Work in progress - development of a new multi-CPU parallel and distributed processing experiment platform for remote hardware laboratory

A new multi-CPU parallel and distributed processing experiment platform using plural FPGA (field programmable gate array) platforms is under development. Students can remotely perform hardware and software experiments combining a number of FPGA-based experiment platforms. The authors have already developed a remote laboratory, namely Cyber Laboratory, which realized an efficient sharing of hardware platforms among on-site and remote-site students, both in space-division and time-division fashions. Multi-CPU parallel and distributed processing experiment environment is implemented on a combined use of multiple set of FPGA experiment platforms based on the Cyber Laboratory. Each FPGA platform consists of a FPGA board with a LAN port, host PC as an experiment server, a signal generator, a logic analyzer and a synchronizing mechanism. LAN is used to connect FPGA platforms to organize a parallel system. Therefore, the proposed system can provide each student not only with a CPU hardware design/experiment platform but also with an environment where he/she can conduct parallel and distributed processing as well. The project is at a detailed design phase, and the prototype will be operational in 2010.