Introduction

This is the full howto make an APF6_SP CycloneV example design which uses :

PCIe
DDR3
General Purpose Input/Outputs
- LED
- Button

This howto is designed for :

APF6D_SP-M1GE4G-4m-BW-C4M384: APF6_SP Dual with CycloneV C4 (speed C8) and two DDR3 chips
Quartus 15.1.1 : Quartus 15 with update 1
- To install Quartus 15 see this page.

The full design for this howto

Make the quartus project

Open the "New Project Wizard" in Quartus
Select a directory for the design, for example /home/your_name/workspace and a project name apf6_the_full_howto:
Then Choose Empty Project and don't add any file yet -> press "Finish"
Change the device : right click on "Cyclone V"->Devices... in Project Navigator
Select the part number : 5CGXFC4C7U19C8
In the same window, click on Device and Pin Options
in CvP Settings set this options:
- Configuration via Protocol: Core initialization and update
then select "OK" two times

Make the Qsys project

Open Qsys: Tools->Qsys
Delete the component clk_0 then save the Qsys project as : qsys_tfht.qsys
Click on Finish and generate the component with all options left by default
Under Quartus project add the Qsys project (don't forget to click on add after selected here).

How to add a file in project

Right click on qsys_tfht.qsys and set as Top-Level Entity
Relaunch Qsys by double-clicking on the file in "Project Navigator"

Adding the PCIe and CvP

In IP Catalog select the component:

Library
    Interface Protocols
        PCI Express
            Avalon-MM Cyclone V Hard IP for PCI Express

"Add" it to design.
PCIe configuration:
- Number of Lanes: x1
- Reference clock frequency: 125Mhz
- check Use 62.5 MHz application clock
- check Enable configuration via the PCIe link
- BAR0: 32-bit non-prefetchable memory
- BAR1: 32-bit non-prefetchable memory
- BAR2: 32-bit non-prefetchable memory
- Vendor ID: 0x00001172
- Device ID: 0x0000e001
- Class Code: 0x00001300: there is a bug in quartus, the actual class code is here 13

click on "Finish"
Export these signals with name in bold (right click in "Hierarchy", then choose "Connections" and "Export as:...":
- refclk : refclk
- npor: npor
- hip_serial: hip_serial
connect Rxm_BAR0 on Cra (always right click in "Hierarchy", then "Connections"...)

Add CvP component reconfig driver, with all default parameters:

Library
    Interface Protocols
        PCI Express
            Altera PCIe Reconfig Driver

Connect previous IP signals with:
- coreclkout -> reconfig_xcvr_clk
- coreclkout -> pld_clk
- nreset_status -> reconfig_xcvr_rst

Add CvP component transceiver, with all default parameters:

Library
    Interface Protocols
        Transceiver PHY
            Transceiver Reconfiguration Controller

Connect previous PCIe IP signals with:
- coreclkout -> mgmt_clk_clk
- nreset_status -> mgmt_rst_reset
- reconfig_mgmt -> reconfig_mgmt
- reconfig_driver.reconfig_busy -> reconfig_busy
- pci.reconfig_to_xcvr -> reconfig_to_xcvr
- pci.reconfig_from_xcvr -> reconfig_from_xcvr

you should end up with the following wiring:

Wiring result after PCIe configured

Adding the DDR3

Note: If not indicated, parameters should be left to default one !

UniPHY controller

In the IP catalog, select:

Library
    Memory Interfaces and Controllers
        Memory Interfaces with UniPHY
            DDR3 SDRAM Controller with UniPHY

Select checkbox Enable Hard External Memory Interface

In tab PHY Settings configure:
- Speed Grade: 8
- Memory clock frequency: 375Mhz
- PLL reference clock frequency: 62.5Mhz
- Rate on Avalon-MM interface: Full
- supply Voltage: 1.35V DDR3L
In tab Memory Parameters
- In "Presets" (right of the window) select: JEDEC DDR3-1G6 2GB X8 and apply
- Memory device speed grade: 400Mhz
- Total interface width: 24
- Row address width: 14

In tab Controller Settings
- checkbox: Generate power-of-2 data bus widths for Qsys or SOPC Builder
- checkbox: Enable Configuration and Status Register Interface (Internal JTAG)
- checkbox: Enable Error Detection and Correction Logic

Click on Finish

Connect following signals:
- coreclkout -> pll_ref_clk
- coreclkout -> mp_cmd_clk_0
- coreclkout -> mp_rfifo_clk_0
- coreclkout -> mp_wfifo_clk_0
- coreclkout -> csr_clk
- nreset_status -> global_reset
- nreset_status -> soft_reset
- nreset_status -> mp_cmd_reset_n_0
- nreset_status -> mp_rfifo_reset_n_0
- nreset_status -> mp_wfifo_reset_n_0
- nreset_status -> csr_reset_n

Span extender

DDR3 memory is to large for PCIe BAR domain. Then we have to use a span extender to adapt PCIe BAR domain to DDR3 domain.

Select span expander in IP Library:

Library
    Basic Functions
        Bridges and Adaptors
            Memory Mapped
                Address Span Extender

Configure it with these options:
- Datapath Width: 64bits
- Slave Word Address Width: 20bits
- press "Finish"

Connect following PCIe IP signals to extender one:
- coreclckout -> clock
- nreset_status -> reset
- Rxm_BAR0 -> cntl
  - Change base address of cntl to 0x0000_4000
- Rxm_BAR1 -> windowed_slave
And foolowing extender signals to DDR3 one:
- expanded_master -> avl_0

Adding the button and LED (PIO)

Documentation of the PIO component can be found here.

In IP Library select:

Library
    Processors and Peripherals
        Peripherals
            PIO (Parallel I/O)

Configure it with these options:
- Width: 2
- Direction: Bidir
- checkbox Synchronously capture
- Edge Type: RISING
- checkbox Generate IRQ
- IRQ Type: EDGE
click on finish

export external_connection to pio

Connect following signals:
- coreclkout -> clk
- nreset_status -> reset
- Rxm_BAR2 -> s1
- irq -> Rxmirq

Qsys component schematic

The resulting schematics should give the figure below.

The full connections in qsys component

Now click on finish and generate the component with all default parameters kept.

Generate bitstream with Quartus

Make a first synthesis, under task right click and start on :

Compile Design
    + Analysis & Synthesis

Pinout

PCIe
- Create a file named 'pcie_pinout.tcl and edit it.
- Copy all lines from here.
- Save then add the file to project
- Run the script with following menu, select it then run:

Tools
    TCL Scripts ...

DDR3
- Create a file named 'ddr3_pinout.tcl and edit it.
- Copy all lines from here (Pinout placement and Technology pinout).
- Save then add the file to project
- Run the script with following menu, select it then run:

Tools
    TCL Scripts ...

Button & Led
- Open the pinplanner by double-click in tasks:

Compile Design
    Analysis & Synthesis
        I/O Assignment Analysis
            Pin Planner

- For button pio_export[0] select Location column and set it to : PIN_L9
- For led pio_export[1] select Location column and set it to : PIN_M10
- Close the Pin Planner

Synthesis, Place & route

Right click on Analysis and Synthesis then Start
Open a Linux console terminal then go to your project directory and type this:

$ cd ~/tmp/apf6_the_full_howto
$ find . -name "*_p0_pin_map.tcl" | xargs sed -iolt "/_mem_if_ddr3_emif_0_p0_get_input_clk_id {/a     return \$pll_output_node_id"

Note: Each time synthesis is relaunched, this shell line must be relaunch

Right click on Assembler (Generate programming files) then Start
Convert bitstream to rbf with menu:

File
   Convert Programming Files...

set these options:
- Programming file type: Raw Binary File (.rbf)
- Change the name to : output_files/tfht.rbf
- Select SOF Data in Input files to convert then click on Add File...
- add the file apf6_the_full_howto.sof in directory output_files
- checkbox Create CvP files (Generate tfht.periph.rbf and tfht.core.rbf)
- click on Generate
These files should be present on directory output_files:

ls -l tmp/apf6_the_full_howto/output_files/*.rbf
tmp/apf6_the_full_howto/output_files/tfht.core.rbf
tmp/apf6_the_full_howto/output_files/tfht.periph.rbf

Linux BSP configuration

Note: This is not an Armadeus BSP tutorial, the BSP is supposed to be installed and compiled according to this explains

Get a compiled BSP with following configuration : apf6_defconfig
Add PCI debug package with make menuconfig

Target packages  --->
    Hardware handling  --->
        [*] pcidebug

Then make the binaries and flash it on the apf6_sp.
Adding the rbf file to your tftpboot directory.

$ cp -v output_files/tfht.*.rbf /tftpboot/
‘output_files/tfht.core.rbf’ -> ‘/tftpboot/tfht.core.rbf’
‘output_files/tfht.periph.rbf’ -> ‘/tftpboot/tfht.periph.rbf’

Note: Refer to PCIe FPGA loading to understand FPGA configuration with PCIe

In U-Boot download the periph.rbf and configure FPGA (don't forget to configure your tftp server ip):

BIOS> tftpboot ${loadaddr} 192.168.0.214:tfht.periph.rbf
BIOS> fpga load 0 ${loadaddr} ${filesize}

Boot Linux

BIOS> boot
...
apf6 login: root

The three BARx should be seen with lspci command :

# lspci -v -s 01:00.0
01:00.0 Unclassified device [0013]: Altera Corporation Device e001 (rev 01)
        Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 341
        Memory at 01800000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=32K]
        Memory at 01000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=8M]
        Memory at 01808000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=32]
        Capabilities: [50] MSI: Enable- Count=1/4 Maskable- 64bit+
        Capabilities: [78] Power Management version 3
        Capabilities: [80] Express Endpoint, MSI 00
        Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
        Capabilities: [200] Vendor Specific Information: ID=1172 Rev=0 Len=044 <?>

Configure network:

$ udhcpc

Download core:

$ tftp -g -r tfht.core.rbf 192.168.0.214

Load the core bitstream:

$ load_fpga tfht.core.rbf
Altera CvP 0000:01:00.0: enabling device (0140 -> 0142)
Altera CvP 0000:01:00.0: Found and enabled PCI device with VID 0x1172, DID 0xE001
successfully init Altera CVP with major 248
Altera CvP 0000:01:00.0: Now starting CvP...
Altera CvP 0000:01:00.0: CvP successful, application layer now ready
8212+1 records in
8212+1 records out

User access to FPGA

DDR3

DDR3 is accessible via the BAR1, connect to BAR1:

$ pci_debug -s 01:00.0 -b1

Read first values of DDR3:

PCI> d32 0 20

00000000: AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA 
00000010: 55555555 55555555 55555555 55555555

Write values, then read back:

PCI> c32 0 CAFEDECA
PCI> c32 8 CACABEBE
PCI> d32 0 20

00000000: CAFEDECA AAAAAAAA CACABEBE AAAAAAAA 
00000010: 55555555 55555555 55555555 55555555

Exit pci_debug

PCI> quit

Only first 8MB (0x800000) are accessible for the moment, to access next 8MB, the span extender must be configured on BAR0.

Access BAR0 and configure span extender:

$ pci_debug -s 01:00.0 -b0

Read the span extender windows value at address 0x4000:

PCI> d32 4000 1

00004000: 00000000

Write the new required value :

PCI> c32 4000 800000
PCI> d32 4000 1

00004000: 00800000

Quit then reconnect pci_debug to change for bar1:

PCI> quit
$ pci_debug -s 01:00.0 -b1

Read value :

PCI> d32 0 20

00000000: 6B2171EA DFA5DA76 6CFB3F47 7AF9F526 
00000010: DBD85BAB 7F56CF7A 78FAD73B ECF997FE

Write some values:

PCI> c32 0 12345678
PCI> c32 4 9ABCDEF0
PCI> c32 10 12345678
PCI> c32 14 9ABCDEF0
PCI> d32 0 20

00000000: 12345678 9ABCDEF0 6CFB3F47 7AF9F526 
00000010: 12345678 9ABCDEF0 78FAD73B ECF997FE

Etc...

PIO (Button and led)

As seen on the first schematic of this tutorial, the PIO is plugged on the BAR2 of the PCIe.

Then first, connect to BAR2 with pci_debug:

$ pci_debug -s 01:00.0 -b2

Button

Read all PIO registers:

PCI> d32 0 8 

00000000: 00000001 00000000

Leave button pressed and read again:

PCI> d32 0 8

00000000: 00000000 00000000

led

set PIO[1] (led) as output:

PCI> c32 4 2

Turn on led

PCI> c32 0 2

Turn off led:

PCI> c32 0 0

Conclusion

This tutorial should give you the basics to use the CycloneV soldered on the APF6_SP module. Now you should know:

PCIe:
- How to instanciate the CycloneV hard IP
- How to read/write data with it from Linux with simple access

DDR3:
- How to instanciate and configure the UniPHY hard IP
- How to connect it to PCIe
- How to read/write simple data

Simple I/O:
- How to instanciate a simple port for I/O under Qsys
- How to drive it from Linux

Some subjects are not covered by this tutorial:

Managing PCIe interrupts
Write a Linux driver
Increase data bandwidth with PCIe-DMA (up to 140MB/s)
- From the FPGA to the i.MX6
- From the i.MX6 to the FPGA
Create a custom Qsys component
Using Serializer/Deserializer
And more ...

If you are interested in a specific subject, please contact Armadeus System they should do somethings for you.

Links & Resources

The full archive of quartus 15.1.1 project(zip)

APF6 SP The full howto

Contents

Introduction

Make the quartus project

Make the Qsys project

Adding the PCIe and CvP

Adding the DDR3

UniPHY controller

Span extender

Adding the button and LED (PIO)

Qsys component schematic

Generate bitstream with Quartus

Pinout

Synthesis, Place & route

Linux BSP configuration

User access to FPGA

DDR3

PIO (Button and led)

Conclusion

Links & Resources

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