Summary

MLE has been supporting customers in implementing distributed systems. MLE NPAP, the TCP/UDP/IP Stack originating from Fraunhofer HHI, has been one of the underlying technologies to connect FPGAs with each other as well as with servers and sensors reliably. 

Customer implementations range from systems using a purpose-built LAN, or systems exposed to high levels of electro-magnetic inference (EMI), or rotating nodes using slip rings, or wireless. 

Engineering teams often focus on delivering high throughput (close to linerate) and very low latency (i.e. a small Bandwidth-Delay-Product). Network impairment can quickly derail those engineering efforts. Therefore, MLE NPAP has built-in means to diagnose the effects of real-life network impairment. 

This Technical Brief expands on analyzing network impairments and explains how these can be emulated when using Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), leading to technical insights allowing you to deliver better systems, faster.