Dieter wrote:
My device server would be small, inexpensive, low power, and only have a few
ports,
one or two each of rs-232, parallel, USB and Firewire/1394. For applications
where
you want some device in a location away from the main computer(s). Plug it into
Ethernet, plug device(s) into device server.
This sort of thing already exists.
I see a mainboard as being a bigger project. I think we should do the pieces
first,
then do a mainboard and have a complete, full-function computer.
Well, certainly :) You _must_ do the chips before the mainboard,
otherwise you'll be (a) endlessly revising the mainboard or (b) chafing
within self-imposed limitations.
Pieces:
video-out (currently being worked on)
video chip
video-in, including tuner
TV chip
audiophile-grade audio I/O
super combo I/O board (Ethernet, SATA, USB, FW/1394, RS-232, ...)
Ethernet controller
SATA controller
USB controller
FW/1394 controller
RS-232 UART
...
all this inside a southbridge chip
Then,
mainboard
CPU
you want a northbridge chip
chipset (can be simplified if we use super combo I/O board)
misc (keyboard & mouse, power conversion ...)
all this is in either southbridge or northbridge
Yes, "breaks the 16-interrupt limit of the classic PC" is definitely
something we would want. There is no reason this machine has to be
pee-cee compatible at all.
"whole lot of PCI slots" is another great idea. The only downside I
can think of is that we would need to find or build a case that is
set up for more slots. I suggest several PCI slots for legacy cards,
plus several PCIe slots, since that is clearly the future.
Guess what? Most PCI cards expect some level of PC-ness. The little
endian "requirement", for instance.
And as I noted in the other email, current PCs do not have 16-interrupt
limits.
One problem I have with standard PCI/PCIe style slots is that they are not
set up for cooling. The I/O panel should be opposite the bus connector.
Then you can have a fan blow air across the boards. Another problem is
the small amount of space available for external connectors. This could
all be easily solved with custom formfactor boards and a custom case,
but going that way would require doing it all at once. Also there is a
LOT of value in being able to plug our boards into standard computers
and visa-versa.
This is "cart before the horse." Once you have the chips, putting them
into various form factors is easy.
Jeff
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