A2O Processor Revival - Task Breakdown

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This document outlines the specific tasks for reviving the OpenPower A2O processor core based on the NLnet funding proposal. The project is structured across three phases over 6 months.

Project Overview

Timeline: 6 months Budget: €50,000 Primary Goal: Restore full functionality to the A2O processor core for modern FPGA platforms

Phase 1: Infrastructure Setup (Months 1-2)

Status: 4 open, 0 closed (0/4 complete)

#	Title	Category	Tags	Status	Priority	Assignee
#543	Version control and repository structure	Repository	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#542	Development environment documentation	Documentation	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#541	Configure Vivado 2025.x compatibility	Fpga-tools	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-
#540	Set up modern build infrastructure	Build-system	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-

Phase 2: Core Implementation & Software (Months 3-4)

Status: 8 open, 0 closed (0/8 complete)

#	Title	Category	Tags	Status	Priority	Assignee
#551	Peripheral implementation	Peripherals	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#550	Bootloader development	Bootloader	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#549	PowerPC cross-compiler setup	Toolchain	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#548	Core functional testing	Testing	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-
#547	Synthesis issue resolution	Synthesis	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-
#546	Fix timing closure issues	Timing	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-
#545	Alternative FPGA board support	Fpga-platform	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#544	VCU-118 FPGA integration	Fpga-platform	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-

Phase 3: Integration & Documentation (Months 5-6)

Status: 8 open, 0 closed (0/8 complete)

#	Title	Category	Tags	Status	Priority	Assignee
#559	Performance benchmarking roadmap	Performance	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#558	Formal verification roadmap	Verification	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#557	Contribution guidelines	Community	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#556	Usage and getting started guide	User-guide	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#555	Implementation guide	Implementation	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#554	Architecture documentation	Architecture	-	⬜ Open	🔴 Critical	-
#553	LiteX integration planning	Litex	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#552	Linux kernel research and planning	Linux	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-

Cross-Cutting Tasks

Status: 3 open, 0 closed (0/3 complete)

#	Title	Category	Tags	Status	Priority	Assignee
#562	Hardware access and board sharing	Infrastructure	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-
#561	OpenPower Foundation collaboration	Community	-	⬜ Open	🟠 High	-
#560	Community engagement and outreach	Community	-	⬜ Open	🟡 Medium	-

Milestones

Month 2: Build System Complete

Modern, reproducible build infrastructure
Vivado 2025.x compatibility
Comprehensive development environment docs

Month 4: Working A2O on FPGA

A2O booting on VCU-118
Basic functional tests passing
Cross-compiler toolchain operational
Simple bootloader running

Month 6: Production Ready

Comprehensive documentation complete
Alternative FPGA board support
Future roadmap planning (formal verification, performance benchmarking)
Community infrastructure established

Success Criteria

✅ A2O successfully synthesizes with Vivado 2025.x
✅ Timing closure achieved at ≥100 MHz on VCU-118
✅ Basic instruction tests pass on hardware
✅ Bootloader runs and provides debug console
✅ Cross-compiler produces working binaries
✅ Documentation enables new contributors to build and deploy
✅ Roadmaps for future development (Linux boot, formal verification, performance optimization)

The full ISA 3.1 compliance upgrade is tracked separately in the A2O Upgrade project, which details 9 workstreams covering instruction set updates, hypervisor support, interrupt architecture, MMU modernization, and VMX/VSX implementation.

Resources

Repository: https://codeberg.org/PowerCommons/a2o
Chat: #powercommons:matrix.org
Website: https://powercommons.org/projects/a2o
Funding: NLnet A2O Proposal

This task breakdown is based on the PowerCommons A2O OpenPower A2O Processor Revival Initiative funded by NLnet Foundation.

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