CONNECTAL

CONNECTAL provides a hardware-software interface for applications split between user mode code and custom hardware in an FPGA. Portal can automatically build the software and hardware glue for a message based interface and also provides for configuring and using shared memory between applications and hardware. Communications between hardware and software are provided by a bidirectional flow of events and regions of memory shared between hardware and software. Events from software to hardware are called requests and events from hardware to software are called indications, but in fact they are symmetric.

A logical request/indication pair is referred to as a portal". An application can make use of multiple portals, which may be specified independently. A portal is specified by a BSV interface declaration, from which connectalgen generates BSV and C++ wrappers and proxies.

CONNECTAL has a mailing list: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/connectal

Supported Platforms

CONNECTAL supports Android on Zynq platforms, including zedboard and zc702.

CONNECTAL supports Linux on x86 with PCIe-attached Virtex and Kintex boards (vc707, kc705).

CONNECTAL supports bluesim as a simulated hardware platform.

Installation

0. Checkout out the following from github: git clone git://github.com/cambridgehackers/connectal

If you are generating code for an FPGA, check out fpgamake: git clone git://github.com/cambridgehackers/fpgamake

It appears that this requires buildcache to be checked out also: git clone git://github.com/cambridgehackers/buildcache

Add USE_BUILDCACHE=1 to your calls to make to enable it to cache, otherwise it will rerun all compilation steps.

1. Install the Bluespec compiler. CONNECTAL is known to work with 2013.09.beta1, 2014.05.beta1, and 2014.07.A

Install the bluespec compiler. Make sure the BLUESPECDIR environment variable is set appropriately:

export BLUESPECDIR=~/bluespec/Bluespec-2013.09.beta1/lib

2. Install connectal dependences. This installs ubuntu packages used by connectal or during compilation:

   cd connectal; sudo make install-dependences

3. If you are using an FPGA attached to your machine, install the drivers:

   make all sudo make install

Preparation for Zynq

0. Get [http://www.xilinx.com/support/download/index.html/content/xilinx/en/downloadNav/vivado-design-tools/2013-2.html](Vivado 2013.2)

[Note] CONNECTAL for Zynq also works with 2013.4 and 2014.1.

1. Download the Android Native Development Kit (NDK) from: http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/ndk/index.html (actual file might be: http://dl.google.com/android/ndk/android-ndk-r9d-linux-x86_64.tar.bz2 )

   CONNECTAL uses NDK to compile code to run on Zynq platforms.

   Add the NDK to your PATH.

   URL=http://dl.google.com/android/ndk/android-ndk-r9d-linux-x86_64.tar.bz2
   curl -O `basename $URL` $URL
   tar -jxvf `basename $URL`
   PATH=$PATH:/scratch/android-ndk-r9d/
   

2. Download and install ADB from the Android Development Tools.

   The Android Debug Bridge (adb) is packaged in platform-tools. CONNECTAL uses adb to transfer files to and from the Zedboard over ethernet and to run commands on the Zedboard.

   User your browser to accept the conditions and download the SDK installation tarball:

   http://dl.google.com/android/android-sdk_r22.6.2-linux.tgz
   

   Unpack the installation tarball:

   tar -zxvf android-sdk_r22.6.2-linux.tgz
   

   Run the android tool to install SDK components

   ./android-sdk-linux/tools/android
   

   Deselect all components except for "Android SDK Platform-Tools" (screenshot) and then click the "Install ... package" button to install (screenshot) and then accept the license. (screenshot)

   Add adb to your path:

   PATH=$PATH:$PWD/android-sdk-linux/platform-tools
   

3. git clone git://github.com/cambridgehackers/zynq-boot.git

The boot.bin is board-specific, because the first stage boot loader (fsbl) and the devicetree are both board-specific.

To build a boot.bin for a zedboard:

make BOARD=zedboard all

Then copy sdcard-zedboard/* /media/sdcard

To build a boot.bin for a zc702:

make BOARD=zc702 all

Then copy sdcard-zc702/* /media/sdcard

Eject the card and plug it into the zedboard/zc702 and boot.

Preparation for Kintex and Virtex boards

0. Get [http://www.xilinx.com/support/download/index.html/content/xilinx/en/downloadNav/vivado-design-tools/2013-2.html](Vivado 2013.2)

1. Build the drivers

   cd drivers/pcieportal; make && sudo make install

2. Load the drivers

   cd drivers/pcieportal; make insmod

3. Install the Digilent cable driver

   cd /scratch/Xilinx/Vivado/2013.2/data/xicom/cable_drivers/lin64/digilent sudo ./install_digilent.sh

4. Get fpgajtag

   git clone git://github.com/cambridgehackers/fpgajtag cd fpgajtag make all && sudo make install

Examples

Generally cd to the top level directory connectal then type

make examples/examplename.<something>

where something is

Command suffix	Function
bluesim	compile for simulation
bluesimrun	build and run simulator
zedboard	compile for zedboard
zedboardrun	compile and run on attached zedboard
zc702	compile for zc702 board
zc702run	compile and run on attached board
kc705	compile for kc705 board
kc705run	compile and run on attached board
vc707	compile for vc707 board
vc707run	compile and run on attached board

To turn on more verbosity for debugging when running make, add V=1 to command line, as

make examples/examplename.<something> V=1

or V=1 make examples/examplename.

Echo Example

    ## this has only been tested with the Vivado 2013.2 release
    . Xilinx/Vivado/2013.2/settings64.sh

    make examples/echo.zedboard
or
    make examples/echo.zc702
or
    make examples/echo.kc705
or
    make examples/echo.vc707

To run on a zedboard with IP address aa.bb.cc.dd:
    RUNPARAM=aa.bb.cc.dd make examples/echo.zedboardrun

Memcpy Example

BOARD=vc707 make -C examples/memcpy

Zynq Hints

To remount /system read/write:

mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 /system