Altera intros FPGA-based HSR/PRP reference design targeting smart grid automation equipment

HONG KONG: Altera Corp. has expanded its FPGA-based solutions targeting smart energy systems by announcing a High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) and Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) reference design targeting smart grid substation automation equipment.

Developed jointly with Flexibilis Oy, a provider of networking equipment and technologies for wireless and wired applications, the IEC 62439-3-compliant reference design includes Flexibilis Redundant Switch (FRS) intellectual property (IP) implemented on an Altera low-power, low-cost Cyclone-class FPGA or Cyclone V SoC. The reference design simplifies development and implementation of highly reliable mission-critical communications systems in smart grid substations.

“A key trend today in developing a smarter power grid is bidirectional communication and real-time control of the equipment in the grid’s transmission and distribution substations,” said Jason Chiang, senior strategic marketing manager in Altera’s Industrial Business Unit. “Our FPGA-based HSR/PRP reference design enables equipment manufactures to build flexibility, performance, reliability and product longevity into their systems while lowering system costs and future proofing designs.”

The Flexibilis HSR/PRP IP included in the reference design is a triple-speed 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Layer 2 switch that is scalable from 3 to 8 ports and is compliant with the IEC 62439-3 standard. The IP is optimized for use on an Altera low-power, low-cost Cyclone IV FPGA, Cyclone V FPGA or Cyclone V SoC, which feature an integrated dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor subsystem.

Cyclone V SoCs enable customers to reduce component costs by implementing their HSR/PRP switch along with the associated software stacks running on the ARM processor subsystem in the FPGA. For timing synchronization, the HSR/PRP solution supports IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Version 2. Altera and Flexibilis are showcasing the FPGA-based HSR/PRP reference design in Altera’s booth at Embedded World 2013, located in Hall 4, Booth 436.

“The IEC 62439-3 standard is rapidly evolving, making the flexibility of an FPGA an ideal platform to base our FSR IP on,” said Heikki Ala-Juusela, chairman of the board at Flexibilis. “Altera’s highly integrated FPGAs and SoCs allow users to reduce their total cost of ownership while at the same time leverage the device’s performance to handle Gigabit Ethernet traffic. This HSR/PRP solution ensures designers can future-proof their substation automation systems by ensuring communication with future generations of intelligent electronics devices.”

The FPGA-based HSR/PRP reference design expands Altera’s reach into the smart energy market. Altera’s programmable solutions provide developers of smart grid equipment the means to adapt to evolving standards and increase their system’s performance and scalability.

Altera and Flexibilis make it easy to implement an FPGA-based HSR/PRP Ethernet switch. Combining Altera FPGAs with the FRS IP provides an easy and cost-effective way to implement highly reliable mission-critical communications systems in smart grid substations by offering no license negotiation, no up-front licensing costs and no per-unit royalty reporting.