What do you want to do?

WARP is used to study a variety of different research areas. The first steps to getting started using WARP depend on what you want to do.

I want to study the physical layer	I want to study the higher networking layers

I Want to Study the Physical Layer

The FPGA on WARP provides the resources to implement a full, real-time physical layer. Typically, a physical layer is implemented as a periphal core (pcore) that attaches to a microprocessor core that executes C-code to control it. This C-code can, for example, implement a wireless MAC. We have provided two exercises that demonstrate how to control WARP from a microprocessor and how export a custom peripheral from Xiling System Generator.

• Exercises/HelloWorld? - The Hello World exercise is what we recommend all new users of WARP start with. By the end of it, users will use C-code to control LEDs on the board as well as print messages over UART.

• Exercises/SysGenExport? - In this exercise, users will instead control the LEDs on the board with an FPGA design constructed in Xilinx System Generator. The process this exercise takes you through mirrors the steps that would occur if this peripheral core were a new physical layer.

In addition to being well-suited for real-time physical layer implementations, WARP also allows physical layers to be rapidly prototyped through the WARPLab design flow. WARPLab allows physical layers to be designed directly in Matlab and prototyped through actual over-the-channel transmissions while processing occurs offline on your computer.

I Want to Study the Higher Networking Layers

One of the most common networking applications for WARP is the study of novel medium access control (MAC) protocols. Typically, MACs are implemented as software written in C and run on a MicroBlaze processor core in the FPGA. As such, the best example to start with is:

• Exercises/HelloWorld? - The Hello World exercise is what we recommend all new users of WARP start with. By the end of it, users will use C-code to control LEDs on the board as well as print messages over UART.

After that, it is best to jump to the OFDM Reference Design and set up a link using the CSMA MAC code included in the design. This serves as a good example on how to write custom MAC software for WARP.