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

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ID 768844
Date 12/04/2023
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview 2. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 3. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition 4. NoC Real-time Performance Monitoring 5. Simulating NoC Designs 6. NoC Power Estimation 7. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference 8. Document Revision History of Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGA Network-on-Chip (NoC) User Guide
1. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview x
1.1. Introduction to Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 1.2. Terminology for Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs 1.3. General NoC Architecture and Applications
1.3. General NoC Architecture and Applications x
1.3.1. General NoC Architecture 1.3.2. Example NoC Applications
1.3.2. Example NoC Applications x
1.3.2.1. Parallel Computing NoC Application 1.3.2.2. SmartNIC NoC Application
2. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs x
2.1. High-Level Architecture 2.2. NoC Segments 2.3. NoC Switch and Link Detail 2.4. Fabric NoC 2.5. NoC Protocol Support 2.6. NoC Design Considerations
2.2. NoC Segments x
2.2.1. UIB Segments 2.2.2. GPIO-B Segments 2.2.3. GPIO-B and HPS Segment 2.2.4. SDM Segment 2.2.5. PLL and SSM Segment
2.5. NoC Protocol Support x
2.5.1. AXI4 Protocol Support 2.5.2. AXI4 Handshaking Support 2.5.3. Quality of Service (QoS) Support 2.5.4. Transaction Ordering Support 2.5.5. AXI4-Lite Protocol Support
2.6. NoC Design Considerations x
2.6.1. Determining the Number of NoC Targets 2.6.2. Determining the Number of NoC Initiators 2.6.3. Fabric NoC Considerations 2.6.4. Latency Considerations 2.6.5. Initiator and Target Bandwidth Considerations 2.6.6. Horizontal Bandwidth Considerations 2.6.7. GPIO-B Bypass Mode and Initiators
3. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition x
3.1. Hard Memory NoC Design Flow Overview 3.2. Using NoC Example Designs 3.3. NoC Building Blocks 3.4. Connecting NoC IP 3.5. Making NoC Logical Assignments 3.6. Making NoC Physical Assignments Using Interface Planner 3.7. Compiling the NoC Design
3.1. Hard Memory NoC Design Flow Overview x
3.1.1. NoC Design Flow Options
3.3. NoC Building Blocks x
3.3.1. NoC Initiators for Hard Processor Systems 3.3.2. NoC Targets for Hard Processor Systems 3.3.3. NoC Initiators for Fabric AXI4 Managers 3.3.4. NoC Targets for Fabric AXI4 Managers 3.3.5. NoC Clock Control
3.4. Connecting NoC IP x
3.4.1. General NoC IP Connectivity Guidelines 3.4.2. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Initiators for Fabric AXI4 Managers 3.4.3. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Targets for Fabric AXI4 Managers 3.4.4. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Clock Control 3.4.5. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Initiators for HPS 3.4.6. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Targets for HPS
3.4.1. General NoC IP Connectivity Guidelines x
3.4.1.1. Connecting NoC IP and Assigning Base Addresses in the Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.4.1.2. Connecting NoC IP and Assigning Base Addresses in the NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.5. Making NoC Logical Assignments x
3.5.1. Creating NoC Assignments for Compilation 3.5.2. Using the NoC Assignment Editor 3.5.3. Troubleshooting NoC Assignment Editor 3.5.4. NoC Connection and Addressing Examples
3.5.2. Using the NoC Assignment Editor x
3.5.2.1. Step 1: Make Group Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 3.5.2.2. Step 2: Make Connection Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 3.5.2.3. Step 3: Make Attribute Assignments in the NoC Assignment Editor 3.5.2.4. Step 4: Validate Logical NoC Assignments and Generate Simulation File
3.5.4. NoC Connection and Addressing Examples x
3.5.4.1. Example 1: External Memory Interface with 1 AXI4 Initiator and 1 AXI4-Lite Initiator 3.5.4.2. Example 2: Two External Memory Interfaces with One AXI4 Initiator and One AXI4-Lite Initiator 3.5.4.3. Example 3: One External Memory Interfaces with Two AXI4 Initiators and One AXI4-Lite Initiator 3.5.4.4. Example 4: Two High-Bandwidth Memory Pseudo-Channels with Two AXI4 Initiators (Crossbar) and Shared AXI4-Lite Initiator 3.5.4.5. Example 5: Hard Processor System with Two External Memory Interfaces
3.5.4.1. Example 1: External Memory Interface with 1 AXI4 Initiator and 1 AXI4-Lite Initiator x
3.5.4.1.1. Example 1: Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.5.4.1.2. Example 1: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.5.4.2. Example 2: Two External Memory Interfaces with One AXI4 Initiator and One AXI4-Lite Initiator x
3.5.4.2.1. Example 2: Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.5.4.2.2. Example 2: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.5.4.3. Example 3: One External Memory Interfaces with Two AXI4 Initiators and One AXI4-Lite Initiator x
3.5.4.3.1. Example 3: Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.5.4.3.2. Example 3: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.5.4.4. Example 4: Two High-Bandwidth Memory Pseudo-Channels with Two AXI4 Initiators (Crossbar) and Shared AXI4-Lite Initiator x
3.5.4.4.1. Example 4: Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.5.4.4.2. Example 4: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.5.4.5. Example 5: Hard Processor System with Two External Memory Interfaces x
3.5.4.5.1. Example 5: Platform Designer Connection Flow 3.5.4.5.2. Example 5: NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow
3.6. Making NoC Physical Assignments Using Interface Planner x
3.6.1. Using Interface Planner 3.6.2. Recommended Placement Order for NoC Elements in Interface Planner 3.6.3. Hard Memory NoC Locations in Interface Planner 3.6.4. NoC Performance Reports in Interface Planner
3.7. Compiling the NoC Design x
3.7.1. Fitter NoC Reports 3.7.2. Viewing NoC Elements in Chip Planner
5. Simulating NoC Designs x
5.1. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (Platform Designer Connection Flow) 5.2. Generating a Simulation Registration Include File (NoC Assignment Editor Connection Flow) 5.3. Contents of Simulation Registration Include File
6. NoC Power Estimation x
6.1. Using the Intel FPGA PTC to Estimate NoC Power
7. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference x
7.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP 7.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP
7.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP x
7.1.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Parameters 7.1.2. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Interfaces
7.1.2. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Interfaces x
7.1.2.1. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP AXI4/AXI4-Lite Interfaces 7.1.2.2. NoC Initiator AXI4 User Interface Signals 7.1.2.3. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP AXI4-Lite User Interface Signals 7.1.2.4. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Clock and Reset Signals 7.1.2.5. NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP Platform Designer-Only Signals
7.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP x
7.2.1. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Parameters 7.2.2. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Interfaces 7.2.3. NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP Platform Designer-only Signals
Answers to Top FAQs
1. Network-on-Chip (NoC) Overview
2. Hard Memory NoC in Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGAs
3. NoC Design Flow in Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition
4. NoC Real-time Performance Monitoring
5. Simulating NoC Designs
6. NoC Power Estimation
7. Hard Memory NoC IP Reference
8. Document Revision History of Intel Agilex® 7 M-Series FPGA Network-on-Chip (NoC) User Guide

3.4.2. Connectivity Guidelines: NoC Initiators for Fabric AXI4 Managers

The NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP uses a separate NoC initiator bridge for each AXI4 subordinate interface that you specify when configuring the IP. If you configure the IP with AXI4 Lite subordinate interfaces, these interfaces all share the bandwidth of the first NoC initiator bridge that the IP uses. If you configure the IP with only AXI4 Lite interfaces, all the AXI4 Lite subordinates share a single physical NoC initiator bridge.

If you configure the NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP with unequal read and write AXI4 data widths, the IP exposes two AXI4 subordinate interfaces per initiator bridge. One of these interfaces uses the Fabric NoC and is only for read transactions, as Fabric NoC describes. This interface has only the AXI4 AR and R channels. The other interface is only for write transactions, having only the AXI4 AW, W, and B channels. Configure these AXI4 subordinate interfaces for compatibility with the AXI4 managers in your design.

If you configure the NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP for per-interface clock and reset signals, there are separate clock and reset connections for each AXI4 and AXI4 Lite subordinate interface. Otherwise, there is a single clock and reset to provide clocking and reset to all AXI4 interfaces, and another single clock and reset to provide clocking and reset to all AXI4 Lite subordinates. Connect the clock and reset interfaces to clock and reset sources in your design. Each AXI4 or AXI4 Lite subordinate interface must be synchronous to its clock and reset connections.

AXI4 resets are active-low and you can assert the resets asynchronously. However, you must deassert AXI4 resets on a rising edge of the clock that you use to drive data and handshake signals of the associated AXI4 interfaces.

If you choose to configure the NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP with a read data width of 512 or 576 bits, you can also configure the IP with a separate clock for the NoC initiator bridges. In this case, the IP exposes an additional clock input. Interface Planner displays each NoC initiator bridge as a AXI4 NoC manager interface, whether configured for AXI4, AXI4 Lite, or both. The AXI4 NoC manager interfaces do not exist in the RTL representation of this IP.

  • If you are using the Platform Designer connection flow, as NoC Design Flow Options describes, instantiate your NoC IP in Platform Designer and connect each AXI4 NoC manager interface to one or more AXI4 NoC subordinate interfaces in the System View tab. Only connect AXI4 NoC manager interfaces on NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP to memory resources for fabric managers, such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2E) Interface Intel Agilex 7 FPGA IP or External Memory Interfaces (EMIF) IP, or to the NoC Clock Control Intel FPGA IP for access to the NoC performance monitors. Do not connect the NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP to memory resources for the HPS in the External Memory Interfaces for HPS Intel FPGA IP. After connecting AXI4 NoC manager and AXI4 NoC subordinate interfaces, click the Address Map tab in Platform Designer to specify the base address for each connection. If an AXI4 NoC manager interface connects to multiple AXI4 NoC subordinate interfaces, ensure each connection has a unique starting address. You can click the Assign Base Addresses button to allow Platform Designer to assign addresses automatically.
  • If you are using the NoC Assignment Editor connection flow, as NoC Design Flow Options describes, and using Platform Designer to instantiate your NoC IP, leave the AXI4 NoC manager interfaces unconnected in the Platform Designer System View tab. After running Intel® Quartus® Prime Analysis & Elaboration, you use the NoC Assignment Editor to define connectivity and addressing to prepare your design for RTL simulation.
  • If you are using the NoC Assignment Editor connection flow, as NoC Design Flow Options describes, and instantiating your NoC IP directly in RTL, the AXI4 NoC manager interfaces do not exist. After running Intel® Quartus® Prime Analysis & Elaboration, you use the NoC Assignment Editor to define connectivity and addressing to prepare your design for RTL simulation.

For details on the NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP, refer to NoC Initiator Intel FPGA IP.

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