ECE 520 ASIC Design or equivalent. A good working knowledge of Verilog or VHDL is essential. This is not suitable as a first course in a hardware description language

Investigation of hardware architectures for networking applications with a focus on chip level solutions. Topics will include: routing, switching, security, classification, programmable and fixed function network processors; interconnection networks; system modeling and design. An emphasis on comparative assessment of alternative hardware algorithms. Research project(s) requiring presentation of a paper and a presentation.

HOMEWORK: (5 homeworks) 30%

EXAMINATIONS: (2 exams) 40%

PROJECTS: (1 project) 30%

There is no textbook for this course.

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers used for classes. Depending on your computer needs, we recommend your computer meet or exceed the following minimum specifications below.

PCs must have an Intel-compatible 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min.) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system should be Windows XP Pro. Real One Player Basic (available free online) and high speed Internet connection such as cable, DSL, T1 or LAN will be required for EOL courses.

MAC users must have a G4 processor with firewire and USB factory built-in, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB with 1GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 1024x768 (min) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system must be MacOS 10.4 (minimum) along with the above RealOne and Internet specifications above.

For more detailed information on computer specifications and recommendations, please refer to our website at: http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/currentstudents/computeraccess.htm