced to working with FPGAs at school. We're using Xilinx ISE and Verilog to program the units. I am consumed by admiration for these devices and am interested in doing something with them in my spare time. Noob warning.

For example, I think it would be a worthwhile pursuit to program one to handle generation of Rainbow Tables. I have a few terabytes of disk space that could be put to use, and if I have one (or more) FPGAs working to generate the tables, I think it would be much more rapid than a bunch of standard CPUs doing a crappy job at the same task. Part of the inspiration for a project like this can be found at nsa.unaligned.org , which has received a lot of internet fame for its badass-factor.

So my question is: Has anyone worked with FPGAs before? How can I get them to work in parallel? How can I speak to them with my (linux) PC? How can I receive the data they calculate so that I can store it on disk? Abstracts are fine, I'm perfectly capable of doing my own research. Just need someone to point me in the right direction.

I have the hashing algorithm I need written in Verilog, and I have the stock rainbow table generation software written in C++.
 
Well, i work with FPGA's at work all the time and you need to find the right FPGA for your specific use as well as the proper drivers in the right code that can be easily programmed and reprogammed using a program like codewarrior which is a program made by Freescale if im not mistaken. You may want to look into some software like codewarrior to start yourself off. But there is plenty of other stuff you can use... its just very late at night i need to go to sleep. :p
 
I'm also interested in information on this subject. The project I wish to use FPGAs for is a robotics project, so a slightly different setup than for Boomslang, but with the same bi-directional traffic between FPGA and PC. Preferably a low-latency, high-bandwidth link.
 
I would think there are usb interfacing examples for that platform. Unfortunately, I'm still on 8 bit AVR's ;)
 
USB might work well for Boomslang, yeah :)

I'm thinking of something with a longer reach (USB & Firewire 400 are ~5 meters) and possibly with a more basic protocol. Firewire 800 would be nice, since it'd allow for up to 100 meters. I guess I'll just have to do some research ^_^
 
Here are som USB based programmers...

Altera USB Blaster
and
P&E Micro USB Multilink
 
Elledan said:
I'm thinking of something with a longer reach (USB & Firewire 400 are ~5 meters) and possibly with a more basic protocol. Firewire 800 would be nice, since it'd allow for up to 100 meters. I guess I'll just have to do some research ^_^
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You could always go wireless serial...
 
I've always had an idea of hacking parts out of 900mhz or 2.4ghz cordless phones, but never got around to it. I'm pretty sure they use similar modules.
 
agent420 said:
I've always had an idea of hacking parts out of 900mhz or 2.4ghz cordless phones, but never got around to it. I'm pretty sure they use similar modules.
Click to expand...

I just threw away an old wireless phone :( I'm sure I could find another one, though :D
 
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