vGoodtimes
Advanced Member level 4
not really. A practical "linux on fpga" is just "linux on a cpu on a fpga". The cpu is either built into the silicon, or is constructed from the fpga fabric. At this point, the fpga isn't doing anything interesting.
An example that would be interesting is if the FPGA had some purpose -- for example maybe some of the fpga fabric could be used to offload tcp/ip processing. or maybe the fpga accelerates some crypto function. maybe the fpga does RF processing for a prototype cellular modem.
At the same time, there are similar examples where the CPU isn't needed either. maybe the fpga does simple but high-rate processing on ethernet packets. maybe the crypto function is coin-mining and the fpga only needs to communicate over usb. Maybe the prototype cellular modem connects to a desktop pc using pcie. These are examples where the fpga doesn't have a built-in cpu because it doesn't need one. Either because that aspect is handled by an external cpu (pcie example), the interface is very simple (miner), or because a cpu isn't needed for normal operation (network processor).