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\begin{frame}{Outline}
\tableofcontents
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\section{Requirements}
\begin{frame}{Desirable HW features of a distributed control system}{1/2}
\begin{block}{The good things of custom HW}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Function is exactly what you need.
\item
Can change easily if you find a bug. Or have it changed!
\item
Peer review. Potential for really good designs.
\item
Not tied to a single company (you never know).
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\begin{block}{The good things of commercial HW}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Built and tested by someone else.
\item
Supported by someone else.
\item
Guaranteed.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Desirable HW features of a distributed control system}{2/2}
\begin{block}{Modular}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Re-use components easily.
\item
Have different people in an organization do what they do best.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\begin{block}{Interconnect!}
\begin{itemize}
\item
Allows to build distributed systems easily.
\item
Based on communication standards.
\item
Good sync capabilities. Transparent common notion of time.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\section{Choices}
\begin{frame}{Hardware development}
\begin{block}{FPGA Mezzanine Cards (FMC)}
\begin{itemize}
\item The only standard (VITA 57) to fit our needs.
\item High-bandwidth BGA connector for multi-Gb/s links.
\item VME and PCIe carriers in the pipeline.
\item Xilinx kits have FMC slots $\rightarrow$ convenient for testing.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\begin{block}{White Rabbit network}
\begin{itemize}
\item Sub-nanosecond sync for $\sim$1000 nodes over typical fiber lengths of 10 km.
\item Based on Ethernet.
\item Multi-site collaboration.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Gateware and software}{Some initial ideas}
\begin{block}{Gateware}
\begin{itemize}
\item Wishbone-based.
\item Try to automate repetitive code through scripts.
\item Auto-discovery of cores by Linux kernel would be nice.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\begin{block}{Software (very preliminary ideas!)}
\begin{itemize}
\item Kernel modules, one per core.
\item Interconnected by a driver representing the whole board.
\item Integration into official kernel desirable.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\section{Open Hardware}
\subsection{Introduction}
\begin{frame}{Open Hardware: our definition}
\begin{block}{Publish everything needed to review}
Specifications, discussions, schematics and layouts in some human-readable format, HDL, etc. Publish universally, no NDAs.
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Publish everything needed to modify}
Schematics and PCB layout files for your favorite EDA tool. Unfortunately the best ones are neither free nor free\ldots
\end{block}
\begin{block}{Publish everything needed to produce}
Manufacturing files, bill of materials, etc.
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Advantages}
\begin{block}{Peer review}
Get your design reviewed by experts all around the world, including companies!
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Design re-use}
How many people are designing a 100 MS/s ADC independently, making the same -- or different -- mistakes?
\end{block}
\begin{block}{Healthier relationship with companies}
No vendor-locked situations. Companies selected solely on the basis of technical excellence, good support and price.
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\subsection{Business models}
\begin{frame}{Role of companies}
\begin{block}{Design partners}
Pay a company specialized in a given topic to design a specific card with/for you.
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Commercial partners}
Buy the cards you designed from a company that will take the charge of manufacturing, testing, managing stocks and providing support.
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Some business model examples for commercial partners}
\begin{block}{IBM-style}
Become part of a larger OH team, fully respecting OH practice. Sell full systems based on OH kit.
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Red Hat-style}
Sell manufacture, test and support of individual boards along with a guarantee. Participate in design if needed.
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Oracle-style}
Support OH kit and build a closed solution on top with added value.
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\subsection{Legal issues}
\begin{frame}{Licensing}{A quick landscape tour}
\begin{block}{HW is not like SW}
\begin{itemize}
\item Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
\item For a schematic (and even HDL), GPL is easily bypassed.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{Options}
\begin{itemize}
\item\href{http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html}{OHL} (viral). If you take my design and use it, you promise not to sue me for patent infringement.
\item\href{http://www.balloonboard.org/docs/Balloon_License_0v2.pdf}{BOHL} (viral). Design files are not released.
\item\href{http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php}{MIT}/\href{http://www.linfo.org/bsdlicense.html}{BSD} (non-viral). Do what you like, don't blame me in case of problems.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Licensing}{Our thoughts so far}
\begin{block}{LGPL for HDL}
\begin{itemize}
\item It's very easy to turn a ``used in'' into a ``connected to'' situation in HDL, so GPL would not help.
\item We do want to be informed and profit if our cores are improved.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{MIT/BSD-style for the rest}
\begin{itemize}
\item Not clear how OHL, BOHL and others would perform in court. And don't want to find out!
\item Viral licenses scare some of our potential commercial partners. Could do more harm than good.
\end{itemize}
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{What about free riders?}
\begin{block}{Free riders are fine}
People and companies who take open designs and do not contribute anything back do not pose a problem to us.
\end{block}
%\vspace{0.1cm}
\begin{block}{But what about \emph{mean} free riders?}
If somebody takes OH and uses it to build a closed solution for a profit, that is fine as well, but we would not be clients.
\end{block}
\end{frame}
\begin{frame}{Mad patent disease and patent trolls}{See \href{http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=216600017}{http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=216600017}}
\emph{``In this climate, many fear being charged with willfully infringing patents or omitting prior art in patent applications, a charge known as inequitable conduct. So Intel and other companies have put strict procedures in place to control which patents its engineers can read.''}\\
\vspace{0.2cm}
Opening up your designs does make you more vulnerable to this disease.
\end{frame}
%One slide to justify our license choice so far
% One slide on evil patents and the risk for open design.
