EE 560 - Summer 2024 Digital Systems Design

Getting Started - Tool Installation

Obtaining your FPGA board

Process is still being established.

• We will email you instructions on when/where to pick up your FPGA board.

Software Installation

Fundamental Tools

• Please reference the EE457 Readme First in the Lab Resources folder of the student share. Read through it and install the following tools:
  • 7-Zip - to unzip any files we provide
  • FileZilla - to be able to FTP files to Unix/Linux servers where you will submit your results
  • Putty - SSH client
  • VPN - to be able to access USC servers from off-campus
  • VDI - to use simulation or synthesis tools not installed on your laptop (especially for MAC users)
    • VDI Install Instruction
  • QuestaSim option 6.A or 6.AA, 6.B, and/or 6.C1 (requires installing VNC) - necessary for simulation
  • TechSmith TSCC Codec - (for some of Prof. Puvvada’s old lecture videos – follow the instructions to test if you actually need this or not)

Editor

• We recommend Visual Code
• A secondary option is Notepad++

FPGA Synthesis

• Xilinx Vivado - Digilent instructions

• EE354L_Lab1_Nexys4_VDI_Questasim_Vivado_Intro.pdf EE354L_Lab1_Nexys4_VDI_Questasim_Vivado_Intro.pptx

• Nexys A7 Test Project: Download the code for this project. It includes a solution .bit file you can use to program the FPGA via Vivado. Then run through the synthesis process using the provide Verilog design and constraints (.xdc) file to see if you can achieve the same functionality.

• Nexys A7 Links

  • Nexys A7 Start Page
  • Reference Manual webpage
  • Reference Manual PDF
  • Sample XDC file
  • GPIO demo

SCF Access

Separately, using your USC NetID make sure you can access your Unix account on viterbi-scf1.uc.edu or viterbi-scf2.usc.edu. Sometimes, if you did not access it for quite a long time, it gets disabled and then you need to reset your password at https://itservices.usc.edu/uscnetid/

Older Toolchain Installation Notes

The instructions above should have what you need to install the software and tools necessary for the class. However, alternate versions and potentially more complete step-by-step guides are linked below. If you are struggling to use/install certain software packages described above, consider trying these guides.

Xilinx Vivado 2019.2

For installing the Xilinx Vivado 2019.2 on your windows machine, 
please follow the steps in the document below.
http://www-classes.usc.edu/engr/ee-s/254/ee254l_lab_manual/Vivado_installation/Vivado_2019.2_Installation_steps.pdf  
Mentor Graphics  Modelsim 10.4a or Questasim 10.4

Questasim PC install

Follow the instructions in this document. You will need to login to Google with your @usc.edu account to view this document.

VDI

Start here with an overview of the Viterbi VDI (Virtual Desktop Interface).

Instructions for installing the Horizon client software and login instructions are linked at the bottom of that page and here.

Once logged in, follow the instructions below to access and use Questasim

1. Find the Questa Sim located on your VDI and click it.

2. You will then see the Questa of version 10.6a.

If you run into problems using VDI, you can approach your TA/Mentors if it is tool related and the VSoE IT if it is basic VDI operation related. To seek help from VSoE IT, please go to instructional support

Students may save files to the Documents folder but eventually at the end of the semester, their files will be purged at the end of the semester as advised on the VDI desktop wallpaper. On the top banner of the VDI landing page (of the General Desktop Poll), under the USB pull-down menu, please select (if it is not already selected), “Automatically Connect at Startup” and “Automatically Connect when Inserted” so that you can communicate with a USB memory stick or to your Nexys-7 board to transfer .bit files from Xilinx Vivado tool running on VDI.

• Your Xilinx Vivado project should be run from C:\Xilinx_projects\<your_project_name >.
• Your Modelsim (Questasim) simulation project should be run from C:\Modelsim_projects\<your_project_name>.

Do not try to run any project from the Desktop or Documents. These are network directories and the tools often fail to access these. Whatever you create on C:\ will be wiped away when you logout. So, you should have you project directory copy on your Documents directory for safe keeping in Document\Xilinx_projects and Documents\Modelsim_projects Do the following whenever you login to VDI.

1. Create a directory under C:\
C:\Xilinx_projects or C:\Modelsim_projects
2. Copy your project directory from your Documents to the above directory
3. Use the Xilinx tools or the Questasim tool to perform the synthesis/simulation.
4. At the end, copy back the new results files etc. to the directory on Documents for safe-keeping and for reuse next time.
5. Remember that the files created on C:\ get wiped out the moment you log-off.

Please note that students will observe slower VDI boot up when they connect to the VDI system the first time. This is due in large part to the initialization of their Windows user profile at first login. Their subsequent VDI sessions will be faster.