The Altera EPC device is a single device with high speed and advanced configuration
solution for high-density FPGAs. The core of an EPC device is divided into two major
blocks—a configuration controller and a flash memory. The flash memory is used to
store configuration data for systems made up of one or more than one Altera FPGAs.
Unused portions of the flash memory can be used to store processor code or data that
can be accessed using the external flash interface after the FPGA configuration is
complete.