Configuring the HW-Link Project - 2020.2 English

1. Open the hw_link project by double-clicking on the project in the Explorer view. Right-click on the binary_container in the Hardware Functions, and select the Edit V++ Options command.
   
   
   
   
   Note: For third-party simulators see Enabling Third-Party Simulators.
2. Edit the V++ Options field. It is important to add the correct path to the config file because the v++ command needs it for the Vitis IDE workspace.
   
   
3. Finally, import the specified config file into the hw_link project folder.
   
   
   Tip: The system configuration file is added to the hw_link project folder and not to a src folder.

   As explained in Linking the System, for AI Engine graph applications the Vitis compiler needs some instruction on how to connect PL kernels outside of the graph to the graph. The config file defines two key features of the top-level system project, how many PL kernels to instantiate into the design and how to connect those kernels to the graph.

   Important: This applies to PL kernels that are not included in the AI Engine graph, because those kernels are specified in the graph code.

   For the Vitis IDE the following is an example configuration file:

   [connectivity]
   stream_connect=mm2s_1.s:ai_engine_0.DataIn1
   stream_connect=ai_engine_0.DataOut1:s2mm_1.s
   [advanced]
   param=compiler.addOutputTypes=hw_export
   

The connectivity sc option defines connections between the ports of the AI Engine graph and streaming ports of PL kernels that are not included in the graph. Connections can be defined as the streaming output of one kernel connecting to the streaming input of a second kernel, or to a streaming input port on an IP implemented in the target platform.

The system.cfg file has some differences between the Vitis IDE and the command-line flow as described in Linking the System. The primary difference is that the IDE provides the connectivitiy nk options of the config file, instantiating a specified number of compute units (CUs) per kernels, as specified in the build settings. In addition, the IDE uses a naming convention for CUs in the form <kernel>_#, where # indicates the CU instance. In the case where there is only one CU instance, it has the _1 extension. This means that for the Vitis IDE, the system.cfg should not specify the nk option, and the sc option should use the CU instance name from the IDE.