FPGA AI Suite Handbook

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ID 863373
Date 11/21/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. FPGA AI Suite Handbook 2. What is the FPGA AI Suite? 3. Design Considerations Before You Begin 4. Installing FPGA AI Suite 5. FPGA AI Suite Tutorial and Design Example Demonstration Applications 6. Creating an Architecture File for the FPGA AI Suite IP 7. Compiling Your Model with the FPGA AI Suite Compiler 8. Generating the FPGA AI Suite IP for Integration into an FPGA Design 9. Optimizing Your FPGA AI Suite IP 10. Integrating FPGA AI Suite IP into an FPGA Design 11. Using FPGA AI Suite as a PCIe* -Attach Platform 12. Using FPGA AI Suite in Hostless DDR-Free Mode 13. Using the FPGA AI Suite in Hostless JTAG Mode 14. Using FPGA AI Suite as an Embedded Platform 15. Using FPGA AI Suite in Video Applications 16. Using the FPGA AI Suite IP with High Bandwidth Memory on Stratix® 10 MX and Agilex™ 7 M-Series Devices 17. Developing Software Applications with the FPGA AI Suite A. FPGA AI Suite Handbook Archives B. FPGA AI Suite Handbook Document Revision History
2. What is the FPGA AI Suite? x
2.1. FPGA AI Suite Components 2.2. The FPGA AI Suite Tool Flow 2.3. The FPGA AI Suite User Flow 2.4. The FPGA AI Suite IP 2.5. The FPGA AI Suite Compiler 2.6. The FPGA AI Suite Design Examples
2.4. The FPGA AI Suite IP x
2.4.1. The FPGA AI Suite IP Overlay Architecture 2.4.2. Supported Models 2.4.3. Model Performance
2.4.1. The FPGA AI Suite IP Overlay Architecture x
2.4.1.1. How Does the FPGA AI Suite Overlay Architecture Work? 2.4.1.2. Parallelism in the FPGA AI Suite IP 2.4.1.3. FPGA AI Suite IP Datapath Component Organization
2.4.1.2. Parallelism in the FPGA AI Suite IP x
2.4.1.2.1. Comparing ML Architectures using the Compiler Report
2.4.2. Supported Models x
2.4.2.1. MobileNet V2 differences between Caffe and TensorFlow models
2.4.3. Model Performance x
2.4.3.1. Throughput on the MobileNetV1 model (and other very fast models) 2.4.3.2. DDR-Free Streaming Performance
2.6. The FPGA AI Suite Design Examples x
2.6.1. PCIe* -Attach Design Example 2.6.2. Open FPGA Stack (OFS) for PCIe* -Attach Design Examples 2.6.3. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example 2.6.4. Hostless JTAG Design Example 2.6.5. SoC Design Example 2.6.6. Design Example Components
2.6.6. Design Example Components x
2.6.6.1. FPGA AI Suite Design Example Utility 2.6.6.2. Example Architecture Bitstream Files 2.6.6.3. Design Example Software Components
2.6.6.1. FPGA AI Suite Design Example Utility x
2.6.6.1.1. The dla_build_example_design Command 2.6.6.1.2. Listing Available FPGA AI Suite Design Examples 2.6.6.1.3. Building FPGA AI Suite Design Examples
2.6.6.1.3. Building FPGA AI Suite Design Examples x
2.6.6.1.3.1. Staging FPGA AI Suite Design Example Builds
2.6.6.3. Design Example Software Components x
2.6.6.3.1. OpenVINO™ FPGA Runtime Overview 2.6.6.3.2. OpenVINO™ FPGA Runtime Plugin 2.6.6.3.3. FPGA AI Suite Runtime 2.6.6.3.4. FPGA AI Suite Custom Platform 2.6.6.3.5. Memory-Mapped Device (MMD) Driver 2.6.6.3.6. FPGA AI Suite Runtime MMD API 2.6.6.3.7. Board Support Package (BSP) Overview 2.6.6.3.8. Additional FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Software Components
2.6.6.3.7. Board Support Package (BSP) Overview x
2.6.6.3.7.1. Terasic* DE10-Agilex Development Board BSP Example 2.6.6.3.7.2. Agilex™ 7 PCIe-Attach OFS-based BSP Example
3. Design Considerations Before You Begin x
3.1. Consider an FPGA AI Suite Design Example as Starting Point 3.2. Determine Your Performance Bottlenecks 3.3. Select Your FPGA Device
4. Installing FPGA AI Suite x
4.1. Using the FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image 4.2. Installing the FPGA AI Suite Compiler and IP Generation Tools 4.3. Installing FPGA AI Suite Design Example Prerequisites
4.1. Using the FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image x
4.1.1. FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image Requirements 4.1.2. Running the FPGA AI Suite Docker* Container 4.1.3. Containerized FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image Quick-Start Tutorial
4.2. Installing the FPGA AI Suite Compiler and IP Generation Tools x
4.2.1. Supported FPGA Families 4.2.2. FPGA AI Suite Operating System Prerequisites 4.2.3. Installing FPGA AI Suite 4.2.4. Installing OpenVINO™ Toolkit 4.2.5. Installing Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software 4.2.6. Setting Required Environment Variables 4.2.7. Finalizing Your FPGA AI Suite Installation 4.2.8. Downloading Precompiled Bitstreams and SD Card Images
4.2.2. FPGA AI Suite Operating System Prerequisites x
4.2.2.1. Red Hat* Enterprise Linux* Operating System Requirements 4.2.2.2. Ubuntu* Operating System Requirements 4.2.2.3. Windows* 11 Operating System Requirements
4.2.3. Installing FPGA AI Suite x
4.2.3.1. FPGA AI Suite Directory Structure 4.2.3.2. Installing the FPGA AI Suite Using the FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image 4.2.3.3. Installing the FPGA AI Suite Using the Quartus® Prime Installer 4.2.3.4. Installing the FPGA AI Suite with System Package Management Tools
4.2.3.4. Installing the FPGA AI Suite with System Package Management Tools x
4.2.3.4.1. Installing the FPGA AI Suite Into an Alternative Location
4.3. Installing FPGA AI Suite Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.1. Creating a Working Directory 4.3.2. PCIe Design Example Prerequisites 4.3.3. OFS for PCIe* -Attach Design Example Prerequisites 4.3.4. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Prerequisites 4.3.5. Hostless JTAG Design Example Prerequisites 4.3.6. SoC Design Example Prerequisites
4.3.2. PCIe Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.2.1. PCIe Design Example Hardware Prerequisites 4.3.2.2. PCIe Design Example Operating System Prerequisites 4.3.2.3. PCIe Design Example Software Prerequisites 4.3.2.4. Building the FPGA AI Suite PCIe Design Example Runtime
4.3.2.3. PCIe Design Example Software Prerequisites x
4.3.2.3.1. Additional Software Prerequisites for the FPGA AI Suite PCIe Design Example for Agilex™ 7 Devices
4.3.2.4. Building the FPGA AI Suite PCIe Design Example Runtime x
4.3.2.4.1. FPGA AI Suite PCIe Design Example CMake Targets 4.3.2.4.2. FPGA AI Suite PCIe Design Example Build Options
4.3.3. OFS for PCIe* -Attach Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.3.1. Building the FPGA AI Suite OFS for PCIe* Attach Design Example Runtime
4.3.3.1. Building the FPGA AI Suite OFS for PCIe* Attach Design Example Runtime x
4.3.3.1.1. OFS for PCIe* Attach Design Example CMake Targets 4.3.3.1.2. OFS for PCIe* Attach Design Example Build Options
4.3.4. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.4.1. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Hardware Requirements 4.3.4.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Software Requirements
4.3.5. Hostless JTAG Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.5.1. Hostless JTAG Design Example Hardware Requirements 4.3.5.2. Hostless JTAG Design Example Software Requirements 4.3.5.3. Building the FPGA AI Suite Hostless JTAG Design Example Runtime
4.3.6. SoC Design Example Prerequisites x
4.3.6.1. SoC Design Example Development Kit Prerequisites 4.3.6.2. Building the Bitstream and Configuring Your Board for the FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example
4.3.6.1. SoC Design Example Development Kit Prerequisites x
4.3.6.1.1. Agilex™ 7 FPGA I-Series Transceiver-SoC Development Kit SoC Design Example Hardware Requirements
4.3.6.2. Building the Bitstream and Configuring Your Board for the FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example x
4.3.6.2.1. Initial Setup for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.2. (Optional) Creating an SD Card Image (.wic) 4.3.6.2.3. Writing the SoC Design Example SD Card Image (.wic) to an SD Card 4.3.6.2.4. Preparing SoC FPGA Development Kits for the FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.5. Adding Compiled Graphs (AOT files) to the SD Card 4.3.6.2.6. Verifying FPGA Device Drivers
4.3.6.2.2. (Optional) Creating an SD Card Image (.wic) x
4.3.6.2.2.1. Installing Prerequisite Software for Building an SD Card Image 4.3.6.2.2.2. Building the FPGA Bitstreams for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.2.3. Installing HPS Disk Image Build Prerequisites 4.3.6.2.2.4. (Optional) Downloading the ImageNet Categories 4.3.6.2.2.5. Building the SD Card Image for the SoC Design Example
4.3.6.2.4. Preparing SoC FPGA Development Kits for the FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example x
4.3.6.2.4.1. Preparing the Agilex™ 5 FPGA E-Series 065B Modular Development Kit for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.4.2. Preparing the Agilex™ 7 FPGA I-Series Transceiver-SoC Development Kit for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.4.3. Preparing the Arria® 10 SX SoC FPGA Development Kit for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.4.4. Configuring the SoC FPGA Development Kit UART Connection 4.3.6.2.4.5. Determining the SoC FPGA Development Kit IP Address
4.3.6.2.5. Adding Compiled Graphs (AOT files) to the SD Card x
4.3.6.2.5.1. Preparing OpenVINO™ Model Zoo for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.5.2. Preparing a Model for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.5.3. Compiling the Graphs for the SoC Design Example 4.3.6.2.5.4. Copying the Compiled Graphs to the SD card
5. FPGA AI Suite Tutorial and Design Example Demonstration Applications x
5.1. FPGA AI Suite Quick Start Tutorial 5.2. FPGA AI Suite Design Example Demonstration Applications
5.1. FPGA AI Suite Quick Start Tutorial x
5.1.1. Preparing OpenVINO™ Model Zoo for the PCIe Design Example 5.1.2. Preparing a Model for the PCIe Design Example 5.1.3. Running the Graph Compiler 5.1.4. Preparing an Image Set 5.1.5. Programming the FPGA Device 5.1.6. Performing Inference on the PCIe Design Example 5.1.7. Building an FPGA Bitstream for the PCIe Design Example 5.1.8. Building the Example FPGA Bitstreams 5.1.9. Preparing a ResNet50 v1 Model 5.1.10. Performing Inference on the Inflated 3D (I3D) Graph 5.1.11. Performing Inference on YOLOv3 and Calculating Accuracy Metrics 5.1.12. Performing Inference Without an FPGA Board
5.1.11. Performing Inference on YOLOv3 and Calculating Accuracy Metrics x
5.1.11.1. Preparing a YOLOv3 Model 5.1.11.2. Preparing a COCO Validation Dataset and Annotations 5.1.11.3. Inference on YOLOv3 and Calculating Accuracy Scores
5.2. FPGA AI Suite Design Example Demonstration Applications x
5.2.1. Running the PCIe* -Attach Design Example Demonstration Applications 5.2.2. Running the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example 5.2.3. Running the JTAG Design Example Demonstration Application 5.2.4. Running the SoC Design Example Demonstration Applications
5.2.1. Running the PCIe* -Attach Design Example Demonstration Applications x
5.2.1.1. Setup the OFS Environment for the FPGA Device in the OFS for PCIe* -Attach Design Example 5.2.1.2. Exporting Trained Graphs from Source Frameworks in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.3. Compiling Exported Graphs Through the FPGA AI Suite in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.4. Compiling the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.5. Programming the FPGA Device in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6. Performing Accelerated Inference with the dla_benchmark Application in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.7. Running the Ported OpenVINO™ Demonstration Applications in the PCIe* Design Example
5.2.1.6. Performing Accelerated Inference with the dla_benchmark Application in the PCIe* Design Example x
5.2.1.6.1. Inference on Image Classification Graphs in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6.2. Inference on Object Detection Graphs in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6.3. Additional dla_benchmark Options in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6.4. The dla_benchmark Performance Metrics in the PCIe* Design Example
5.2.1.6.2. Inference on Object Detection Graphs in the PCIe* Design Example x
5.2.1.6.2.1. The mAP and COCO AP Metrics in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6.2.2. Specifying Ground Truth in the PCIe* Design Example 5.2.1.6.2.3. Example of Inference on Object Detection Graphs in the PCIe* Design Example
5.2.1.6.4. The dla_benchmark Performance Metrics in the PCIe* Design Example x
5.2.1.6.4.1. Interpreting System Throughput and Latency Metrics in the PCIe* Design Example
5.2.1.7. Running the Ported OpenVINO™ Demonstration Applications in the PCIe* Design Example x
5.2.1.7.1. Example Running the Object Detection Demonstration Application in the PCIe* Design Example
5.2.3. Running the JTAG Design Example Demonstration Application x
5.2.3.1. Building an FPGA Bitstream for the JTAG Design Examples 5.2.3.2. Programming the FPGA Device with JTAG Design Example Bitstream 5.2.3.3. Preparing JTAG Design Example Graphs for Inference with FPGA AI Suite 5.2.3.4. Performing Inference with the JTAG Design Example 5.2.3.5. JTAG Design Example Inference Performance Measurement 5.2.3.6. JTAG Design Example Known Issues and Limitations
5.2.4. Running the SoC Design Example Demonstration Applications x
5.2.4.1. Running the M2M Mode Demonstration Application in the SoC Design Example 5.2.4.2. Running the S2M Mode Demonstration Application in the SoC Design Example 5.2.4.3. Troubleshooting the Demonstration Applications in the SoC Design Example
6. Creating an Architecture File for the FPGA AI Suite IP x
6.1. Predefined FPGA AI Suite Architecture Files 6.2. FPGA AI Suite Architecture File Breakdown 6.3. FPGA AI Suite IP Parameterization
6.1. Predefined FPGA AI Suite Architecture Files x
6.1.1. Architecture Description File Format for Instance Parameterization
6.2. FPGA AI Suite Architecture File Breakdown x
6.2.1. FPGA AI Suite IP Supported Layers and Hyperparameter Ranges 6.2.2. Architecture Description File Parameters
6.2.2. Architecture Description File Parameters x
6.2.2.1. Parameter Group: Global Parameters 6.2.2.2. Parameter Group: activation 6.2.2.3. Parameter Group: pe_array 6.2.2.4. Parameter Group: pool 6.2.2.5. Parameter Group: depthwise 6.2.2.6. Module: softmax 6.2.2.7. Parameter Group: dma 6.2.2.8. Parameter Group: xbar 6.2.2.9. Parameter Group: filter_scratchpad 6.2.2.10. Parameter Group: input_stream_interface 6.2.2.11. Parameter Group: output_stream_interface 6.2.2.12. Parameter Group: config_network 6.2.2.13. Parameter Group: layout_transform_params 6.2.2.14. Parameter Group: lightweight_layout_transform_params
7. Compiling Your Model with the FPGA AI Suite Compiler x
7.1. Compiling a Graph 7.2. Estimating Graph Performance 7.3. Estimating the Area and Power of an Architecture 7.4. The FPGA AI Suite Compiler Report 7.5. FPGA AI Suite Compiler Command Line Options 7.6. Compiler Inputs and Outputs
7.4. The FPGA AI Suite Compiler Report x
7.4.1. Partitioning Table Report 7.4.2. Model Analyzer Reports 7.4.3. Visualizing How FPGA AI Suite Implements Your Graph
7.4.3. Visualizing How FPGA AI Suite Implements Your Graph x
7.4.3.1. Model Analyzer GUI Description 7.4.3.2. Fixing Unsupported Layers Assigned To CPU
7.5. FPGA AI Suite Compiler Command Line Options x
7.5.1. Inputs (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.2. Outputs (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.3. Reporting (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.4. Compilation Options (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.5. Architecture Options (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.6. Architecture Optimizer Options (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.7. Analyzer Tool Options (dla_compiler Command Options) 7.5.8. Miscellaneous Options (dla_compiler Command Options)
7.6. Compiler Inputs and Outputs x
7.6.1. FPGA AI Suite Input File Formats 7.6.2. FPGA AI Suite Compiler Graph Export Formats
8. Generating the FPGA AI Suite IP for Integration into an FPGA Design x
8.1. IP Generation Utility Execution Flows 8.2. IP Generation Utility Inputs 8.3. IP Generation Utility Outputs 8.4. IP Generation Utility Command Line Options
8.4. IP Generation Utility Command Line Options x
8.4.1. The --flow create_ip Flow 8.4.2. The --flow add_arch Flow 8.4.3. The --flow list Flow 8.4.4. The --flow remove_arch Flow
9. Optimizing Your FPGA AI Suite IP x
9.1. Folding Input 9.2. Parallelizing Inference Using FPGA AI Suite with Multiple Lanes and Multiple Instances 9.3. Transforming Input Data Layout 9.4. Make Precision vs. Performance Trade-offs for Your FPGA AI Suite IP 9.5. FPGA AI Suite IP Supported Layers and Hyperparameter Ranges 9.6. FPGA AI Suite IP Parameterization 9.7. Generating an Optimized Architecture
9.3. Transforming Input Data Layout x
9.3.1. Full Input Layout Transform 9.3.2. Lightweight Layout Transform
9.3.1. Full Input Layout Transform x
9.3.1.1. Input Feature Tensor In-Memory Format 9.3.1.2. Output Tensor In-Memory Format
9.3.1.1. Input Feature Tensor In-Memory Format x
9.3.1.1.1. Multiple Input Graphs 9.3.1.1.2. Input Scale and Shift 9.3.1.1.3. Input Transform Mapping
9.3.2. Lightweight Layout Transform x
9.3.2.1. How the Lightweight Layout Transform Works 9.3.2.2. Enabling the Lightweight Layout Transform
9.4. Make Precision vs. Performance Trade-offs for Your FPGA AI Suite IP x
9.4.1. Block Floating Point (BFP) 9.4.2. Improving Layer Accuracy by using Mixed Precision 9.4.3. Using the Mixed Precision Feature
9.4.3. Using the Mixed Precision Feature x
9.4.3.1. Performance Impact of Mixed Precision
9.7. Generating an Optimized Architecture x
9.7.1. Generating an Architecture for Highest Performance 9.7.2. Generating an Architecture Optimized for a Frame Rate Target Value
10. Integrating FPGA AI Suite IP into an FPGA Design x
10.1. FPGA AI Suite IP Directory Structure 10.2. Interfacing FPGA AI Suite IP an FPGA Design for a Typical System 10.3. FPGA AI Suite IP Interface 10.4. Instantiating the FPGA AI Suite IP in Platform Designer
10.3. FPGA AI Suite IP Interface x
10.3.1. Clock and Reset 10.3.2. AXI Interfaces 10.3.3. AXI Streaming Interface 10.3.4. CSR Map and Descriptor Queue 10.3.5. Interfacing the FPGA AI Suite IP to Avalon® Memory Map (AVMM)
10.3.3. AXI Streaming Interface x
10.3.3.1. Input Streaming 10.3.3.2. Output Streaming
10.4. Instantiating the FPGA AI Suite IP in Platform Designer x
10.4.1. Resource Utilization of FPGA AI Suite IP
11. Using FPGA AI Suite as a PCIe* -Attach Platform x
11.1. PCIe* -Attach Design Example System Architecture 11.2. OFS PCIe* -Attach Design Example Components
11.1. PCIe* -Attach Design Example System Architecture x
11.1.1. PCIe* -Attach System Overview 11.1.2. PCIe* -Attach Design Example Hardware
11.1.2. PCIe* -Attach Design Example Hardware x
11.1.2.1. PCIe* -Attach Design Example PLL Adjustment
11.2. OFS PCIe* -Attach Design Example Components x
11.2.1. OFS PCIe* -Attach Hardware Components 11.2.2. OFS PCIe* -Attach Software Components
12. Using FPGA AI Suite in Hostless DDR-Free Mode x
12.1. Generating Artifacts for Hostless DDR-Free Operation 12.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example System Architecture 12.3. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Quartus® Prime System Console 12.4. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example JTAG to Avalon MM Host Register Map 12.5. Changing the ML Graph in a Hostless DDR-Free Architecture
12.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example System Architecture x
12.2.1. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example System Overview 12.2.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Hardware
12.2.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Hardware x
12.2.2.1. The Modular Scatter-Gather DMA (mSGDMA) Engines in the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example 12.2.2.2. On-Chip Memory Modules in the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example 12.2.2.3. Platform Designer System in the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example 12.2.2.4. PLL Adjustment in the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example
12.3. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Quartus® Prime System Console x
12.3.1. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Quartus® Prime System Console Script Options 12.3.2. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Inference Functionality 12.3.3. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example System Reset 12.3.4. Hostless DDR-Free Design Example Input Data Conversion 12.3.5. Measuring Performance in the Hostless DDR-Free Design Example
12.5. Changing the ML Graph in a Hostless DDR-Free Architecture x
12.5.1. Updating Hostless DDR-Free MIF Files Through the CSR
13. Using the FPGA AI Suite in Hostless JTAG Mode x
13.1. Hostless JTAG Design Example Components
13.1. Hostless JTAG Design Example Components x
13.1.1. Hostless JTAG Hardware Components 13.1.2. Hostless JTAG Software Components
14. Using FPGA AI Suite as an Embedded Platform x
14.1. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Inference Sequence Overview 14.2. Memory-to-Memory (M2M) Variant Design 14.3. Streaming-to-Memory (S2M) Variant Design 14.4. Top Level 14.5. The SoC Design Example Platform Designer System 14.6. Fabric EMIF Design Component 14.7. PLL Configuration 14.8. Yocto Build and Runtime Linux Environment 14.9. SoC Design Example MMD Layer Hardware Interaction Library 14.10. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Run Process 14.11. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Build Process
14.2. Memory-to-Memory (M2M) Variant Design x
14.2.1. The mSGDMA FPGA IP 14.2.2. RAM considerations
14.3. Streaming-to-Memory (S2M) Variant Design x
14.3.1. Streaming Enablement for FPGA AI Suite 14.3.2. Nios® V Subsystem 14.3.3. Streaming System Operation 14.3.4. Resolving Input Rate Mismatches Between the FPGA AI Suite IP and the Streaming Input 14.3.5. The Layout Transform IP as an Application-Specific Block in the SoC Design Example
14.3.3. Streaming System Operation x
14.3.3.1. Streaming System Buffer Management 14.3.3.2. Streaming System Inference Job Management
14.3.5. The Layout Transform IP as an Application-Specific Block in the SoC Design Example x
14.3.5.1. Layout Transform Considerations 14.3.5.2. Layout Transform IP Register Map 14.3.5.3. Layout Transform Configuration Options
14.4. Top Level x
14.4.1. Clock Domains
14.5. The SoC Design Example Platform Designer System x
14.5.1. The dla_0 Platform Designer Layer (dla.qsys) 14.5.2. The hps_0 Platform Designer Layer (hps.qys)
14.8. Yocto Build and Runtime Linux Environment x
14.8.1. Yocto Recipe: recipes-core/images/coredla-image.bb 14.8.2. Yocto Recipe: recipes-bsp/u-boot/u-boot-socfpga_%.bbappend 14.8.3. Yocto Recipe: recipes-drivers/msgdma-userio/msgdma-userio.bb 14.8.4. Yocto Recipe: recipes-drivers/uio-devices/uio-devices.bb 14.8.5. Yocto Recipe: recipes-kernel/linux/linux-socfpga-lts_%.bbappend 14.8.6. Yocto Recipe: recipes-support/devmem2/devmem2_2.0.bb 14.8.7. Yocto Recipe: wic
14.9. SoC Design Example MMD Layer Hardware Interaction Library x
14.9.1. MMD Layer Hardware Interaction Library Class mmd_device 14.9.2. MMD Layer Hardware Interaction Library Class uio_device 14.9.3. MMD Layer Hardware Interaction Library Class dma_device
14.10. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Run Process x
14.10.1. Exporting Trained Graphs from Source Frameworks 14.10.2. Compiling Exported Graphs Through the FPGA AI Suite
14.11. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example Build Process x
14.11.1. Building the Quartus® Prime Project 14.11.2. Building the Bootable SD Card Image (.wic)
14.11.1. Building the Quartus® Prime Project x
14.11.1.1. Quartus® Prime Build Flow 14.11.1.2. Build Script Options 14.11.1.3. Build Directory
14.11.1.1. Quartus® Prime Build Flow x
14.11.1.1.1. Build Synchronization of FPGA with Software
14.11.1.3. Build Directory x
14.11.1.3.1. The build_stream_controller.sh Script
15. Using FPGA AI Suite in Video Applications x
15.1. Nios® Subsystem 15.2. Building the Stream Controller Module 15.3. Building the Streaming Demonstration Applications 15.4. Running the Streaming Demonstration
15.1. Nios® Subsystem x
15.1.1. Stream Controller Communication Protocol 15.1.2. Buffer Flow in Streaming Mode using Nios® V Software Scheduler
15.1.2. Buffer Flow in Streaming Mode using Nios® V Software Scheduler x
15.1.2.1. Review of M2M mode 15.1.2.2. External Streaming Mode Buffer Flow 15.1.2.3. Nios® V Stream Controller State Machine Buffer Flow
15.4. Running the Streaming Demonstration x
15.4.1. The streaming_inference_app Application 15.4.2. The image_streaming_app Application
16. Using the FPGA AI Suite IP with High Bandwidth Memory on Stratix® 10 MX and Agilex™ 7 M-Series Devices x
16.1. Current FPGA AI Suite IP Implementation With DDR 16.2. HBM Connection Considerations
16.2. HBM Connection Considerations x
16.2.1. Memory Size and Bandwidth Considerations 16.2.2. Memory Data Width Considerations 16.2.3. Conclusion
17. Developing Software Applications with the FPGA AI Suite x
17.1. Understanding the FPGA AI Suite Runtime Software Stack 17.2. Using the FPGA AI Suite Software Emulation 17.3. Running Inference on the FPGA AI Suite IP Without the OpenVINO™ Runtime
17.3. Running Inference on the FPGA AI Suite IP Without the OpenVINO™ Runtime x
17.3.1. Files Generated by the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 17.3.2. Building the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 17.3.3. Running the FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility 17.3.4. FPGA AI Suite Ahead-of-Time (AOT) Splitter Utility Example Application
B. FPGA AI Suite Handbook Document Revision History x
B.1. FPGA AI Suite Getting Started Guide Document Revision History B.2. FPGA AI Suite Compiler Reference Manual Document Revision History B.3. FPGA AI Suite IP Reference Manual Document Revision History B.4. FPGA AI Suite Example Designs User Guide Revision History B.5. AN 1008: Using the FPGA AI Suite Docker* Image Document Revision History B.6. AN 1020: Using the FPGA AI Suite IP with High Bandwidth Memory on Stratix® 10 MX and Agilex™ 7 M-Series Devices Document Revision History
B.4. FPGA AI Suite Example Designs User Guide Revision History x
B.4.1. FPGA AI Suite PCIe-based Design Example User Guide Document Revision History B.4.2. FPGA AI Suite SoC Design Example User Guide Document Revision History
1. FPGA AI Suite Handbook
2. What is the FPGA AI Suite?
3. Design Considerations Before You Begin
4. Installing FPGA AI Suite
5. FPGA AI Suite Tutorial and Design Example Demonstration Applications
6. Creating an Architecture File for the FPGA AI Suite IP
7. Compiling Your Model with the FPGA AI Suite Compiler
8. Generating the FPGA AI Suite IP for Integration into an FPGA Design
9. Optimizing Your FPGA AI Suite IP
10. Integrating FPGA AI Suite IP into an FPGA Design
11. Using FPGA AI Suite as a PCIe* -Attach Platform
12. Using FPGA AI Suite in Hostless DDR-Free Mode
13. Using the FPGA AI Suite in Hostless JTAG Mode
14. Using FPGA AI Suite as an Embedded Platform
15. Using FPGA AI Suite in Video Applications
16. Using the FPGA AI Suite IP with High Bandwidth Memory on Stratix® 10 MX and Agilex™ 7 M-Series Devices
17. Developing Software Applications with the FPGA AI Suite
A. FPGA AI Suite Handbook Archives
B. FPGA AI Suite Handbook Document Revision History

2.2. The FPGA AI Suite Tool Flow

The FPGA AI Suite takes a trained ML model and a user-defined architecture file and then analyzes the ML model structure, maps operations to FPGA hardware resources, quantizes weights and activations for optimal precision, and then generates an IP that you can integrate into an FPGA system. The FPGA AI Suite also supports a C/C++ interface (via OpenVINO) to bit-accurate emulation. You can use this emulation for pre-hardware development of the runtime stack and pre-hardware validation of the ML model accuracy.

The following diagram illustrates the FPGA AI Suite tool flow:
Figure 3.  FPGA AI Suite Tool Flow

Moving from ML Model to IR

The FPGA AI Suite tool flow starts with your trained ML models from TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, MXNet, or ONNX. These models are fed to the OpenVINO™ Model Converter to generate an intermediate representation (IR) of your model. The IR consists of a .xml file that describes the model topology and a .bin file that contains the model weights. These IR files are the main input into the FPGA AI Suite tool flow.

Collaborate Early to Choose an Initial Architecture

Your AI developers and FPGA hardware engineers collaborate early to determine a starting architecture description (.arch) file. They can choose one of the predefined architecture description files provided with the FPGA AI Suite, or they can take a more complex route and create a custom architecture file.

Enabling Parallel Software and Hardware Development Flows

After you have the IR for your ML model and an initial architecture file, the FPGA AI Suite compiler (dla_compiler) Architecture Optimizer takes the IR data and enables two parallel optimization paths:
  • AI & Software Development Flow

    The Architecture Optimizer output feeds into FPGA software emulation. This emulation enables functional validation and performance profiling before any hardware synthesis, which is critical for rapid iteration. The software flow targets Linux* hosts—either through PCIe interface, JTAG- Avalon® interface, or an AXI interface (for an HPS host on an SoC FPGA device). Different deployment targets have different runtime stacks.

  • FPGA Hardware Development Flow

    Use the Architecture Optimizer to update the architecture file with FPGA resource specifications. The optimizer consumes FPGA resource specifications (ALMs, DSPs, RAM blocks, FPS targets) and generates an optimized .arch file. The FPGA AI Suite IP Generator consumes the .arch file and produces a customized IP core. Example designs across a variety of platforms (PCIe-attach, SoC, and hostless) integrate the custom IP to perform machine learning inference.

Final Hardware Implementation

  • Both development paths converge at Quartus® Prime Pro Edition. The software combines the validated architecture with the generated IP, performing synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure to produce the final FPGA bitstream.

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