Book Image

Architecting and Building High-Speed SoCs

By : Mounir Maaref
5 (1)
Book Image

Architecting and Building High-Speed SoCs

5 (1)
By: Mounir Maaref

Overview of this book

Modern and complex SoCs can adapt to many demanding system requirements by combining the processing power of ARM processors and the feature-rich Xilinx FPGAs. You’ll need to understand many protocols, use a variety of internal and external interfaces, pinpoint the bottlenecks, and define the architecture of an SoC in an FPGA to produce a superior solution in a timely and cost-efficient manner. This book adopts a practical approach to helping you master both the hardware and software design flows, understand key interconnects and interfaces, analyze the system performance and enhance it using the acceleration techniques, and finally build an RTOS-based software application for an advanced SoC design. You’ll start with an introduction to the FPGA SoCs technology fundamentals and their associated development design tools. Gradually, the book will guide you through building the SoC hardware and software, starting from the architecture definition to testing on a demo board or a virtual platform. The level of complexity evolves as the book progresses and covers advanced applications such as communications, security, and coherent hardware acceleration. By the end of this book, you'll have learned the concepts underlying FPGA SoCs’ advanced features and you’ll have constructed a high-speed SoC targeting a high-end FPGA from the ground up.

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Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Download the example code files
Code in Action
Download the color images
Conventions used
Get in touch
Share Your Thoughts
Download a free PDF copy of this book
1
Part 1: Fundamentals and the Main Features of High-Speed SoC and FPGA Designs
Part 1: Fundamentals and the Main Features of High-Speed SoC and FPGA Designs
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Introducing FPGA Devices and SoCs
Chapter 1: Introducing FPGA Devices and SoCs
Xilinx FPGA devices overview
Xilinx SoC overview and history
Xilinx Zynq-7000 SoC family hardware features
Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC family overview
SoC in ASIC technologies
Summary
Questions
3
Chapter 2: FPGA Devices and SoC Design Tools
Chapter 2: FPGA Devices and SoC Design Tools
Technical requirements
FPGA hardware design flow and tools overview
FPGA SoC hardware design tools
FPGA and SoC hardware verification flow and associated tools
FPGA SoC software design flow and associated tools
Summary
Questions
4
Chapter 3: Basic and Advanced On-Chip Busses and Interconnects
Chapter 3: Basic and Advanced On-Chip Busses and Interconnects
On-chip buses and interconnects overview
ARM AMBA interconnect protocols suite
OCP interconnect protocol
DMA engines and data movements
Data sharing and coherency challenges
Summary
Questions
5
Chapter 4: Connecting High-Speed Devices Using Buses and Interconnects
Chapter 4: Connecting High-Speed Devices Using Buses and Interconnects
Legacy off-chip interconnects overview
Introduction to the PCIe interconnect
Ethernet interconnect
Introduction to the Gen-Z protocol
CCIX protocol and off-chip data coherency
Summary
Questions
6
Chapter 5: Basic and Advanced SoC Interfaces
Chapter 5: Basic and Advanced SoC Interfaces
Interface definition by function
Processor cache fundamentals
Processor MMU fundamentals
Memory and storage interface topology
Summary
Questions
7
Part 2: Implementing High-Speed SoC Designs in an FPGA
Part 2: Implementing High-Speed SoC Designs in an FPGA
8
Chapter 6: What Goes Where in a High-Speed SoC Design
Chapter 6: What Goes Where in a High-Speed SoC Design
The SoC architecture exploration phase
SoC hardware and software partitioning
Hardware and software interfacing and communication
Introducing the Semi-Soft algorithm
Early SoC architecture modeling and the golden model
Summary
Questions
9
Chapter 7: FPGA SoC Hardware Design and Verification Flow
Chapter 7: FPGA SoC Hardware Design and Verification Flow
Technical requirements
Installing the Vivado tools on a Linux VM
Developing the SoC hardware microarchitecture
Design capture of an FPGA SoC hardware subsystem
Understanding the design constraints and PPA
Verifying the FPGA SoC design using RTL simulation
Implementing the FPGA SoC design and FPGA hardware image generation
Summary
Questions
10
Chapter 8: FPGA SoC Software Design Flow
Chapter 8: FPGA SoC Software Design Flow
Technical requirements
Major steps of the SoC software design flow
Setting up the BSP, boot software, drivers, and libraries for the software project
Defining the distributed software microarchitecture for the ETS SoC processors
Building the user software applications to initialize and test the SoC hardware
Summary
Questions
11
Chapter 9: SoC Design Hardware and Software Integration
Chapter 9: SoC Design Hardware and Software Integration
Technical requirements
Connecting to an FPGA SoC board and configuring the FPGA
The emulation platform for running the embedded software
Using QEMU in the Vitis IDE with the ETS SoC project
Using the emulation platform for debugging the SoC test software
Embedded software profiling using the Vitis IDE
Summary
Questions
12
Part 3: Implementation and Integration of Advanced High-Speed FPGA SoCs
Part 3: Implementation and Integration of Advanced High-Speed FPGA SoCs
13
Chapter 10: Building a Complex SoC Hardware Targeting an FPGA
Chapter 10: Building a Complex SoC Hardware Targeting an FPGA
Technical requirements
Building a complex SoC subsystem using Vivado IDE
System performance analysis and the system quantitative studies
Addressing the system coherency and using the Cortex-A9 ACP port
Summary
Questions
14
Chapter 11: Addressing the Security Aspects of an FPGA-Based SoC
Chapter 11: Addressing the Security Aspects of an FPGA-Based SoC
FPGA SoC hardware security features
ARM CPUs and their hardware security paradigm
Software security aspects and how they integrate the hardware’s available features
Building a secure FPGA-based SoC
Summary
Questions
15
Chapter 12: Building a Complex Software with an Embedded Operating System Flow
Chapter 12: Building a Complex Software with an Embedded Operating System Flow
Technical requirements
Embedded OS software design flow for Xilinx FPGA-based SoCs
Customizing and generating the BSP and the bootloader for FreeRTOS
Building a user application and running it on the target
Summary
Questions
16
Chapter 13: Video, Image, and DSP Processing Principles in an FPGA and SoCs
Chapter 13: Video, Image, and DSP Processing Principles in an FPGA and SoCs
DSP techniques using FPGAs
DSP in an SoC and hardware acceleration mechanisms
Video and image processing implementation in FPGA devices and SoCs
Summary
Questions
17
Chapter 14: Communication and Control Systems Implementation in FPGAs and SoCs
Chapter 14: Communication and Control Systems Implementation in FPGAs and SoCs
Communication protocol layers
Communication protocol layers mapping onto FPGA-based SoCs
Control systems overview
Control system hardware and software mappings onto FPGA-based SoCs
Summary
Questions
18
Index
Index
Why subscribe?
19
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Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoC family overview

The Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC is the second generation of the Xilinx SoC FPGAs based on the ARM CPU architecture. Like its predecessor, the Zynq-7000 SoC, it is based on the approach of combining the FPGA logic HW configurability and the SW programmability of its ARM CPUs but with improvements in both the FPGA logic and the ARM processor CPUs, as well as its PS features. The UltraScale+ MPSoC offers a heterogeneous topology that couples a powerful 64-bit application processor (implementing the ARMv8-A architecture) and a 32-bit real-time R-profile processor.

The PS includes many types of processing elements: an APU, such as the dual-core or quad-core Cortex-A53 cluster, the dual-core Cortex-R5F real-time processing unit (RPU), the Mali GPU, a PMU, and a video codec unit (VCU) in the EG series. The PS has an efficient power management scheme due to its granular power domains control and gated power islands. The Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC has a configurable system interconnect and offers the user overall flexibility to meet many application requirements. The following diagram provides an architectural view of the Zynq UltraScale+ SoC:

Figure 1.10 – Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC architecture – quad-core cluster

Figure 1.10 – Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC architecture – quad-core cluster

The following section provides a brief description of the main features of the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC. For a detailed technical description, please read the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC TRM at https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/user_guides/ug1085-zynq-ultrascale-trm.pdf.

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC APU

The CPU cluster topology is built around an ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, which comes in a quad-core or a dual-core MPCore. The CPU cores implement the Armv8-A architecture with support for the A64 instruction set in AArh64 or the A32/T32 instruction set in AArch32. Each CPU core comes with an L1 instruction cache with parity protection and an L1 data cache with ECC protection. The L1 instruction cache is 2-way set-associative, while the L1 data cache is 4-way set-associative. It also has its own MMU, an FPU, and a Neon SIMD engine. The CPU cluster has a 16-way set-associative L2 common cache and an SCU with an ACP port that extends cache coherency beyond the cluster with external masters in the PL. Each CPU core provides a performance figure of 2.3 DMIPS/MHz with an operating frequency of up to 1.5 GHz. The CPU core is also TrustZone enabled for secure operations.

The CPU cluster can operate in symmetric SMP and asymmetric AMP modes with the power island gating for each processor core. Its unified Level 2 cache is ECC protected, is 1 MB in size, and is common to all CPU cores and both instructions and data.

The APU has a 128-bit AXI coherent extension (ACE) port that connects to the PS cache coherent interconnect (CCI), which is associated with the system memory management unit (SMMU). The APU has an ACP slave port that allows the PL master to coherently access the APU caches.

The APU has a GICv2 general interrupt controller (GIC). The GIC acts as a distributor of interrupts to the CPU cluster cores according to the user’s configuration, with support for priority, preemption, virtualization, and security. Each CPU core contains four of the ARM generic timers. The cluster has a watchdog timer (WDT), one global timer, and two triple timers/counters (TTCs).

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC RPU

The RPU contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-R5F cluster. The CPU cores are 32-bit real-time profile CPUs based on the ARM-v7R architecture. Each CPU core is associated with tightly coupled memory (TCM). TCM is deterministic and good for hosting real-time, latency-sensitive application code and data. The CPU cores have 32 KB L1 instruction and data caches. It has an interrupt controller and interfaces to the PS elements and the PL via two AXI-4 ports connected to the low-power domain switch. Software debugging and tracing is done via the ARM CoreSight Debug subsystem.

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC GPU

The PS includes an ARM Mali-400 GPU. The GPU includes a geometry processor (GP) and has an MMU and a Level 2 cache that’s 64 KB in size. The GPU supports OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0, as well as OpenVG 1.1 standards.

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU

The video codec unit (VCU) supports H.265 and H.264 video encoding and decoding standards. The VCU can concurrently encode/decode up to 4Kx2K at 60 frames per second (FPS).

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC PMU

The PMU augments the PS with many functionalities for startup and low power modes, some of which are as follows:

  • System boot and initialization
  • Manages the wakeup events and low processing power tasks when the APU and RPU are in low-power states
  • Controls the power-up and restarts on wakeup
  • Sequences the low-level events needed for power-up, power-down, and reset
  • Manages the clock gating and power domains
  • Handles system errors and their associated reporting
  • Performs memory scrubbing for error detection at runtime

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC DMA channels

The PS has 8-channel DMA engines that support transactions between memories, peripherals, as well as scatter-gather operations. Their interfaces are based on the AXI protocol. They are split into two categories: the low power domain (LPD) DMA and full power domain (FPD) DMA. The LPD DMA is I/O coherent with the CCI, whereas the FPD DMA is not.

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC memory interfaces

In this section, we will look at the various Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC memory interfaces.

DDR memory controller

The PS has a multiport DDR SDRAM memory controller. Its internal interface consists of six AXI data ports and an AXI control interface. There is a port dedicated to the RPU, while two ports are connected to the CCI; the remaining ports are shared between the DisplayPort controller, the FPD DMA, and the PL. Different types of SDRAM DDR memories are supported, namely DDR3, DDR3L, LPDDR3, DDR4, and LPDDR4.

Static memory interfaces

The external SMC supports managed NAND flash (eMMC 4.51) and NAND flash (24-bit ECC). Serial NOR flash is also supported via 1-bit, 2-bit, Quad-SPI, and dual Quad-SPI (8-bit).

OCM memory

The PS also has an on-chip RAM that’s 256 KB in size, which provides low latency storage for the CPU cores. The OCM controller provides eight exclusive access monitors to help implement inter-cluster atomic primitives for access to shared memory regions within the MPSoC.

The OCM memory is implemented as a 32-bit wide memory for achieving a high read/write throughput and uses read-modify-write operations for accesses that are smaller in size. It also has a protection unit and divides the OCM address space into 64 regions, where each region can have separate security and access attributes.

QSPI flash controller

There are two Quad-SPI controllers in the IOP block of the PS, as follows:

  • A legacy Quad-SPI (LQSPI) controller that presents the flash device as a linear memory space on the AXI interface of the controller. It supports eXecute-in-Place (XIP) for booting and running application software.
  • A generic Quad-SPI (GQSPI) controller that provides I/O, DMA, and SPI mode interfacing. Boot and XIP are not supported by the GQSPI.

The PS can only use a single controller at a time. The Quad-SPI controllers access multi-bit flash memory devices for high throughput and low pin-count applications.

Zynq-UltraScale+ MPSoC IOs

The PS integrates 4-Gb transceivers that can operate at a data rate of up to 6.0 Gb/s. These transceivers can be used as part of the physical layer of the peripherals for high-speed communication.

PCIe interface

The PS includes a PCIe Gen2 with either x1, x2, or x4 width. It can operate as a root complex or endpoint. It can act as a master on its AXI interface using its DMA engine.

SATA interface

The PS integrates two SATA host port interfaces that conform to the SATA 3.1 specification and the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) version 1.3. Operation speeds at 1.5 Gb/s, 3.0 Gb/s, and 6.0 Gb/s data rates are supported.

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC IOP block

The IOP block contains external communication interfaces. The IOP block includes many external interfaces, such as Ethernet MACs, USB controllers, CAN Bus controllers, SDIO interfaces, SPI and I2C ports, and high-speed UARTs.

Zynq-UltraScale+ MPSoC interconnect

The PS interconnect is formed of multiple switches to connect system resources and is based on the ARM AMBA 4.0. The switches are grouped with high-speed bridges, allowing data and commands to flow freely between them. The PS interconnect has separate segments: a full-power domain (FPD) and a low-power domain (LPD). It has QoS and performance monitoring features. It also performs transaction monitoring to avoid interconnect hangs. The interconnect uses the AXI Isolation Block (AIB) module to isolate ports and allows you to power them down to save power. The interconnect has a CCI-400 to extend cache coherency outside of the APU cluster and an SMMU so that virtual addresses outside of the APU cluster can be used.

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