User guide

234 www.xilinx.com System Generator for DSP User Guide
UG640 (v 12.2) July 23, 2010
Chapter 3: Using Hardware Co-Simulation
Generator compiles the design into hardware, it connects the signals that are associated
with the Gateways to the appropriate external devices they signify in hardware.
I/O Ports in Hardware Co-simulation
A hardware co-simulation block does not include board-specific ports on its external
interface. This means that if a model includes a gateway that corresponds to a board-
specific port, the corresponding port is connected to the simulation model instead of the
actual hardware when the design is compiled for hardware co-sim. To leave the port
connected to a real port, use a non-memory mapped gateway instead. See the topic on non-
memory-mapped ports Supporting New Boards.
Ethernet Hardware Co-Simulation
System Generator provides hardware co-simulation interfaces that facilitate high-
throughput communication with an FPGA board over an Ethernet connection. These
interfaces eliminate the communication range limitation imposed by programming cable
solutions, while also offering superior bandwidth for real-time applications. By supporting
device configuration over Ethernet, there is no need for a separate programming cable.
Two flavors of Ethernet hardware co-simulation are supported by the tool. Point-to-point
Ethernet co-simulation provides a straightforward high-performance co-simulation
environment using a direct, point-to-point Ethernet connection between a PC and FPGA
board. Network-based Ethernet Co-Simulation allows communication with a remote
FPGA through the widely deployed IPv4 network infrastructure.