Embedded designs that include an AI Engine as an accelerator contain a dataflow graph for the AI Engine, which performs a specific algorithm. The dataflow graph is compiled using aiecompiler and the output binary is run on hardware. Verify the dataflow graph using one of the following methods:
- aiesimulator
- Uses a stimulus generator and checker.
- Hardware emulation flow
- Includes other system-level IP, such as CIPS, NoC, DDR memory, and RTL IP.
After verification, the kernels must run on hardware without requiring additional hardware debugging. However, there can be functionality and performance differences on hardware compared to the simulation environment. These differences are due to timing difference in hardware, or due to differences between the simulation model and the hardware behavior. For example, AI Engine simulator is not cycle accurate with AI Engine hardware.
You can enable event trace profiling using Adaptive Data Flow (ADF) graphs that generate PC event trace or execution trace. You can view event tracing data in the Vitis Analyzer to check for specific stalls while running the kernel. You can also use event trace to check performance degradation in stream switch networks caused by stalls on incoming or outgoing streams.