Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGA Network-on-Chip (NoC) User Guide

Download PDF
ID 768844
Date 7/05/2023
Public

A newer version of this document is available. Customers should click here to go to the newest version.

Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Answers to Top FAQs 2. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview 3. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 4. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition 5. NoC Real-time Performance Monitoring 6. Simulating NoC Designs 7. NoC Power Estimation 8. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference 9. Document Revision History of Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGA Network-on-Chip (NoC) User Guide
2. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview x
2.1. Introduction to Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 2.2. Terminology for Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 2.3. General NoC Architecture and Applications
2.3. General NoC Architecture and Applications x
2.3.1. General NoC Architecture 2.3.2. Example NoC Applications
2.3.2. Example NoC Applications x
2.3.2.1. Parallel Computing NoC Application 2.3.2.2. SmartNIC NoC Application
3. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs x
3.1. High-Level Architecture 3.2. NoC Segments 3.3. NoC Switch and Link Detail 3.4. Fabric NoC 3.5. NoC Protocol Support 3.6. NoC Design Considerations
3.2. NoC Segments x
3.2.1. UIB Segments 3.2.2. GPIO-B Segments 3.2.3. GPIO-B and HPS Segment 3.2.4. SDM Segment 3.2.5. PLL and SSM Segment
3.5. NoC Protocol Support x
3.5.1. AXI4 Protocol Support 3.5.2. AXI4 Handshaking Support 3.5.3. Quality of Service (QoS) Support 3.5.4. Transaction Ordering Support 3.5.5. AXI4 Lite Protocol Support
3.6. NoC Design Considerations x
3.6.1. Determining the Number of NoC Targets 3.6.2. Determining the Number of NoC Initiators 3.6.3. Fabric NoC Considerations 3.6.4. Latency Considerations 3.6.5. Initiator and Target Bandwidth Considerations 3.6.6. Horizontal Bandwidth Considerations 3.6.7. GPIO-B Bypass Mode and Initiators
4. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition x
4.1. Hard Memory NoC Design Flow Overview 4.2. Using NoC Example Designs 4.3. NoC Building Blocks 4.4. Connecting NoC IP 4.5. Making NoC Logical Assignments 4.6. (Recommended) Make NoC Physical Assignments Using Interface Planner 4.7. Compiling the NoC Design
4.1. Hard Memory NoC Design Flow Overview x
4.1.1. NoC Design Flow Options
4.3. NoC Building Blocks x
4.3.1. NoC Initiators for Hard Processor Systems 4.3.2. NoC Targets for Hard Processor Systems 4.3.3. NoC Initiators for Fabric AXI4 Managers 4.3.4. NoC Targets for Fabric AXI4 Managers 4.3.5. NoC Clock Control
4.4. Connecting NoC IP x
4.4.1. General NoC IP Connectivity Guidelines 4.4.2. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Initiators for Fabric AXI4 Managers 4.4.3. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Targets for Fabric AXI4 Managers 4.4.4. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Clock Control 4.4.5. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Initiators for HPS 4.4.6. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Targets for HPS
4.4.1. General NoC IP Connectivity Guidelines x
4.4.1.1. Connecting NoC IP and Assigning Base Addresses in the Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.4.1.2. Connecting NoC IP and Assigning Base Addresses in the NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.5. Making NoC Logical Assignments x
4.5.1. Creating NoC Assignments for Compilation 4.5.2. Using the NoC Assignment Editor
4.5.2. Using the NoC Assignment Editor x
4.5.2.1. Step 1: Make Group Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 4.5.2.2. Step 2: Make Connection Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 4.5.2.3. Step 3: Make Attribute Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 4.5.2.4. Step 4: Validate Logical NoC Assignments and Generate Simulation File
4.6. (Recommended) Make NoC Physical Assignments Using Interface Planner x
4.6.1. Using Interface Planner 4.6.2. Recommended Placement Order for NoC Elements in Interface Planner 4.6.3. Hard Memory NoC Locations in Interface Planner 4.6.4. NoC Performance Reports in Interface Planner
4.7. Compiling the NoC Design x
4.7.1. Fitter NoC Reports Fitter NoC Performance Report 4.7.2. Viewing NoC Elements in Chip Planner
6. Simulating NoC Designs x
6.1. Adding NoC Connectivity and Address Mapping to the Simulation Netlist 6.2. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow) 6.3. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (Platform Designer Connection Flow) 6.4. Contents of Simulation Registration Include File
7. NoC Power Estimation x
7.1. Using the Intel FPGA PTC to Estimate NoC Power
8. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference x
8.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP 8.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP
8.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP x
8.1.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Parameters 8.1.2. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Interfaces
8.1.2. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Interfaces x
8.1.2.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP AXI4/AXI4 Lite Interfaces 8.1.2.2. NoC Initiator AXI4 User Interface Signals 8.1.2.3. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP AXI4 Lite User Interface Signals 8.1.2.4. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Clock and Reset Signals 8.1.2.5. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Platform Designer-Only Signals
8.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP x
8.2.1. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Parameters 8.2.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Interfaces 8.2.3. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Platform Designer-only Signals
1. Answers to Top FAQs
2. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview
3. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs
4. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition
5. NoC Real-time Performance Monitoring
6. Simulating NoC Designs
7. NoC Power Estimation
8. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference
9. Document Revision History of Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGA Network-on-Chip (NoC) User Guide

4.7.1. Fitter NoC Reports

The Compilation Report includes the NoC Connectivity Report and the NoC Performance Report in the Plan Stage section of the Fitter Report.

The NoC Connectivity Report provides information on connections between NoC initiators and targets in the implemented design, and their associated base addresses. Use this report to verify that the implementation of connection and attribute assignments are correct.

Figure 31. Sample NoC Connectivity Report shows an example NoC Connectivity Report. The table in this report contains a row for each initiator to target connection. Additional rows may report any unconnected NoC elements. The following columns report data:

  • Group—displays the connection's NoC group assignment.
  • Status—displays whether the row is for connected or unconnected elements.
  • Initiator—lists the NoC initiator elements.
  • Target—lists the NoC target elements.
  • Address—displays the hexadecimal base address for each connection
Figure 31. Sample NoC Connectivity Report


Fitter NoC Performance Report

The Fitter NoC Performance report uses actual design clock frequencies determined during bandwidth analysis to report performance data. This report is similar to the NoC Performance Report that the Interface Planner generates. However, the Interface Planner report uses only estimated design clock frequencies. The Fitter NoC Performance report shows the maximum possible bandwidth and the total of requested bandwidth for the congested path. This report indicates whether you can achieve the requested bandwidth, or whether the connection is congested; and provides information about the cause of the congestion. The cause of congestion is an indication of where the congestion occurs, and which other connections contribute to that congestion.

Note: The read and write transaction size affect the total bandwidth. The default transaction size is 64 B, corresponding to the physical width of the horizontal links in the hard memory NoC. Smaller transaction sizes utilize the NoC inefficiently, resulting in less effective bandwidth.

The following are some possible causes of congestion:

  • The sum of bandwidth that you specified for all connections (read and write combined) entering a target exceeds the target bandwidth limit.
  • The sum of bandwidth that you specified for all connections leaving an initiator exceeds the initiator bandwidth limit.
  • The sum of connections on any node in the body of the NoC exceeds the bandwidth capability of that element in the NoC.
  • A connection shares any node in the NoC with another connection that has congestion. In other words, slower connection B traffic delays the connection A traffic.
  • Over-saturation of the horizontal bandwidth available in the NoC. This condition is the result of multiple initiator to target connections requesting bandwidth in the same direction through a horizontal section of the NoC. The NoC Performance Report message reports the congested segments. You can adjust initiator placement to alleviate congestion. For important considerations when choosing initiator interface bridge placement, refer to the tables in Horizontal Bandwidth Considerations and High-Speed Interconnect NoC Locations in Interface Planner to translate location choices into physical placements.
Figure 32. Sample NoC Performance Report Messages- Excessive Requested Bandwidth

For example, if the sum of all bandwidth requirements through a particular initiator is greater than the bandwidth that the initiator can support, based on the data width and operating frequency of its AXI4 interface. To avoid this problem, either reduce bandwidth requirements or increase bandwidth capability. The NoC Performance Report Messages show:

Figure 33. Performance Report Message Column Congestion Details


Level Two Title