AN 851: Incremental Block-Based Compilation Tutorial: for Intel Arria 10 FPGA Development Board

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AN-851 | 2019.07.15

AN 851: Incremental Block-Based Compilation Tutorial for Intel Arria 10 FPGA Development Board

This tutorial demonstrates using incremental block-based compilation to improve the predictability of results and reduce design iterations in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software.

Incremental block-based compilation enables you to preserve satisfactory compilation results for specific FPGA core logic design blocks (or logic that comprises a hierarchical design instance), and then reuse those results in subsequent compilations. You assign the hierarchical instance as a design partition, which you can then preserve following successful compilation. The preserved design partition must only include core resources (such as LUTs, registers, memory blocks, and DSP blocks), and cannot include any periphery resources.

Partitioned Design with Preserved Core Partition

This tutorial uses an Intel^® Arria^® 10 design example to show you how to improve the predictability of results and reduce design iterations by:

Preserving a design partition after synthesis or final compilation, and reusing the preserved results in subsequent compilations.
Targeting only specific design partitions for optimization, while leaving other design partitions unchanged.

Tutorial Design Overview

This tutorial includes a prepared design example to demonstrate incremental block-based compilation. You can download the design example to follow along with the tutorial steps in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software, as Downloading Tutorial Design Files describes.

The example top-level design instantiates a PLL that generates a 550 MHz fast clock (CLK1), and a 100 MHz slow clock (CLK2). The top-level design also instantiates 4 blinking LED modules that drive LED[3:0] every 2, 4, 8, and 16 seconds, respectively.

Figure 1. Incremental Block-Based Compilation Tutorial Design Example

To increase the design size in the Intel^® FPGA, the design example also instantiates 20 duplicate instances of an OpenCores* design.¹

The duplicate OpenCores* design instances have the following characteristics:

The design implements each instance in parallel.
I/O wrapper logic is present to reduce the number of I/O pins that the larger design requires.
No timing-critical paths exist between the instances and the wrapper logic.

¹ Reed Solomon Decoder OpenCores* project, Varkon Semiconductors, 2010.

Downloading Tutorial Design Files

Follow these steps to use the design example files with this tutorial:

Download and extract the tutorial design files at:
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/programmable/us/en/others/literature/an/a10_pcie_devkit_ibbc.zip
View the extracted tutorial design file directory structure. The completed directory contains the final versions of all the files for the tutorial. You can use the files in the completed directory for comparison to confirm successful completion of the tutorial steps. The scripts folder contains the original files.

Figure 2. Tutorial Directory Structure

The tutorial directory includes the following files:

Table 1. Tutorial Directory Files
File Name	Description
top.sv	Top-level file that instantiates the `iopll`, `big_partition1_top`, `blinking_led_2s`, `blinking_led_4s`, `blinking_led_8s`, and `blinking_led_16s` instances. The file also includes logic to drive `LED[4:7]` as a single, shifting bit.
top.qpf	Intel^® Quartus^® Prime project file that stores project name and revisions.
top.qsf	Intel^® Quartus^® Prime settings file containing the project assignments and settings.
big_partition1_top.v	Design file that instantiates 20 instances of an OpenCores* design.
blinking_led_2s.sv	Design file that includes logic to drive `LED[0]` every two seconds.
blinking_led_4s.sv	Design file that includes logic to drive `LED[1]` every four seconds.
blinking_led_8s.sv	Design file that includes logic to drive `LED[2]` every eight seconds.
blinking_led_16s.sv	Design file that includes logic to drive `LED[3]` every 16 seconds.
blinking_led.sdc	A Synopsys Design Constraints file that creates the 50 MHz `clock`.
iopll.ip	The IOPLL Intel^® FPGA IP instantiated in `top`. The IP uses 50 MHz as the reference clock frequency, and generates 100 MHz and 550 MHz clocks.
tx_dcfifo.ip	The FIFO Intel^® FPGA IP instantiated in `blinking_led_2s`, `blinking_led_4s`, `blinking_led_8s`, and `blinking_led_16s` instances. This is a dual clock FIFO with a write clock of 550 MHz and read clock of 100 MHz.
compile.tcl	A bash script that compiles the tutorial design at the command line.
partitions.tcl	A tcl script that includes the assignments to create the partitions that the tutorial describes. Running the script writes the assignments to the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Settings File (.qsf).
preserve.tcl	A tcl script that includes the assignments to preserve the partitions that the tutorial describes. Running the script writes the assignments to the .qsf.
report_timing.tcl	A tcl script that includes Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Timing Analyzer commands that generate summary of paths reports with least positive or worst slack in each partition, along with commands to report timing for two specific nodes in the three partitions that meet timing requirements.

To restore all of the tutorial files to their original state, run scripts/restore.tcl from the a10_pcie_devkit_ibbc/tutorial directory.
To compile the tutorial design from command line, run compile.tcl from the a10_pcie_devkit_ibbc/tutorial directory.

Incremental Block-Based Compilation Tutorial

The steps in this tutorial demonstrate how to improve the predictability of results and reduce design iterations by preserving the successful compilation results of design partitions, and optimizing specific partitions.

Process Description

You determine which design blocks might be suitable for preservation and optimization by running a flat compilation and timing analysis to identify the most timing-critical blocks. You then preserve the partitions for blocks that meet timing, so that the Compiler can reuse the successful results for those partitions in subsequent compilations. When you preserve a partition at the final snapshot, the Compiler preserves the final device resource utilization, placement, routing, and hold time fix-up.

After optimizing the timing-critical design blocks, you can preserve those partitions and focus optimization on other parts of the design.

Tutorial Steps

This tutorial includes the following steps:

Step 1: Compile the Flat Design
Step 2: Identify Timing-Critical Design Blocks
Step 3: Create Design Partitions
Step 4: Analyze Timing of the Partitioned Design
Step 5: Preserve Timing-Closed Partitions
Step 6: Optimize Timing-Critical Design Blocks
Step 7: Verify Preservation and Optimized Results
(Optional) Step 8: Device Programming
(Optional) Step 9: Verify Results in Hardware

Step 1: Compile the Flat Design

Follow these steps to compile the flat (non-partitioned) design:

In the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition software, click File > Open Project and open the /tutorial/top.qpf project file.
To compile the flat design, click Compile Design on the Compilation Dashboard. A check mark appears as each stage completes. The compilation may require 30 minutes or more, depending on your system.

Figure 3. Compilation Dashboard

Step 2: Identify Timing-Critical Design Blocks

Follow these steps to identify the timing-critical design blocks in the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Timing Analyzer:

To open the Timing Analyzer, click Tools > Timing Analyzer .
In the Timing Analyzer, on the Tasks pane, double-click Update Timing Netlist to load the final timing netlist generated during the compilation.

Figure 4. Timing Analyzer Tasks Pane

To run the report_timing.tcl script to identify any failing paths in the timing-critical design blocks, type the following command in the Console window. If not already visible, click View > Console in the Timing Analyzer to display the Console. The script runs commands to identify any failing paths.

source report_timing.tcl

The tcl script runs the report_timing command, capturing timing for the top 100 paths with the worst slack. The script is also preconfigured to capture timing between specific nodes for some of the design blocks. You analyze timing for these nodes later in this tutorial.

Figure 5. Timing Analyzer Report Folders

Table 2. Timing Analysis Reports that report_timing.tcl Generates
Timing Analysis Folder	Generated For	Timing Reports Show
inst_big	`u_big_partition1_top`	Analysis of top 100 paths with worst slack
inst_i1	`u_blinking_led_i1`
inst_i2	`u_blinking_led_i2`
inst_i3	`u_blinking_led_i3`
inst_i4	`u_blinking_led_i4`
inst_big_path1	`u_big_partition1_top`	Analysis of timing between specific nodes for some partitions
inst_i1_path1	`u_blinking_led_i1`
inst_i2_path1	`u_blinking_led_i2`

In the inst_big folder, right-click the Slow 900 mV 100C Model report, and then click Generate in All Corners. Repeat this step for the inst_i1, inst_i2, inst_i3, and inst_i4 folders.
View the Multi Corner Summary report that generates under each folder in the Report pane. Reports in red text in the inst_i3 and inst_i4 folders indicate timing-critical design blocks with failing paths.
Open the Multi Corner Summary report in the inst_i3 folder. Check the values in the From Node and To Node fields. Analysis indicates that the failing paths in u_blinking_led_i3 are in the 64-bit counter. This counter counts the number of cycles equivalent to 8s, where each cycle is of 1.818 ns.

Figure 6. Multi Corner Summary for u_blinking_led_i3

Note: Due to processor, memory, or OS variations, the slack values in this tutorial are only for reference and may vary from the actual values you observe.
Open the Multi Corner Summary report in the inst_i4 folder. Check the values in the From Node and To Node fields. Analysis indicates that the failing paths in u_blinking_led_i4 are in the 64-bit counter. This counter counts the number of cycles equivalent to 16s, where each cycle is of 1.818 ns.

Figure 7. Multi Corner Summary for u_blinking_led_i4

The timing analysis identifies u_blinking_led_i3 and u_blinking_led_i4 as timing-critical design blocks for optimization.

Step 3: Create Design Partitions

After identifying the timing-critical design blocks, you can partition and recompile the design to preserve the results for the partitions that meet timing. Follow these steps to partition the design:

In the Project Navigator, right-click u_blinking_led_i1 in the Hierarchy tab, point to Design Partition, and select the Default partition Type. A design partition icon appears next to each instance you assign.

Figure 8. Create Design Partitions
Repeat step 1 to create partitions for the u_big_partition1_top, u_blinking_led_i2, u_blinking_led_i3, and u_blinking_led_i4 instances.
If the Design Partitions Window is not already open, click Assignments > Design Partitions Window. The Design Partitions Window lists the partitions you define, along with the root partition (|) the Compiler automatically creates for each project.

Figure 9. Design Partitions Window
To compile the partitioned design, click Compile Design on the Compilation Dashboard.

Step 4: Analyze Timing of the Partitioned Design

Follow these steps to analyze the timing of the partitioned design:

Click Tools > Timing Analyzer , and then double-click Update Timing Netlist.
Run the report_timing.tcl script to regenerate the timing analysis reports for failing paths:
```
source report_timing.tcl
```
The timing analysis reports in the inst_i3 and inst_i4 folders remain red, indicating that u_blinking_led_i3 and u_blinking_led_i4 still do not meet timing requirements in the partitioned design. Later in this tutorial you optimize these design blocks to ensure that they meet timing requirements in the flat design.
Figure 10. u_blinking_led_i3 and u_blinking_led_i4 Violate Timing Requirements
In the inst_big folder, right-click the Slow 900 mV 100C Model report, and then click Generate in All Corners. Repeat this step for the inst_big1_path1, inst_i1_path1, and inst_i2_path1 folders.
View the Multi Corner Summary reports in the inst_big1_path1, inst_i1_path1, and inst_i2_path1 timing analysis folders. The report_timing.tcl script includes commands to generate these reports for pre-selected nodes. Note the slack and placement results for the paths in 3 partitions, as the following figure shows. Later in the tutorial you compare these results with those after compilation of the final snapshot.

Figure 11. Multi Corner Summary for u_big_partition1_top

Step 5: Preserve Timing-Closed Partitions

You can preserve the final snapshot of the partitions that meet timing requirements, to retain the same implementation in subsequent compilations.

You do not preserve the final snapshot for blinking_led_8s and blinking_led_16s because these are failing timing.

The Compiler preserves the final device utilization, placement, routing, and hold time fix-up for the partitions that you preserve. The preserved partition becomes the source for each subsequent compilation.

Follow these steps to preserve the timing-closed partitions:

Click Assignments > Design Partitions Window.
Select final as the Preservation Level for the blinking_led_2s, big_partition1_top, and blinking_led_4s partitions.

Figure 12. Setting Partition Preservation Levels

Step 6: Optimize Timing-Critical Design Blocks

Follow these steps to optimize the 64-bit counters in blinking_led_8s.sv and blinking_led_16s.sv to improve timing. These changes implement 32-bit addition, rather than 64-bit addition in the counters.

Open blinking_led_8s.sv in a text editor and uncomment the following lines:

    //reg [31:0] count_msb;
    //reg [31:0] count_lsb;
    //reg [1:0] state=2'b00;
    //always_ff @(posedge fast_clock) begin
    //    fifo_wreq <= 1'b0;	       
    //    case (state)
    //        2'b00: begin
    //            count_lsb <= count_lsb + 1;		  
    //            if (count_lsb[31:0]==32'hFFFFFFFF) begin
    //                state <= 2'b01;	      
    //            end
    //        end
    //        
    //        2'b01: begin
    //            count_lsb <= count_lsb + 1;	   
    //            if (count_lsb[31:0]==32'h064962EC) begin	   	   
    //                count_lsb <= 1;		
    //                value_in <= !value_in;
    //                fifo_wreq <= 1'b1;
    //                state <= 2'b00;
    //            end
    //        end
    //        
    //        default: begin
    //            count_msb <= 0;			
    //            count_lsb <= 0;
    //            state <= 2'b00;
    //        end        	
    //    endcase   
    //end

In blinking_led_8s.sv, comment the following lines and save the changes:

    reg [63:0] count_in;
    always_ff @(posedge fast_clock) begin
        count_in <= count_in + 1;
        fifo_wreq <= 1'b0;      
        if (count_in==64'd4400440044) begin
            count_in <= 0;
            value_in <= !value_in;	 
            fifo_wreq <= 1'b1;
        end
    end

Open blinking_led_16s.sv and uncomment the following lines:

    //reg [31:0] count_msb;
    //reg [31:0] count_lsb;
    //reg [1:0] state=2'b00;
    //
    //always_ff @(posedge fast_clock) begin
    //    fifo_wreq <= 1'b0;	       
    //    
    //    case (state)
    //    2'b00: begin
    //        count_lsb <= count_lsb + 1;		  
    //        if (count_lsb[31:0]==32'hFFFFFFFF) begin
    //            state <= 2'b01;	      
    //        end
    //    end
    //    
    //    2'b01: begin
    //       count_lsb <= count_lsb + 1;
    //       if (count_lsb[31:0]==32'hFFFFFFFF) begin	   
    //           state <= 2'b10;	      
    //       end
    //    end	
    //    
    //    2'b10: begin
    //       count_lsb <= count_lsb + 1;	   
    //       if (count_lsb[31:0]==32'h0C92C5D8) begin	   	   
    //           count_lsb <= 1;	      
    //           value_in <= !value_in;
    //           fifo_wreq <= 1'b1;
    //           state <= 2'b00;
    //       end
    //    end
    //    
    //    default: begin
    //        count_msb <= 0;			
    //        count_lsb <= 0;
    //        state <= 2'b00;
    //    end
    //    
    //    endcase
    //end

In blinking_led_16s.sv, comment the following lines and save the changes:

    reg [63:0] count_in;
    always_ff @(posedge fast_clock) begin
        count_in <= count_in + 1;
        fifo_wreq <= 1'b0;
        if (count_in==64'd8800880088) begin							   
            count_in <= 0;
            value_in <= !value_in;
            fifo_wreq <= 1'b1;
        end	
    end

To compile the design with these changes, click Compile Design on the Compilation Dashboard.

Step 7: Verify Preservation and Optimized Results

After compilation is complete, follow these steps to verify that the Compiler uses the preserved partitions, and that the optimized design block now meets timing requirements:

In the Compilation Report (Processing > Compilation Report), under the Fitter folder, expand the Preserved Assignments folder. The reports indicate use of the preserved partitions.

Figure 13. Preserved Partitions Report
Click Tools > Timing Analyzer , and then double-click Update Timing Netlist.
Run the report_timing.tcl script to regenerate the timing analysis reports:
```
source report_timing.tcl
```
Timing analysis data in the inst_i3 and inst_i4 report folders now indicate that the blinking_led_i3 and blinking_led_i4 partitions meets timing requirements.
Figure 14. Optimized u_blinking_led_i3 and u_blinking_led_i4 Meet Timing
In the Timing Analyzer reports , right-click the Slow 900 mV 100C Model report in each folder, and then click Generate in All Corners.
Open the Multi Corner Summary report to check the slack and placement results for the big_partition1_top partition. The slack value is similar to performance at the time of preservation. The placement results are the same as at the time of preservation. You can compare these preserved results with Figure 11.

Figure 15. Preserved Slack and Placement
Repeat step 4 to verify the slack and placement results for the blinking_led_i1 and blinking_led_i2 partitions.

(Optional) Step 8: Device Programming

You can optionally configure the FPGA on the Intel^® Arria^® 10 GX Development Kit to verify the results in hardware. You can adapt the following steps if you are using a different device or development kit.

Configuring the FPGA involves opening the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Pro Edition Programmer, connecting to the Development Kit board, and loading the configuration SRAM Object File (.sof) into the SRAM of the FPGA.

Note: A .sof file configures the SRAM of an Intel^® FPGA. A Programmer Object File (.pof) programs a flash memory device with an FPGA configuration image for subsequent loading to an FPGA.

Follow these steps to configure the FPGA on the Intel^® Arria^® 10 GX Development Kit:

To open the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Programmer, click Tools > Programmer.
Connect the board cables:
- JTAG USB cable to board
- Power cable attached to board and power source
Turn on power to the board.
In the Intel^® Quartus^® Prime Programmer, click Hardware Setup.

Figure 16. Hardware Setup
In the Hardware list, select USB-BlasterII, and then click Close. The device chain appears.

Note: If the device chain does not appear, verify the board connections.
Click Auto-Detect. The device chain populates.
In the Found Devices list, select the device that matches your design and click OK. For this tutorial, select the 10AX115S2 device that matches the 10AX115S2F45I1SG FPGA on the Intel^® Arria^® 10 GX Development Kit.

Figure 17. Select Device
Right-click the 10AX115S2 row in the file list, and then click Change File.

Figure 18. Programmer Window
Browse to select the top.sof file from the appropriate tutorial/output_files/ directory.
Enable the Program/Configure option for the 10AX115S2 row.

Figure 19. Program/Configure Option
Click Start. The progress bar reaches 100% when device configuration is complete. The device is now fully configured and in operation.

Figure 20. Programming Successful

Note: If device configuration fails, make sure the device you select for configuration matches the device you specify during .sof file generation.

(Optional) Step 9: Verify Results in Hardware

After device programming you can verify the results of this tutorial in hardware. After completing this tutorial, LEDs D6-D3 map to the blinking_led_top instance, and LEDs D10-D7 map to the top-level design. After you configure the FPGA with the SRAM Object File (.sof), blinking_led flashes red LEDs in the following order:

D3 blinks every two seconds
D4 blinks every four seconds
D5 blinks every eight seconds
D6 blinks every 16 seconds

The top-level design illuminates LEDs D10-D7 as a shifting bit in green.

Figure 21. Illumination of LEDs during Hardware Verification

Incremental Block-Based Compilation Tutorial Revision History

Table 3. Document Revision History
Document Version	Software Version	Changes
2019.07.15	19.2	Updated description of partition type GUI.
2018.11.10	18.1	Updated screenshots. Updated steps to reflect latest timing results. Updated link to latest version of design example files.
2018.06.27	18.0	Replaced references to compile.sh with compile.tcl. Replaced references to restore.sh with restore.tcl.
2018.06.26	18.0	Corrected link to design example files.
2018.06.22	18.0	Initial release of the document.