Real examples that show that being Open improves quality, generates new developments and new collaborations
Real examples that show that being Open helps to improve quality
As all design files are available for Open Designs, it easy for users,
producers and other interested people to study the designs and find
and signal problems.
The following table shows that this in practice also happens.
| Project | Date | Bug signaled by | Bug type | Bug description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPEC | Early User | 3 | Mechanical problem SFP | |
| SPEC | Producer | 1 | Design problem: supply voltage too low | |
| SPEC | 04-2015 | User | 2 | Too strong pull-down on reset line. Issue 1067 |
| SVEC | 01-2014 | Producer | 1 | Documentation of VHDL code wrong |
| FmcAdc100M14b4cha | 09-2013 | Producer | 1 | Production Test program, non-functional bug |
| White Rabbit Switch | 2012 | Early User | 2, 3 | Many different bugs |
| White Rabbit Switch | 09-2013 | Early User | 2 | Setting of nsec part of TAI time |
| White Rabbit Switch | 08-2013 | User | 2 | WR time from SPEC to NTP daemon. User wrote tool |
| White Rabbit Switch | 08-2013 | User | 3 | Display of delay times failed for links over 100km |
| White Rabbit Switch | 09-2014 | Producer | 1 | Second producer improved quality of production documentation |
| White Rabbit core | 09-2013 | User | 3 | Jumps in WR time when used over an out-of-spec length link |
| White Rabbit core | 11-2013 | User | 2 | Jumps in WR time on 1000 km link. Bug in core. Seen by user; another user corrected partially bug; CERN made final corrections and simulations. |
| White Rabbit NIC | 04-2015 | User | 2 | Error with high traffic load (Follow up message is not from current parent) |
It seems that there are different types of bug reports
- errors that could only be found by studying the designs (so OH made this happen).
- errors that could be found by any user, the user could find a solution because all design information is available.
- errors that could be found by any user, and were just reported to the developers (because the design was Open, there were more users that could make this happen).
Real examples that show that being Open generates new developments
As all design files are available for Open Designs, it easy for users,
producers and other interested people to use the open designs to
create new designs.*
The following table shows that this in practice also happens.
| Project | Date | Based on | Institute | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WorldFIP | 09-2012 | nanoFIP | Netherlands | nanoFIP design used as basis for renovating train control system |
| Cute WR | 03-2012 | SPEC | China | Minimised version for use as White Rabbit node only |
| SPEXI | 09-2013 | SPEC | INCAA | PXIe bus instead of PCIe bus |
| SPEC100 | 01-2014 | SPEC | Seven Solutions | SPEC with larger FPGA (XC6SLX100T instead of XC6SLX45T) |
| spec-box-1n/3n | 10-2013 | SPEC | Seven Solutions | Boxes to make SPEC boards usable in stand-alone mode |
| Cute WR DP | 04-2014 | SPEC, Cute WR | China | Dual port White Rabbit node |
| CRIO-WR | 07-2014 | SPEC, Cute WR | Universitaet Zuerich | Compact RIO White Rabbit node. Now sold by industry. |
| PXIe-700 | 11-2015 | SPEC, SPEXI | Sundance DSP | PXIe FMC Carrier with Kintex-7 FPGA Card with HPC FMC. Inspired by SPEXI, but completely new design. |
| mini-WR | 10-2018 | SPEC | Tsinghua University | mini version of SPEC |
| TiCkS | 11-2020 | SPEC | France | Time stamping for CTA camera triggers in small form factor |
| SVEC pulse generator | 01-2014 | SVEC | JanzTec | Firmware development of pulse generator for a client. Client made Rear transition module with buffers. |
| SVEC 3.3 Volt adapter | 05-2014 | SVEC | Creotech | Design and production of adapter to make SVEC work in classic VME crate. |
| SVEC industrial | 12-2017 | SVEC | JanzTec | Request for special production with extended temperature range. |
| WRPC on new FPGA | 08-2013 | WRPC | NIKHEF | New FPGA Xilinx Kintex-7 platform for White Rabbit main core |
| WRPC on new FPGA | 08-2013 | WRPC | GSI | New FPGA Altera platform for White Rabbit main core |
| uTCA MCH WR card | 01-2014 | WRPC | ELMA | uTCA.4 MCH card that is White Rabbit enabled |
| ENTERVISION (a CERN medical imaging project) | 01-2014 | WRPC | CPPM (Marseille) | Synchronisation scheme inspired by the DDMTD used in WR project |
| WRP Nanosecond Switch | 07-2015 | White Rabbit Switch | EPFL | Project to make White Rabbit go wireless. Develop new backplane for use in WR switch |
| WRS-FL | 03-2018 | White Rabbit Switch | Tsinghua University | WR switch fan-less design. Redesign of all boards and dust-proof housing. |
| Chromium Backplane | 03-2018 | White Rabbit Switch | NIKHEF | Compact WR switch design. |
| Integration with FMC carrier | 02-2022 | FmcAdc100M14b4cha | Synchrotron SOLEIL | Re-use of ADC on an existing MTCA carrier from SOLEIL. |
Real examples that show that being Open generates new collaborations
| Project | Date | Partners | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMC FD | 10-2013 | INCAA, Seven Solutions | One production company tests cards produced by another one. |
| SPEC | 01-2014 | INCAA, Seven Solutions | Two production companies collaborate to improve the production test programs |
| OH general | 03-2014 | Ultrasync (China), other | An OH customer requested a new Chinese company that they should build a tight and friendly partnership with other OHR companies by exchange custorm information and project requirement and resell the existing OHR products. This Chinese client wishes the company to act as a bridge to connect the exist OHR commercial community with wide China market. |
| SPEC | 09-2014 | NA62, BE-RF | CERN physics experiment receives gateware and software from the accelerator sector. Application of receiving data over fibre and transferring into PC memory very similar. |
| WR | 08-2015 | CMS | CMS re-uses code of White Rabbit for phase comparison of two signals. J.Troska. |
| WR Switch V4 | 11-2021 | CERN | Embedded Monitoring Processor (EMP) for detector control system High Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) can re-use mechanical design and power supply. |
Real examples that show that being Open helps in education
The more I read about white-rabbit, the more impressed I am!
You and your colleagues should rightly be very proud of your
achievements and I appreciate that the algorithm and hardware has been
made available as open-source materials.
I have learnt much from studying the high quality documentation in the
OHWR repositories. (S, United Kingdom, 5-05-2017)
I am using the OHWR site to give to our students the possibility to have libraries (schematic, VHDL, Linux Driver) at the beginning of their professional lives. Professor D.O., Haute école d’ingénierie et d’architecture Fribourg, 5-10-2016
Erik van der Bij - 4 July 2022