PEPPER / open-source edge platform

Reconfigure the edge.
From silicon to software.

PEPPER is Pantherun’s FPGA-enabled IoT platform for building secure, connected devices. Start with a working ARM and FPGA system, then customize the hardware, network stack and application for your product.

2× A76 + 2× A55ARM compute
3 × 1GbESwitch ports
FPGA + ARMOpen platform
01Start with working hardware

Prototype on a complete FPGA, ARM and connectivity platform.

02Change the data path

Build custom logic instead of accepting fixed silicon behavior.

03Secure at the device

Integrate Pantherun AES and network controls into the design.

04Move from bench to field

Add a fanless IP54 enclosure and DIN-rail deployment options.

Hardware. FPGA. Software.
All yours to shape.

PEPPER is a hardware-software co-design platform. Work at the layer that matters today, while keeping the path open to deeper customization tomorrow.

01 / HARDWARE

Connected edge hardware

A ready-to-use foundation for networked products, with programmable logic, ARM processing, wired switching and modular wireless connectivity on one platform.

  • Altera FPGA with 2 GB LPDDR4
  • Three 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet ports
  • USB 3.0, MicroSD and 40-pin GPIO
02 / FPGA

Logic you can redefine

Move beyond application programming and shape the data path itself. PEPPER supports hardware-software co-design for deterministic processing and custom interfaces.

  • User-programmable FPGA fabric
  • Layer 2/3 switching and routing IP
  • Customizable AES encryption IP
03 / SOFTWARE

An open network stack

Develop at the RTL, embedded software, middleware or application layer with packet-processing building blocks already designed for connected edge systems.

  • IPv4/IPv6, unicast and multicast
  • QoS, tunnels and congestion controls
  • VPN, firewall and secure management options

A compact system.
A broad set of interfaces.

Compute, programmable logic, switching, storage and expansion are already connected, so teams can spend more time on the product-specific design.

REFERENCE / HARDWARE TOPOLOGYFPGA-CENTRIC I/O
PEPPER hardware topology showing FPGA connections to memory, USB, wireless, GPIO, Ethernet, console and JTAG
COMPUTE / MEMORYFPGA + HPS
  • Altera FPGA
  • Dual-core ARM Cortex-A76 processor at 800 MHz
  • Dual-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor at 800 MHz
  • 2 GB LPDDR4 system memory
  • 64 MB QSPI flash with Secure Device Manager
NETWORK / I-OBuilt to connect
  • 3 × 10/100/1000 Mbps Layer 2 switch ports
  • One PoE-capable Ethernet port
  • USB 3.0 Type-A and Type-C
  • MicroSD, management port and debug console
  • JTAG for development and programming
RADIO / EXPANSIONModular by design
  • Quectel 5G/4G and Wi-Fi 6 module support
  • 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO
  • RTC and EEPROM
  • Watchdog and reset-to-default control
  • Power/reset controls and status LEDs

Packet processing
inside the fabric.

PEPPER combines an FPGA data path with ARM control so connected products can forward, filter, edit and measure traffic without building the network foundation from scratch.

LAYER 2 / LAYER 3Network IP features
  • 01Ethernet protocol support
  • 02VLAN virtual networks
  • 03Spanning Tree Protocol
  • 04Link aggregation
  • 05Quality of Service
  • 06Traffic filtering + forwarding
  • 07MAC learning + forwarding
  • 08Ethernet Ring Protection
  • 09Virtual Private LAN Service
  • 10Ethernet OAM

AES at the edge The FPGA can also host Pantherun’s customizable AES IP alongside VPN and firewall controls.

PACKET PIPELINE / REFERENCEINGRESS → EGRESS
PEPPER packet-processing pipeline with routing, bridging, policy, queueing and congestion management

Deploy / connected products

Prototype openly.
Deploy with confidence.

Use PEPPER as a development platform or as the building block inside a finished edge device. The optional IP54 enclosure is fanless, convection cooled and DIN-rail mountable for industrial and remote IoT installations.

IP54 enclosure + antenna5G / Wi-Fi modulePoE or non-PoE power adapter
Plan a PEPPER build
APPLICATION MAPEDGE / IOT
  • 01Networked IoT devices
  • 02Sensors + cameras
  • 03Switches + routers
  • 04Industrial gateways
  • 05Robotics + automation
  • 06Edge product research