On-Chip Hot-Socketing and Power-Sequencing Support
Hot socketing refers to the capability to insert a board into, or remove a board from, a system during operation without causing negative effects to the system or the board. It is also referred to as “hot swapping” or “hot plug-in.”
Devices in the Stratix® series and Cyclone® series FPGAs, and the MAX® series CPLDs, are designed and tested to offer robust support for on-chip hot-socketing and power-sequence protection without needing additional external devices or board manipulation.
A device must meet three criteria to be considered hot-socketable:
- It can be driven before power up without any damage.
- It does not drive out before power up.
- It does not drive out during power up.
To find out more about the advantages of the on-chip hot-socketing support in Intel® FPGA devices, refer to the Intel FPGA Hot-Socketing & Power-Sequencing advantages white paper that details Intel FPGA’s hot-socketing advantages. For detailed characterization data, refer to the Hot-Socketing & Power-Sequencing Feature & Testing for Intel FPGA devices white paper.
For detailed characterization data, refer to the white paper detailing hot-socketing features and testing for Stratix, Stratix® GX, Stratix® II, Stratix® II GX, Stratix® III, Cyclone® and Cyclone® II FPGA families, and MAX® V, MAX® II, MAX® 7000AE and MAX® 3000A CPLD families.
Protection in PLDs for High-Availability Systems
Hot socketing is a critical requirement for systems that require high availability (constant system uptime), such as network storage servers or carrier-class telecommunication infrastructures, where each second of system downtime translates directly into revenue losses.
Protection in PLDs for Multi-Voltage Systems
In multi-voltage systems for which hot socketing is not required, hot-socketing and power-sequence protection capability for the PLD is still critical. In these systems, regulators are used to provide different voltage levels and can cause the power-up sequence to become unpredictable; devices that require a predetermined power-up sequence may no longer function properly.
The hot-socketing support in PLDs can alleviate problems in multi-voltage system designs because normal PLD functionality will not be influenced by the system power-up sequence. This can be vital for the common application where CPLDs are used to control the power up of other devices in very complex systems.
Table 1 outlines some example systems in different market segments that benefit from hot socketing in Intel FPGA devices.
Table 1. Examples of Systems Requiring Hot Socketing
Market Segment |
Application Examples |
---|---|
Networking |
|
Computing Services |
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Data Storage |
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Wireless Communications |
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Wireline Communications |
|
On-Chip Hot-Socketing and Power-Sequencing Support Advantages
There are several techniques used to ensure that PLDs function properly during hot socketing, including sequence connectors and discrete hot-swap controllers. Table 2 compares hot socketing in Intel FPGA PLDs versus using other techniques.
Table 2. Intel FPGA PLDs Vs. Alternatives
Intel FPGA Hot-Socketable PLD1 | Sequenced Connectors | Hot-Swap Controller | |
---|---|---|---|
Advantages |
|
|
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Disadvantages | -
|
|
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Notes:
- For the actual hot-socketing specification for each PLD family, refer to the handbook or data sheet of each respective family.
- The hot-socketing support in the Stratix, Stratix GX, and Cyclone FPGA families and the MAX 7000AE and MAX 3000A CPLD families is verified against different power-up sequences. Detailed test set up and procedures can be found in the characterization report in the Hot-Socketing & Power-Sequencing Feature & Testing for Intel FPGA devices white paper. The Stratix II, Stratix II GX, Stratix III, Stratix® IV, Stratix® V, Cyclone II, Cyclone® III, Cyclone® IV, MAX V and MAX II device families will also support the hot-socketing feature.
- The APEX™ II, APEX 20K, ACEX™ 1K, Mercury™, FLEX® 10KA, FLEX 10KE, and 3.3-V FLEX® 6000 FPGA families, and the MAX 7000B CPLD family also support hot socketing. For more information, refer to AN 107: Using Intel FPGA devices in multiple-voltage systems.
Related Links
- Intel FPGA Hot-Socketing and Power-Sequencing advantages ›
- Hot-Socketing and Power-Sequencing Feature & Testing for Intel FPGA devices ›
- Hot-Socketing & Power-On Reset in Stratix IV devices ›
- Stratix IV device handbook ›
- Hot-Socketing & Power-On Reset in Stratix III devices ›
- Stratix III device handbook ›
- Hot-Socketing, ESD and Power-On Reset ›
- Stratix II device handbook ›
- Hot-Socketing and Power-On Reset ›
- Cyclone II device handbook ›
- Hot-Socketing, ESD and Power-On Reset ›
- Cyclone III device handbook ›
- Hot Socketing and Power-On Reset in MAX V devices ›
- MAX V device handbook ›
- Hot-Socketing and Power-On Reset in MAX II devices ›
- MAX II device handbook ›
- AN 447: Interfacing Cyclone III devices with 3.3 / 3.0 / 2.5-V LVTL & LVCMOS I/O systems ›
- AN 107: Using Intel FPGA devices in multiple-voltage systems ›
- Stratix V FPGAs ›
- Stratix IV FPGAs ›
- Stratix III FPGAs ›
- Stratix II FPGAs ›
- Stratix FPGAs ›
- Stratix GX FPGAs ›
- Arria® II GX FPGAs ›
- Arria® GX FPGAs ›
- Cyclone IV FPGAs ›
- Cyclone III FPGAs ›
- Cyclone II FPGAs ›
- Cyclone FPGAs ›
- MAX V CPLDs ›
- MAX II CPLDs ›
- MAX 7000 CPLDs ›