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

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ID 768844
Date 10/12/2023
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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. Making 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 4.5.3. NoC Connection and Addressing Examples
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
4.5.3. NoC Connection and Addressing Examples x
4.5.3.1. Example 1: External Memory Interface with 1 AXI4 Initiator and 1 AXI4-Lite Initiator 4.5.3.2. Example 2: Two External Memory Interfaces with One AXI4 Initiator and One AXI4-Lite Initiator 4.5.3.3. Example 3: One External Memory Interfaces with Two AXI4 Initiators and One AXI4-Lite Initiator 4.5.3.4. Example 4: Two High-Bandwidth Memory Pseudo-Channels with Two AXI4 Initiators (Crossbar) and Shared AXI4-Lite Initiator 4.5.3.5. Example 5: Hard Processor System with Two External Memory Interfaces
4.5.3.1. Example 1: External Memory Interface with 1 AXI4 Initiator and 1 AXI4-Lite Initiator x
4.5.3.1.1. Example 1: Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.5.3.1.2. Example 1: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.5.3.2. Example 2: Two External Memory Interfaces with One AXI4 Initiator and One AXI4-Lite Initiator x
4.5.3.2.1. Example 2: Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.5.3.2.2. Example 2: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.5.3.3. Example 3: One External Memory Interfaces with Two AXI4 Initiators and One AXI4-Lite Initiator x
4.5.3.3.1. Example 3: Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.5.3.3.2. Example 3: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.5.3.4. Example 4: Two High-Bandwidth Memory Pseudo-Channels with Two AXI4 Initiators (Crossbar) and Shared AXI4-Lite Initiator x
4.5.3.4.1. Example 4: Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.5.3.4.2. Example 4: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.5.3.5. Example 5: Hard Processor System with Two External Memory Interfaces x
4.5.3.5.1. Example 5: Platform Designer Connection Flow 4.5.3.5.2. Example 5: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
4.6. Making 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 4.7.2. Viewing NoC Elements in Chip Planner
6. Simulating NoC Designs x
6.1. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (Platform Designer Connection Flow) 6.2. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow) 6.3. 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

4.6. Making NoC Physical Assignments Using Interface Planner

After design synthesis, you can use the Intel® Quartus® Prime Interface Planner to help you to make physical assignments to define a legal device floorplan.

Note: It is best to use Interface Planner to specify NoC physical assignments. Otherwise, the Fitter automatically chooses the location of NoC elements and does not optimize for bandwidth utilization.

Interface Planner allows you to assign physical locations for the periphery elements in your design, such as external memory interfaces or other general purpose I/O. You can also use Interface Planner to assign physical locations for NoC initiators, PLLs, and SSMs. For step-by-step instructions on using Interface Planner, refer to Using Interface Planner.

Figure 45. Interface Planner Design Tab


Interface Planner displays your project's logical hierarchy, post-synthesis design elements, and Fitter-created design elements, alongside a floorplan view of target device locations. The GUI supports a variety of methods for placing design elements in the floorplan. As you place elements in the floorplan, the Fitter verifies legality in real time to ensure accurate correlation with the final implementation.

You can use Interface Planner to assign physical locations for NoC initiators, targets (as part of the HBM2e or external memory interfaces), PLLs, and SSMs. If you do not make physical assignments for NoC elements, the Fitter places NoC elements automatically during compilation. However, the Fitter automatic placement does not optimize for bandwidth utilization.

It is best to place NoC initiators that communicate with AXI4 Lite targets close to the NoC SSM. This placement reduces AXI4 Lite access latency and separates AXI4 Lite and memory traffic on the hard memory NoC.

You use the floorplan view in Interface Planner to place hard memory NoC and periphery elements. There are three floorplan views available:

  • NoC View—shows a filtered view of NoC initiators and targets.
  • Chip View—shows the placeable locations for hard memory NoC elements, including NoC initiators, targets, PLLs, and SSMs.
  • Package View—NoC elements are not visible in the Package View.

In the Chip View, the available NoC initiator and target locations appear as rows of small boxes across the top and bottom edges of the device, between the FPGA fabric and the periphery I/O structures. Placing your cursor over locations displays a tooltip indicating whether the location supports only an initiator, only a target, or both an initiator and a target.

The available NoC PLL and NoC SSM locations appear as smaller boxes at the end of the row of initiators and targets. The PLL and SSM locations appear at the left end of the rows (if using the Chip Top view), or at the right end of the rows (if using the Chip Bottom view). The HPS appears at the top right (if using the Chip Top view) or at the top left (if using the Chip Bottom view).

Figure 46. Interface Planner Chip View, Closeup of NoC Features shows an example of the Interface Planner Chip View showing the top left corner of the die as viewed from the top. The two smaller pink boxes at the top left corner of the fabric are the locations of the NoC PLL and the NoC SSM.

Figure 46. Interface Planner Chip View, Close-up of NoC Features

In the NoC View, only the NoC initiators and targets are visible as larger rectangles. The targets and initiators for both high-speed NoC along the top edge of the die, and the high-speed NoC along the bottom edge of the die, are visible. The NoC View splits the initiators and targets that may share the same location in the Chip View.

The outer-top and outer-bottom rows are the targets for the top-edge NoC and bottom-edge NoC, respectively. Similarly, the inner-top and inner-bottom rows are the initiators for the top-edge NoC and bottom-edge NoC, respectively. As with the Chip View, if you place your cursor over one of these locations, a tooltip reports if that location supports a target or an initiator.

Figure 47. NoC View Showing Targets and Initiators is an example of the Interface Planner NoC View showing the targets and initiators for both the top-edge NoC and the bottom-edge NoC. The row of initiators along the top edge shows 21 rectangles. 20 of these rectangles are for fabric-facing initiators. The last rectangle contains the two HPS-facing initiators.

Figure 47.  NoC View Showing Targets and Initiators



Section Content
Using Interface Planner
Recommended Placement Order for NoC Elements in Interface Planner
Hard Memory NoC Locations in Interface Planner
NoC Performance Reports in Interface Planner

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