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chipyard/docs/Prototyping/VCU118.rst
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Running a Design on VCU118
==========================
Basic VCU118 Design
-------------------
The default Xilinx VCU118 harness is setup to have UART, a SPI SDCard, and DDR backing memory.
This allows it to run RISC-V Linux from an SDCard while piping the terminal over UART to the host machine (the machine connected to the VCU118).
To extend this design, you can create your own Chipyard configuration and add the ``WithVCU118Tweaks`` located in ``fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/Configs.scala``.
Adding this config fragment will enable and connect the UART, SPI SDCard, and DDR backing memory to your Chipyard design/config.
.. literalinclude:: ../../fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/Configs.scala
:language: scala
:start-after: DOC include start: AbstractVCU118 and Rocket
:end-before: DOC include end: AbstractVCU118 and Rocket
Brief Implementation Description + More Complicated Designs
-----------------------------------------------------------
The basis for a VCU118 design revolves around creating a special test harness to connect the external IOs to your Chipyard design.
This is done with the ``VCU118TestHarness`` in the basic default VCU118 FPGA target.
The ``VCU118TestHarness`` (located in ``fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/TestHarness.scala``) uses ``Overlays`` that connect to the VCU118 external IOs.
Generally, the ``Overlays`` take an IO from the ``ChipTop`` (labeled as ``topDesign`` in the file) when "placed" and connect it to the external IO and generate necessary Vivado collateral.
For example, the following shows a UART ``Overlay`` being "placed" into the design with a IO input called ``io_uart_bb``.
.. literalinclude:: ../../fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/TestHarness.scala
:language: scala
:start-after: DOC include start: UartOverlay
:end-before: DOC include end: UartOverlay
Here the ``UARTOverlayKey`` is referenced and used to "place" the necessary connections (and collateral) to connect to the UART.
The ``UARTDesignInput`` is used to pass in the UART IO from the ``ChipTop``/``topDesign`` to the ``Overlay``.
Note that the ``BundleBridgeSource`` can be viewed as a glorified wire (that is defined in the ``LazyModule`` scope).
This pattern is similar for all other ``Overlays`` in the test harness.
They must be "placed" and given a set of inputs (IOs, parameters).
The main exception to this pattern is the ``Overlay`` used to generate the clock(s) for the FPGA.
.. literalinclude:: ../../fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/TestHarness.scala
:language: scala
:start-after: DOC include start: ClockOverlay
:end-before: DOC include end: ClockOverlay
Without going into too much detail, the clocks overlay is placed in the harness and a PLL node (``harnessSysPLL``) generates the necessary clocks specified by ``ClockSinkNodes``.
For ease of use, you can change the ``FPGAFrequencyKey`` to change the default clock frequency of the FPGA design.
After the harness is created, the ``BundleBridgeSource``'s must be connected to the ``ChipTop`` IOs.
This is done with harness binders and io binders (see ``fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/HarnessBinders.scala`` and ``fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/IOBinders.scala``).
For more information on harness binders and io binders, refer to :ref:`Customization/IOBinders:IOBinders and HarnessBinders`.
Introduction to the Bringup Platform
------------------------------------
An example of a more complicated design used for Chipyard test chips can be viewed in ``fpga/src/main/scala/vcu118/bringup/``.
This example extends the default test harness and creates new ``Overlays`` to connect to a DUT (connected to the FMC port).
Extensions include another UART (connected over FMC), I2C (connected over FMC), miscellaneous GPIOS (can be connected to anything), and a TSI Host Widget.
The TSI Host Widget is used to interact with the DUT from the prototype over a SerDes link (sometimes called the Low BandWidth InterFace - LBWIF) and provide access to a channel of the FPGA's DRAM.
.. Note:: Remember that since whenever a new test harness is created (or the config changes, or the config packages changes, or...), you need to modify the make invocation.
For example, ``make SUB_PROJECT=vcu118 CONFIG=MyNewVCU118Config CONFIG_PACKAGE=this.is.my.scala.package bitstream``.
See :ref:`Prototyping/General:Generating a Bitstream` for information on the various make variables.