Step 2: Navigating the Dataflow Viewer - 2024.1 English

Vivado Design Suite Tutorial: Design Analysis and Closure Techniques (UG938)
Document ID
UG938
Release Date
2024-06-12
Version
2024.1 English
Following are the steps to create Dataflow Viewer.
  1. In the Flow menu, select Open Dataflow Design.
  2. This creates the Dataflow Netlist and it becomes the active window. The Netlist window shows the cells from the dataflow design.
  3. Next, select the same 3 cells as previously selected in the Netlist window

  4. Right click and generate a schematic. Click on the input pin of the second RAM and to make the schematic more readable. click on the redraw symbol. The schematic expansion is significantly faster than tracing through a standard netlist:

    When comparing this to the schematic on the previous page, you understand how this process is quicker:

    • Internal cells are not displayed from within the DSP
    • Registers are removed
    • LUTs are removed
    • Only RAMs and DSPs remain

    This netlist simplification translates into a faster navigation speed. This comes at the cost of low level elements within the design no longer being visible.

  5. Click on the hierarchy around the DSP slice and observe the Dataflow Hierarchy Browser. The following should be shown:

    The cross probing within the dataflow viewer functions similarly to other windows in Vivado. Observe that the Dataflow Hierarchy Browser shows the resource utilization of the selected hierarchies.

  6. Next, in the Cell Properties window, click on Statistics. This shows the following window:

  7. Next, expand the Leaf Cells under the level of selected hierarchy. It only has one cell. The reason for this is that some statistics are taken from the full design.

  8. Next step is to look at switching between designs (to distinguish from switching activity for power analysis). When you open a dataflow design, there are two netlists loaded into memory, the parent design and the dataflow design. Only one can be viewed at a time. To see the other, you need to switch designs. With the G_total_RAM_MULTS[1].mult_i hierarchy level still selected, click on the design switch icon at the top of the screen. This displays the parent design, and the selected hierarchy from the dataflow netlist is selected to facilitate cross probing between different designs. In the netlist window, expand the cells and you can see the registers.
  9. Switch back to the dataflow design using the switch icon.
    Note: It slightly changes its appearance and looks like .