FPGA AI Suite: IP Reference Manual

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ID 768974
Date 2/24/2025
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual 2. About the FPGA AI Suite IP 3. FPGA AI Suite IP Generation Utility 4. FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time Splitter Utility 5. CSR Map and Descriptor Queue A. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual Archives B. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual Document Revision History
2. About the FPGA AI Suite IP x
2.1. Supported Models 2.2. Model Performance 2.3. Software Emulation of the FPGA AI Suite IP 2.4. FPGA AI Suite Layer / Primitive Ranges 2.5. FPGA AI Suite IP Block Configuration 2.6. IP Block Interfaces 2.7. Feature Input and Output Streaming 2.8. DDR-Free Operation
2.1. Supported Models x
2.1.1. MobileNet V2 differences between Caffe and TensorFlow models
2.2. Model Performance x
2.2.1. Throughput on the MobileNetV1 model (and other very fast models)
2.5. FPGA AI Suite IP Block Configuration x
2.5.1. Architecture Description File Format for Instance Parameterization 2.5.2. Architecture Description File Parameters
2.5.2. Architecture Description File Parameters x
2.5.2.1. Parameter Group: Global Parameters 2.5.2.2. Parameter Group: activation 2.5.2.3. Parameter Group: pe_array 2.5.2.4. Parameter Group: pool 2.5.2.5. Parameter Group: depthwise 2.5.2.6. Module: softmax 2.5.2.7. Parameter Group: dma 2.5.2.8. Parameter Group: xbar 2.5.2.9. Parameter Group: filter_scratchpad 2.5.2.10. Parameter Group: input_stream_interface 2.5.2.11. Parameter Group: output_stream_interface 2.5.2.12. Parameter Group: config_network 2.5.2.13. Parameter Group: layout_transform_params
2.6. IP Block Interfaces x
2.6.1. Clock and Reset 2.6.2. AXI Interfaces 2.6.3. AXI Interface Clock and Reset 2.6.4. Input Feature Tensor In-Memory Format 2.6.5. Output Tensor In-Memory Format
2.6.4. Input Feature Tensor In-Memory Format x
2.6.4.1. Multiple Input Graphs 2.6.4.2. Input Folding 2.6.4.3. Input Scale and Shift 2.6.4.4. Input Transform Mapping 2.6.4.5. Input Layout Transform Hardware
2.7. Feature Input and Output Streaming x
2.7.1. Input Streaming 2.7.2. Output Streaming
3. FPGA AI Suite IP Generation Utility x
3.1. IP Generation Utility Execution Flows 3.2. IP Generation Utility Inputs 3.3. IP Generation Utility Outputs 3.4. IP Generation Utility Command Line Options
3.4. IP Generation Utility Command Line Options x
3.4.1. The --flow create_ip Flow 3.4.2. The --flow add_arch Flow 3.4.3. The --flow list Flow 3.4.4. The --flow remove_arch Flow
4. FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time Splitter Utility x
4.1. Files Generated by the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 4.2. Building the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 4.3. Running the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 4.4. FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility Example Application
5. CSR Map and Descriptor Queue x
5.1. Discovery ROM 5.2. Interrupt Control 5.3. DMA Descriptor Queue 5.4. DMA Control Registers 5.5. Performance Registers 5.6. Debug Network Registers 5.7. DMA License Register 5.8. DMA Transaction Counters
1. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual
2. About the FPGA AI Suite IP
3. FPGA AI Suite IP Generation Utility
4. FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time Splitter Utility
5. CSR Map and Descriptor Queue
A. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual Archives
B. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual Document Revision History

2.3. Software Emulation of the FPGA AI Suite IP

The FPGA AI Suite includes a compiled software model of the FPGA AI Suite IP that is bit-accurate*. The emulation of the FPGA AI Suite IP is accessible through the OpenVINO™ plugin interface. This emulation models the numeric details of the IP, including the behavior of the block floating point numerics (when used).

The OpenVINO™ emulation plugin is enabled in the $COREDLA_ROOT/bin/plugins_emulation.xml plugins file. Because it uses the OpenVINO™ plugin architecture, it works with both the OpenVINO™ Python API and the C++ API. For an example that shows how to use emulation as the inference engine for the runtime dla_benchmark utility, refer to " Performing Inference Without an FPGA Board " in the FPGA AI Suite Getting Started Guide .

Because the emulation executes on the CPU and does not benefit from the FPGA acceleration, the emulation is much slower than inference on the FPGA. Typical inference times for a single image with ResNet50 are on the order of minutes of time. The inference speed varies dramatically depending on the architecture configuration and the graph.

* Minor rounding differences between software emulation and hardware will typically result in differences of less than two units of least precision (ulps).
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