AN 825: Partially Reconfiguring a Design: on Intel Stratix 10 GX FPGA Development Board

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AN-825 | 2020.12.07

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Updated for:
Intel® Quartus® Prime Design Suite 20.3

Partially Reconfiguring a Design on Intel Stratix 10 GX FPGA Development Board

This application note demonstrates transforming a simple design into a partially reconfigurable design, and implementing the design on the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board.

The partial reconfiguration (PR) feature allows you to reconfigure a portion of the FPGA dynamically, while the remaining FPGA design continues to function. Create multiple personas for a particular region in your design without impacting operation in areas outside this region. This methodology is effective in systems where multiple functions time-share the same FPGA device resources. The current version of the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software introduces a new and simplified compilation flow for partial reconfiguration.

Partial reconfiguration provides the following advancements to a flat design:

Allows run-time design reconfiguration
Increases scalability of the design
Reduces system down-time
Supports dynamic time-multiplexing functions in the design
Lowers cost and power consumption through efficient use of board space

Note: This tutorial uses the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board on the bench, outside of the PCIe* slot in your workstation.

Reference Design Requirements

This reference design requires the following:

Installation of the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition version 20.3, and understanding of the basic design flow and project files for the design implementation.
Connection to the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board on the bench.

Reference Design Overview

This reference design consists of one 32-bit counter. At the board level, the design connects the clock to a 50 MHz source and connects the output to four LEDs on the board. Selecting the output from the counter bits in a specific sequence causes the LEDs to blink at a specific frequency.

Figure 1. Flat Reference Design without PR Partitioning

Reference Design Files

The partial reconfiguration tutorial is available in the following location:

https://github.com/intel/fpga-partial-reconfig

To download the tutorial:

Click Clone or download.
Click Download ZIP. Unzip the fpga-partial-reconfig-master.zip file.
Navigate to the tutorials/s10_pcie_devkit_blinking_led sub-folder to access the reference design.

Table 1. Reference Design Files
File Name	Description
top.sv	Top-level file containing the flat implementation of the design. This module instantiates the `blinking_led` sub-partition and the `top_counter` module.
top_counter.sv	Top-level 32-bit counter that controls `LED[1]` directly. The registered output of the counter controls `LED[0]`, and also powers `LED[2]` and `LED[3]` via the `blinking_led` module.
blinking_led.sdc	Defines the timing constraints for the project.
blinking_led.sv	This module acts as the PR partition. The module receives the registered output of `top_counter` module, which controls `LED[2]` and `LED[3]`.
blinking_led.qpf	Intel^® Quartus^® Prime project file containing the list of all the revisions in the project.
blinking_led.qsf	Intel^® Quartus^® Prime settings file containing the assignments and settings for the project.

Note:

The pr folder contains the complete set of files you create using this application note. Reference these files at any point during the walkthrough.

Figure 2. Reference Design Files

Reference Design Walkthrough

The following steps describe the application of partial reconfiguration to a flat design. The tutorial uses the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software for the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board:

Step 1: Getting Started
Step 2: Creating a Design Partition
Step 3: Allocating Placement and Routing Region for a PR Partition
Step 4: Defining Personas
Step 5: Creating Revisions
Step 6: Compiling the Base Revision
Step 7: Preparing PR Implementation Revisions
Step 8: Programming the Board

Note: Unlike AN 797: Partially Reconfiguring a Design on Intel^® Arria^® 10 GX FPGA Development Board, this tutorial does not require the addition of a Partial Reconfiguration Controller IP core. This difference is because Intel^® Stratix^® 10 devices support PR over JTAG using the hard JTAG pins of the FPGA.

Step 1: Getting Started

To copy the reference design files to your working environment and compile the blinking_led flat design:

Create a directory in your working environment, s10_pcie_devkit_blinking_led_pr.
Copy the downloaded tutorials/s10_pcie_devkit_blinking_led/flat sub-folder to the directory, s10_pcie_devkit_blinking_led_pr.
In the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software, click File > Open Project and select blinking_led.qpf.
To elaborate the hierarchy of the flat design, click Processing > Start > Start Analysis & Synthesis. Alternatively, at the command-line, run the following command:
```
quartus_syn blinking_led -c blinking_led
```

Step 2: Creating a Design Partition

You must create design partitions for each PR region that you want to partially reconfigure. The following steps create a design partition for the u_blinking_led instance.

Creating Design Partitions

Right-click the u_blinking_led instance in the Project Navigator and click Design Partition > Reconfigurable. A design partition icon appears next to each instance that is set as a partition.
Click Assignments > Design Partitions Window. The window displays all design partitions in the project.
Edit the partition name in the Design Partitions Window by double-clicking the name. For this reference design, rename the partition name to pr_partition.
Note: When you create a partition, the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software automatically generates a partition name, based on the instance name and hierarchy path. This default partition name can vary with each instance.
To export the finalized static region from the base revision compile, double-click the entry for root_partition in the Post Final Export File column, and type blinking_led_static.qdb.
Figure 3. Exporting Post Final Snapshot in Design Partitions Window

Verify that the blinking_led.qsf contains the following assignments, corresponding to your reconfigurable design partition:

set_instance_assignment -name PARTITION pr_partition -to u_blinking_led
        set_instance_assignment -name PARTIAL_RECONFIGURATION_PARTITION ON \
        -to u_blinking_led

set_instance_assignment -name EXPORT_PARTITION_SNAPSHOT_FINAL \	
        blinking_led_static.qdb -to | -entity top

Step 3: Allocating Placement and Routing Region for a PR Partition

For every base revision you create, the PR design flow places the corresponding persona core in your PR partition region. To locate and assign the PR region in the device floorplan for your base revision:

Right-click the u_blinking_led instance in the Project Navigator and click Logic Lock Region > Create New Logic Lock Region. The region appears on the Logic Lock Regions Window.
Your placement region must enclose the blinking_led logic. Select the placement region by locating the node in Chip Planner. Right-click the u_blinking_led region name in the Logic Lock Regions Window and click Locate Node > Locate in Chip Planner.
The u_blinking_led region is color-coded.

Figure 4. Chip Planner Node Location for blinking_led
In the Logic Lock Regions window, specify the placement region co-ordinates in the Origin column. The origin corresponds to the lower-left corner of the region. For example, to set a placement region with (X1 Y1) co-ordinates as (169 410), specify the Origin as X169_Y410. The Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software automatically calculates the (X2 Y2) co-ordinates (top-right) for the placement region, based on the height and width you specify.
Note: This tutorial uses the (X1 Y1) co-ordinates - (169 410), and a height and width of 20 for the placement region. Define any value for the placement region. Ensure that the region covers the blinking_led logic.
Enable the Reserved and Core-Only options.
Double-click the Routing Region option. The Logic Lock Routing Region Settings dialog box appears.
Select Fixed with expansion for the Routing type. Selecting this option automatically assigns an expansion length of 1.
Note: The routing region must be larger than the placement region, to provide extra flexibility for the Fitter when the engine routes different personas.

Figure 5. Logic Lock Regions Window

Verify that the blinking_led.qsf contains the following assignments, corresponding to your floorplanning:

set_instance_assignment -name PLACE_REGION "X169 Y410 X188 Y429" -to \
        u_blinking_led 
set_instance_assignment -name RESERVE_PLACE_REGION ON -to \
        u_blinking_led
set_instance_assignment -name CORE_ONLY_PLACE_REGION ON -to \
        u_blinking_led
set_instance_assignment -name ROUTE_REGION "X168 Y409 X189 Y430" -to \
        u_blinking_led

Step 4: Defining Personas

This reference design defines three separate personas for the single PR partition. To define and include the personas in your project:

Create three SystemVerilog files, blinking_led.sv, blinking_led_slow.sv, and blinking_led_empty.sv in your working directory for the three personas.

Table 2. Reference Design Personas
File Name	Description	Code
blinking_led.sv	Default persona with same design as the flat implementation	`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps `default_nettype none module blinking_led ( // clock input wire clock, input wire [31:0] counter, // Control signals for the LEDs output wire led_two_on, output wire led_three_on ); localparam COUNTER_TAP = 23; reg led_two_on_r; reg led_three_on_r; assign led_two_on = led_two_on_r; assign led_three_on = led_three_on_r; always_ff @(posedge clock) begin led_two_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP]; led_three_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP]; end endmodule
blinking_led_slow.sv	LEDs blink slower	`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps `default_nettype none module blinking_led_slow ( // clock input wire clock, input wire [31:0] counter, // Control signals for the LEDs output wire led_two_on, output wire led_three_on ); localparam COUNTER_TAP = 27; reg led_two_on_r; reg led_three_on_r; assign led_two_on = led_two_on_r; assign led_three_on = led_three_on_r; always_ff @(posedge clock) begin led_two_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP]; led_three_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP]; end endmodule
blinking_led_empty.sv	LEDs stay ON	`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps `default_nettype none module blinking_led_empty( // clock input wire clock, input wire [31:0] counter, // Control signals for the LEDs output wire led_two_on, output wire led_three_on ); // LED is active low assign led_two_on = 1'b0; assign led_three_on = 1'b0; endmodule

Table 2. Reference Design Personas

File Name

Description

Code

blinking_led.sv

Default persona with same design as the flat implementation

`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps
`default_nettype none


module blinking_led (
    // clock
    input wire clock,
    input wire [31:0] counter,

    // Control signals for the LEDs
    output wire led_two_on,
    output wire led_three_on
);

    localparam COUNTER_TAP = 23;

    reg led_two_on_r;
    reg led_three_on_r;
  
    assign led_two_on = led_two_on_r;
    assign led_three_on = led_three_on_r;

    always_ff @(posedge clock) 
    begin
        led_two_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP];
        led_three_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP];
    end

endmodule

blinking_led_slow.sv

LEDs blink slower

`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps
`default_nettype none

module blinking_led_slow (
    // clock
    input wire clock,
    input wire [31:0] counter,

    // Control signals for the LEDs
    output wire led_two_on,
    output wire led_three_on
);

    localparam COUNTER_TAP = 27;

    reg led_two_on_r;
    reg led_three_on_r;
 
    assign led_two_on = led_two_on_r;
    assign led_three_on = led_three_on_r;

    always_ff @(posedge clock) 
    begin
       led_two_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP];
       led_three_on_r <= counter[COUNTER_TAP];
    end

endmodule

blinking_led_empty.sv

LEDs stay ON

`timescale 1 ps / 1 ps
`default_nettype none

module blinking_led_empty(
    // clock
    input wire clock,
    input wire [31:0] counter,

    // Control signals for the LEDs
    output wire led_two_on,
    output wire led_three_on
);

    // LED is active low 
    assign led_two_on = 1'b0;
    assign led_three_on = 1'b0;

endmodule

Note:

blinking_led.sv is already available as part of the files you copy from the flat/ sub-directory. You can simply reuse this file.
If you create the SystemVerilog files from the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Text Editor, disable the Add file to current project option, when saving the files.

Step 5: Creating Revisions

The PR design flow uses the project revisions feature in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software. Your initial design is the base revision, where you define the static region boundaries and reconfigurable regions on the FPGA.

From the base revision, you create multiple revisions. These revisions contain the different implementations for the PR regions. However, all PR implementation revisions use the same top-level placement and routing results from the base revision.

To compile a PR design, you must create a PR implementation revision for each persona. In addition, you must assign revision types for each of the revisions. The available revision types are:

Partial Reconfiguration - Base
Partial Reconfiguration - Persona Implementation

The following table lists the revision name and the revision type for each of the revisions:

Table 3. Revision Names and Types
Revision Name	Revision Type
`blinking_led.qsf`	Partial Reconfiguration - Base
`blinking_led_default.qsf`	Partial Reconfiguration - Persona Implementation
`blinking_led_slow.qsf`	Partial Reconfiguration - Persona Implementation
`blinking_led_empty.qsf`	Partial Reconfiguration - Persona Implementation

Setting the Base Revision Type

Click Project > Revisions.
In Revision Name, select the blinking_led revision, and then click Set Current.
Click Apply. The blinking_led revision displays as the current revision.
To set the Revision Type for blinking_led, click Assignments > Settings > General.
For Revision Type, select Partial Reconfiguration - Base, and then click OK.

Verify that the blinking_led.qsf now contains the following assignment:

##blinking_led.qsf
set_global_assignment -name REVISION_TYPE PR_BASE

Creating Implementation Revisions

To open the Revisions dialog box, click Project > Revisions.
To create a new revision, double-click <<new revision>>.
In Revision name, specify blinking_led_default and select blinking_led for Based on revision.
For the Revision type, select Partial Reconfiguration - Persona Implementation.

Figure 6. Creating Revisions

Note: You can add the static region .qdb file by turning on This project uses a Partition Database (.qdb) file for the root partition, and then specifying the static region .qdb file name.
Similarly, set the Revision type for blinking_led_slow and blinking_led_empty revisions.

Figure 7. Project Revisions
Verify that each .qsf file now contains the following assignment:
```
set_global_assignment -name REVISION_TYPE PR_IMPL
set_instance_assignment -name ENTITY_REBINDING \
       place_holder -to u_blinking_led
```
where, place_holder is the default entity name for the newly created PR implementation revision.

Step 6: Compiling the Base Revision

To compile the base revision, click Processing > Start Compilation. Alternatively, the following command compiles the base revision:
```
quartus_sh --flow compile  blinking_led -c blinking_led
```

Inspect the bitstream files that generate in the output_files directory.

Table 4. Generated Files
Name	Type	Description
blinking_led.sof	Base programming file	Used for full-chip base configuration
blinking_led.pr_partition.rbf	PR bitstream file for base persona	Used for partial reconfiguration of base persona.
blinking_led_static.qdb	.qdb database file	Finalized database file used to import the static region.

Step 7: Preparing PR Implementation Revisions

You must prepare the PR implementation revisions before you can compile and generate the PR bitstream for device programming. This setup includes adding the static region .qdb file as the source file for each implementation revision. In addition, you must specify the corresponding entity of the PR region.

To set the current revision, click Project > Revisions, select blinking_led_default as the Revision name, and then click Set Current.
To verify the correct source for each implementation revision, click Project > Add/Remove Files in Project. The blinking_led.sv file appears in the file list.

Figure 8. Files Page

Repeat steps 1 through 2 to verify the other implementation revision source files:

Implementation Revision Name	Source File
blinking_led_default	blinking_led.sv
blinking_led_empty	blinking_led_empty.sv
blinking_led_slow	blinking_led_slow.sv

To verify the .qdb file associated with the root partition, click Assignments > Design Partitions Window. Confirm that the Partition Database File specifies the blinking_led_static.qdb file, or double-click the Partition Database File cell to specify this file.
Alternatively, the following command assigns this file:
```
set_instance_assignment -name QDB_FILE_PARTITION \
	blinking_led_static.qdb -to |
```

In the Entity Re-binding cell, specify the entity name of each PR partition that you change in the implementation revision. For the blinking_led_default implementation revision, the entity name is blinking_led. In this tutorial, you overwrite the u_blinking_led instance from the base revision compile with the new blinking_led entity.

Note: A placeholder entity rebinding assignment is added to the implementation revision automatically. However, you must change the default entity name in the assignment to an appropriate entity name for your design.

Implementation Revision Name	Entity Re-binding
`blinking_led_default`	`blinking_led`
`blinking_led_slow`	`blinking_led_slow`
`blinking_led_empty`	`blinking_led_empty`

Figure 9. Entity Rebinding

Verify that each of the following lines now exists in the appropriate .qsf:

##blinking_led_default.qsf
set_instance_assignment -name ENTITY_REBINDING blinking_led \
		-to u_blinking_led
						
##blinking_led_slow.qsf
set_instance_assignment -name ENTITY_REBINDING blinking_led_slow \
		-to u_blinking_led
						
##blinking_led_empty.qsf
set_instance_assignment -name ENTITY_REBINDING blinking_led_empty \
		-to u_blinking_led

To compile the design, click Processing > Start Compilation. Alternatively, the following command compiles this project:
```
quartus_sh --flow compile blinking_led –c blinking_led_default
```
Repeat the above steps to prepare blinking_led_slow and blinking_led_empty revisions:
```
quartus_sh --flow compile blinking_led –c blinking_led_slow
```
```
quartus_sh --flow compile blinking_led –c blinking_led_empty
```
Note: You can specify any Fitter specific settings that you want to apply during the PR implementation compilation. Fitter specific settings impact only the fit of the persona, without affecting the imported static region.

Step 8: Programming the Board

Before you begin:

Connect the power supply to the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board.
Connect the Intel^® FPGA Download Cable between your PC USB port and the Intel^® FPGA Download Cable port on the development board.

Note: This tutorial utilizes the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board on the bench, outside of the PCIe* slot in your host machine.

To run the design on the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA development board:

Open the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software and click Tools > Programmer.
In the Programmer, click Hardware Setup and select USB-Blaster.
Click Auto Detect and select the device, 1SG280LU5S1.
Click OK. The Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software detects and updates the Programmer with the three FPGA devices on the board.
Select the 1SG280LU5S1 device, click Change File and load the blinking_led_default.sof file.
Enable Program/Configure for blinking_led_default.sof file.
Click Start and wait for the progress bar to reach 100%.
Observe the LEDs on the board blinking at the same frequency as the original flat design.
To program only the PR region, right-click the blinking_led_default.sof file in the Programmer and click Add PR Programming File.
Select the blinking_led_slow.rbf file.
Disable Program/Configure for blinking_led_default.sof file.
Enable Program/Configure for blinking_led_slow.rbf file and click Start. On the board, observe LED[0] and LED[1] continuing to blink. When the progress bar reaches 100%, LED[2] and LED[3] blink slower.
To reprogram the PR region, right-click the .rbf file in the Programmer and click Change PR Programing File.
Select the .rbf files for the other two personas to observe the behavior on the board. Loading the blinking_led_default.rbf file causes the LEDs to blink at a specific frequency, and loading the blinking_led_empty.rbf file causes the LEDs to stay ON.

Figure 10. Programming the Intel^® Stratix^® 10 GX FPGA Development Board

Troubleshooting PR Programming Errors

Ensuring proper setup of the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Programmer and connected hardware helps to avoid any errors during PR programming.

If you face any PR programming errors, refer to "Troubleshooting PR Programming Errors" in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Partial Reconfiguration for step-by-step troubleshooting tips.

Modifying an Existing Persona

You can change an existing persona, even after fully compiling the base revision.

For example, to cause the blinking_led_slow persona to blink even slower:

In the blinking_led_slow.sv file, modify the COUNTER_TAP parameter from 27 to 28.
Recompile only the blinking_led_slow revision. There is no requirement to modify or recompile the other revisions.

Adding a New Persona to the Design

After fully compiling your base revisions, you can still add new personas and individually compile these personas.

For example, to define a new persona that keeps one LED on and the other LED off:

Copy blinking_led_empty.sv to blinking_led_wink.sv.
In the blinking_led_wink.sv file, modify the assignment, assign led_three_on = 1'b0; to assign led_three_on = 1'b1;.
Create a new implementation revision, blinking_led_wink, by following the steps in Creating Implementation Revisions.

Note: The blinking_led_wink revision must use the blinking_led_wink.sv file, and use the blinking_led_wink entity name in the entity rebinding assignment.
Compile the revision by clicking Processing > Start Compilation.

Document Revision History for AN 825: Partially Reconfiguring a Design on Intel Stratix 10 GX FPGA Development Board

Document Version	Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Version	Changes
2020.12.07	20.3	Updated Intel^® Quartus^® Prime software version number in "Reference Design Requirements" topic. Updated figures in "Creating Implementation Revisions" topic. Corrected typo in "Step 7: Preparing PR Implementation Revisions" topic.
2019.08.06	19.1	Corrected error in "Exporting Post Final Snapshot in Design Partitions Window" figure.
2019.07.15	19.1	Changed default file export location from output_files to project directory. Described new reserved core partition type and related GUI. Updated Design Partition Window descriptions and screenshots for column display button and new partition properties.
2018.09.24	18.1	Updated sections - Step 2: Creating a Design Partition, Step 6: Compiling the Base Revision, and Step 7: Preparing PR Implementation Revisions with the new PR flow that eliminates the need for manual export of finalized snapshot of the static region. Other minor text edits and image updates.
2018.05.07	18.0	Compilation flow change Other minor text edits
2017.11.06	17.1	Initial release of the document.