[Cryptech Core] BA or delay?

[Leif Johansson]

Skickat från min iPhone

> 2 dec. 2015 kl. 08:34 skrev Randy Bush <randy at psg.com>:
> 
> tl;dr: i suggest we pass on BA as we will not be ready with alpha.
> please discuss, especially if you feel otherwise.
> 
> [ credit where due department: much of what follows is from sra and paul
>  raising a red flag ]
> 
> there is reason to be concerned about the state of the alpha for the
> planned workshop at ietf in buenos aires in early april.
> 
> pavel and fredrik have made great progress; pavel just finished the fpga
> schematic and fredrik is doing the schematic merge this week.  but we do
> not yet have a firm path to layout and manufacturing.  the current
> thinking is, once we have a merged schematic, to ask jacob wexler (the
> israeli volunteer) to help with layout with pavel and fredrik assisting.
> and then we need a real bom with detailed manufacturing instructions,
> need to manufacture, and go through testing.
> 
> further, having working hardware in hand is not the end game.  the alpha
> has a new fpga using a different tool-chain and we have no experience
> getting libhal, the hardware adaption software layer, to talk to it.
> remember, js and sra have been on other projects for over two months.
> 
> so having a working alpha for buenos aires is one of those things for
> which project management could do a great optimistic powerpoint success
> plan; which is why we fired project management :)
> 
> we can try to do it using bridge boards; with poor fredrik building
> enough of them for the workshop, and in time to go through some amount
> of testing.  we would also need the programmer boards, wires, etc, but
> that stuff is off the shelf.
> 
> but the bridge boards are mechanically unreliable and the workshop
> environment would not be a lab bench.  if we're going to be doing a room
> full of these things, we would need some days of lead time on site
> before the workshop to shake the bugs out, unless we want the workshop
> to devolve into hardware mucking.
> 
> so i do not see that we have enough in hand to do a great workshop at
> the next ietf, the first week in april.  and the expense of getting a
> team to buenos aires would not be insignificant.
> 
> alternatively, we could shoot for ripe/copenhagen in may; or more
> realistically, ietf/berlin in mid july.
> 
> yes, this is disappointing.  but with the funding gap, reality is harsh.

I'd rather do a workshop w real hw in berlin than "go public" with the bridge board in ba

> 
> if your mileage varies, please speak up.
> 
> randy
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