TL;DR
Corundum is an open-source FPGA NIC and development platform designed for in-network compute workloads. It provides a high-performance datapath, multi-rate Ethernet (10G/25G/100G), a PCIe Gen3 interface with a custom DMA engine, PTP support, and a Linux driver, plus designs for many Xilinx and Intel boards.
What happened
Corundum is presented as an open-source project that implements a feature-rich, FPGA-based network interface card and an extensible platform for adding logic that runs alongside packet processing. The design emphasizes a high-throughput datapath, a tightly integrated PCIe DMA engine, and native IEEE 1588 PTP timekeeping. Queue state for transmit, receive, completion and events is stored in block RAM or UltraRAM, which the project says enables thousands of individually addressable queues and per-port transmit schedulers — including support for TDMA tied to PTP time. The distribution includes a Linux driver that plugs into the kernel networking stack and an extensive simulation framework that models the driver, PCIe interface and Ethernet links. Corundum ships FPGA builds and reference designs for a broad set of Xilinx and Intel development and accelerator boards, and documents using open-source 10G/25G MAC/PHY modules; 100G on Xilinx UltraScale+ requires the vendor CMAC with RS-FEC under its free license.
Why it matters
- Enables tighter coupling of custom logic with packet I/O on FPGA NICs, supporting in-network compute experiments and deployments.
- Per-port scheduling and thousands of queues offer fine-grained control over transmit behavior, useful for deterministic and time-sliced networking.
- PTP integration and TDMA support make the platform relevant for latency-sensitive and time-synchronized use cases.
- Open-source components for lower-speed Ethernet reduce dependency on proprietary MAC/PHY IP and lower entry barriers for development.
Key facts
- Open-source FPGA NIC and platform for in-network compute with source on GitHub and documentation site.
- Supports 10G, 25G and 100G Ethernet; 10G/25G use open-source MAC/PHY modules, while 100G on Xilinx UltraScale+ requires the Xilinx CMAC core with RS-FEC and its free license.
- PCI Express Gen3 host interface with a custom, tightly-integrated PCIe DMA engine and support for scatter/gather DMA.
- Queue state for transmit/receive/completion/event queues is stored in block RAM or UltraRAM, enabling support for thousands of queues.
- Per-port transmit scheduling, including a TDMA-capable scheduler tied to PTP time.
- Features include flow hashing/RSS, checksum offload, MSI interrupts, multiple interfaces and ports per interface.
- Includes a Linux driver that integrates with the kernel networking stack and a simulation framework covering driver, PCIe and Ethernet interfaces.
- An application region exposes control via a dedicated PCIe BAR and interfaces to the core datapath and DMA for custom logic integration.
- Designs and builds are provided for a wide range of Xilinx and Intel boards and accelerator cards.
What to watch next
- Status and uptake of Corundum in production environments: not confirmed in the source.
- Mainline Linux kernel integration progress beyond the included driver distribution: not confirmed in the source.
- Support and performance characteristics for 100G on non-Xilinx devices: not confirmed in the source.
- 100G operation on Xilinx UltraScale+ requires the vendor CMAC core with RS-FEC enabled (free CMAC license).
Quick glossary
- FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array — a reconfigurable semiconductor device that lets developers implement custom digital logic.
- NIC: Network Interface Card — hardware that connects a host system to a network and handles packet I/O.
- PCIe (PCI Express): A high-speed serial bus standard used to connect peripheral devices like NICs and accelerators to a host CPU.
- DMA (Direct Memory Access): A mechanism that allows devices to transfer data to or from system memory without continuous CPU intervention.
- PTP (Precision Time Protocol): An IEEE standard (1588) for synchronizing clocks across networked devices to sub-microsecond accuracy.
Reader FAQ
Is Corundum open source?
Yes — the project is hosted on GitHub and provides source code and documentation.
What Ethernet speeds does Corundum support?
The design supports 10G, 25G and 100G Ethernet; 10G/25G use open-source MAC/PHY modules, while 100G on Xilinx UltraScale+ requires the Xilinx CMAC with RS-FEC.
Does Corundum include a Linux driver?
Yes — a Linux driver is included that integrates with the kernel networking stack.
Which FPGA vendors and boards are supported?
The project provides designs for both Xilinx and Intel devices across many development and accelerator boards (examples listed in the repository).
Is Corundum production-ready?
not confirmed in the source
Corundum Readme GitHub repository: https://github.com/corundum/corundum Documentation: https://docs.corundum.io/ GitHub wiki: https://github.com/corundum/corundum/wiki Google group: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/corundum-nic Zulip: https://corundum.zulipchat.com/ Introduction Corundum is an open-source, high-performance FPGA-based NIC and platform for in-network compute. Features include…
Sources
- Corundum – open-source FPGA-based NIC and platform for in-network compute
- 1. Introduction — Corundum documentation
- Corundum: An Open-Source 100-Gbps NIC
- Corundum: An Open-Source 100-Gbps Nic
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