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Keep it going ...
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07/10/2005
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Time is money, especially for communications companies. So important is it that their systems stay up and running, that they specify no more than five minutes of downtime per year, or 99.999% operational – the so called five 9s.
However, along with the obvious reliability challenges of running equipment without respite, there is the added inconvenience of needing to update the system while it’s running. The main reason for this is that the systems are often deployed before the specification is fully ratified. This may seem like they are trying to run before they can walk, but there is another adage at play here; the early bird catches the worm.
The fpga is a key component in communications systems, not least because of its ability to be upgraded. In a recent poll conducted during a web cast hosted by Lattice Semiconductor, some 30% of the audience said they make provision for field updates. This was higher than expected but encouraging to Lattice, because it had recently introduced some technology designed to do just that. What’s more, it is designed to do it without stopping the system.
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Author
Philip Ling
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