Implementing UDP/IP communication using an FPGA

Abstract

Nowadays it is not uncommon for devices to be connected to a local network or the internet. This means that the device requires certain protocols from the TCP/IP protocol suite in order to communicate with other devices on the network. Devices are becoming smaller, more mobile, and offering greater functionality. Offering a solution that caters directly to the needs of the device without extra functionality allows for even more complex devices to be created saving both space and power, which is crucial today especially for battery-operated devices. Thus, this project aims to provide a modular UDP/IP stack design that allows for functions to be added and removed by adding further modules to the architecture, thus allowing for complex or simple implementations of the stack. The UDP/IP stack was implemented and tested on a Spartan-3e FPGA development board by Digilent. This board provides a physical layer interface that allows data to be received and transmitted across an Ethernet cable.