Alveo Cable configuration flow

[vconst89]

Hi,

Could you navigate me please,

Let's say I changed FPGA and Flash drive configuration with custom FPGA configuration file, i.e. with u50_gt_refdesign_20201019

1. How can I now roll back to  "vanilla" xilinx_u50_gen3x16_xdma_201920_3 shell mode?

2. It's not very clear, can I use the same one machine, both for card hosting with PCI-E and for card configuration with Alveo Cable?

[emeryw]

Hi @vconst89 ,

Thanks for reaching out. This process has significantly more steps than XRT's flash --factory_reset. In addition, you will need a USB cable, TI-Pod and (Debug Maintenance Board) DMB module to connect to the 2x15-pin port on the U50.

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1. How can I now roll back to  "vanilla" xilinx_u50_gen3x16_xdma_201920_3 shell mode?

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This can be done by following the steps outlined in https://www.xilinx.com/support/answers/71757.html. As of current, it does not have the specific steps for the U50, but will be enhanced soon to encompass that card as well.

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2. It's not very clear, can I use the same one machine, both for card hosting with PCI-E and for card configuration with Alveo Cable?

A separate machine is probably best, because if a device disappears from the PCIe bus during the flashing process, the host may panic. This is undesirable during the flashing process.

Best,

-Emery

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[vconst89]

Hi @emeryw , thank you for such a quick feedback

1. Regarding the equipment you listed, I have U50 card and Alveo Programming Cable. When connect cable to the board, I can see FPGA chip and FLASH from Hardware Manager through this cable. Is it enough set? What do you mean by  TI-Pod and (Debug Maintenance Board) DMB module ? I can't see them among Alveo Accessories

2. Could you please clarify a bit programming steps for the card configuration? I'm aware of  Alveo U50 GT Reference Design for Vivado and AR71763 but still not quire sure

Let's say my board is installed through PCIE into the HostPC and I have ServicePC, with Programming Cable connected through USB.

Should I disable somehow the board on the driver level in HostPC, when configure it? Or just load configuration into QSPI flash and then do the cold reboot to apply it?

3. And is it possible to do the "cold reboot" via OS(Ubuntu) commands? 

[emeryw · Accepted solution]

Hi @vconst89 ,

1. If I am understanding you correctly, that is what I was referring to. If you have the right cable, you should be able to see the card in Vivado Hardware Manager.

2. This is covered in https://www.xilinx.com/member/alveo-vivado/u50/ug1371-u50-reconfig-accel.pdf . You will need to request access to the Lounge if you have not been approved previously. It covers the various flows and documents supporting those various flows.

3. I am not aware of a command that will perform this. On some of the lab systems we use for testing and debugging, this is done via the IPMI interface. This has already been discussed here: https://forums.xilinx.com/t5/Alveo-Accelerator-Cards/Alveo-Board-Flash-reload/td-p/1009863

Best,

-Emery

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