Default System Reference Design for AMD SoC Devices
R2026bSoC
Blockset™ for AMD provides the Default system reference design
for the supported Zynq®-7000, MPSoC, and Versal® devices. This reference design supports high-speed data streaming
applications. Use this reference design with the IP core generation workflow.
Generate an IP core for a design under test (DUT) and integrate the generated IP core
into the Default system reference design. Connect the IP core
with rest of the design by using the AXI4-Stream Master, AXI4-Stream Slave, AXI4 Master,
interrupt, or AXI4-Lite interfaces. The reference design dynamically adds the required
interfaces based on the interface mapping for each DUT port.
The figure shows how the interfaces connect the processor to the DUT.

The reference design includes a processor and the generated IP core. The processor acts as a manager, and the IP core acts as a subordinate. By accessing the generated registers via the AXI4-Lite interface, the processor can read and write data to and from the IP core.
The reference design includes a direct memory access (DMA) IP to handle the data streaming between the processor and the IP core. The DMA controller acts as both a manager and a subordinate. The AXI4-Stream interfaces process the data stream from the DMA controller and send the output data stream back to the DMA controller.
In the IP core, when the TLAST signal in the AXI4-Stream
Master interface asserts, the DMA IP identifies the
assertion as a package completion signal. The DMA IP then interrupts the processor to
indicate that the frame transfer is complete.
The IP core reads the input data from the external memory via the AXI4 Master interface. The IP core then computes the algorithm and writes the result to external memory via the AXI4 Master interface. The processor can read the result from memory and then verify the result in MATLAB®.
You can also insert the AXI manager IP for the JTAG or programmable logic (PL) Ethernet connection into the reference design. Through this IP, you can use the input data in MATLAB to initialize the on-board DDR external memory.
You can tune the parameters on the FPGA or probe the results from the FPGA via the
AXI4-Lite interface in the IP core. To tune the parameters or probe results, use this
reference design with External mode in Simulink®.
Supported Interface Methods
You can use the Default system reference design with
these interfaces:
Register Interface (AXI4-Lite or AXI4) — Use this interface to access the control and status registers in your design. You can choose between AXI4-Lite or AXI4 protocol for the register interface. If you need only lightweight data transfers, use AXI4-Lite. Use AXI4 to connect to components that support burst data transfers. For more information, see Register Interface (AXI4-Lite/AXI4) (HDL Coder).
AXI4 Master — Use this interface for designs that require you to access memory or to control other IP cores with AXI4 or AXI4-Lite interfaces. Example applications include moving large amounts of data between your algorithm and external DDR memory. For more information, see AXI4 Master (HDL Coder).
AXI4-Stream — Use this interface for moving streaming data or transferring data at high speeds. Example applications include transferring large amounts of data between processors and FPGAs using DMA. For more information, see AXI4-Stream (HDL Coder).
External I/O and External Port — Use this interface to connect to peripherals on your hardware board, such as LEDs, push buttons, DIP switches, and FPGA pins. For more information, see External I/O and External Port (HDL Coder).
FPGA Data Capture — Use this interface to capture raw data from outputs or signals by using test points in your design, and then use the data to debug your design. For more information, see FPGA Data Capture (HDL Coder).
Interrupt — Use this interface to send interrupt signal from DUT to processor to trigger an event-driven task.
Supported Boards
You can use the Default system reference design
architecture with these target platforms:
Xilinx® Zynq ZC702 Evaluation Kit
Xilinx Zynq ZC706 Evaluation Kit
ZedBoard™
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+™ MPSoC ZCU102 Evaluation Kit
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU106 Evaluation Kit
Xilinx Versal AI Core Series VCK190 Evaluation Kit
Specifications
These specifications apply when you add the AXI4-Stream interfaces.
AXI4-Stream Data signal: Less than or equal to 32 bits
DUT interface: Only one AXI4-Stream Slave and one AXI4-Stream Master channel
These specifications apply when you access the external PL DDR memory or shared memory through AXI4 Master interfaces. The specifications vary depending on the target board.
Note
The ZC702 evaluation kit does not include external memory and therefore does not support the AXI4 Master interface.
ZC706 Evaluation Kit
If you specify Xilinx Zynq ZC706 evaluation kit as
the target platform, the reference design specifications include:
Support for either
AXI4 Master Readchannel orAXI4 Master Writechannel, or bothAXI4 Master ReadandAXI4 Master WritechannelsAXI4 Master Maximum Data bitwidth:
1024-bitAXI4 Master Address bitwidth:
32-bit
For DUT IP core AXI4 Master interface:
DDR3 external memory address range:
x80000000toxBFFFFFFFDefault AXI4 Master Read channel base address:
x80000000Default AXI4 Master Write channel base address:
x81000000
For MATLAB AXI Manager interface:
DDR3 external memory address range:
x80000000toxBFFFFFFFDUT IP core base address:
x400D0000
ZedBoard
If you specify ZedBoard as the target platform, the
reference design specifications include:
Support for either
AXI4 Master Readchannel orAXI4 Master Writechannel, or bothAXI4 Master ReadandAXI4 Master WritechannelsAXI4 Master Maximum Data bitwidth:
1024-bitAXI4 Master Address bitwidth:
32-bit
For DUT IP core AXI4 Master interface:
Shared memory address range:
0x10000000to0x18000000Default AXI4 Master Read channel base address:
10000000Default AXI4 Master Write channel base address:
12000000
ZCU102 or ZCU106 Evaluation Kit
If you specify Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU102 Evaluation
Kit or Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC ZCU106
Evaluation Kit as the target platform, the reference design
specifications include:
Support for either
AXI4 Master Readchannel orAXI4 Master Writechannel, or bothAXI4 Master ReadandAXI4 Master WritechannelsAXI4 Master Maximum Data bitwidth:
1024-bitAXI4 Master Address bitwidth:
32-bit
For DUT IP core AXI4 Master interface:
DDR4 external memory address range:
x80000000tox9FFFFFFFDefault AXI4 Master Read channel base address:
x80000000Default AXI4 Master Write channel base address:
x90000000
For MATLAB AXI Manager interface:
DDR4 external memory address range:
x80000000tox9FFFFFFFDUT IP core base address:
xA0000000
VCK190 Evaluation Kit
If you specify Xilinx Versal AI Core Series VCK190 Evaluation
Kit as the target platform, the reference design
specifications include:
Support for either
AXI4 Master Readchannel orAXI4 Master Writechannel, or bothAXI4 Master ReadandAXI4 Master WritechannelsAXI4 Master Maximum Data bitwidth:
1024-bitAXI4 Master Address bitwidth:
64-bit
For DUT IP core AXI4 Master interface:
LPDDR4 external memory address range:
0x50000000000to0x501FFFFFFFFDefault AXI4 Master Read channel base address:
50000000000Default AXI4 Master Write channel base address:
50000000000
For MATLAB AXI Manager interface:
LPDDR4 external memory address range:
0x50000000000to0x501FFFFFFFFDUT IP core base address:
xA4000000
Target Algorithm to Reference Design
To target your algorithm in Simulink to the Default system reference design:
Model your algorithm.
On the Simulink Toolstrip, on the HDL Code tab, in the Output section, set the drop-down button to IP Core.
Select your DUT and make sure that Code for is set to this DUT.
To open the Configuration Parameters dialog box, click the Settings button. Then, select HDL Code Generation > Target.
Set Target Platform to a supported hardware board listed in Supported Boards. Check that the Synthesis Tool is set to
Xilinx Vivado.Set Reference Design to
Default system.
Alternatively, you can set the target reference design by using the HDL Workflow Advisor tool:
In the 1.1. Set Target Device and Synthesis Tool step, set Target workflow to
IP Core Generation. Set Target platform to a supported hardware board listed in Supported Boards. Check that Synthesis tool is set toXilinx Vivado.In the 1.2. Set Target Reference Design step, set Reference design to
Default system.
Go through the workflow to generate the HDL IP core, and then integrate the IP core into the selected reference design.
Set Reference Design Parameters
In the Configuration Parameters dialog box, on the HDL Code Generation >
Target pane, set reference design parameters to the required values.
The Default System with SoC Blockset reference design has
these configuration parameters:
AXI4-Stream Master data width — Specify data width for AXI4-Stream Master interface as
32,64, or128bits.AXI4-Stream Slave data width — Specify data width for AXI4-Stream Slave interface as
32,64, or128bits.FPGA Data Capture — Generate and integrate the data capture IP into the reference design. Use FPGA data capture to observe signals from your design while the design is running on the FPGA. This feature captures a window of signal data from the FPGA and returns the data to MATLAB or Simulink over a JTAG connection. To capture data over a JTAG connection, set this parameter to
JTAG. To capture data over an Ethernet connection, set this parameter toPL Ethernet. Then, map each signal that you want to capture to theFPGA Data Captureinterface.Note
FPGA data capture in Configuration Parameters or HDL Workflow Advisor support programmable logic (PL) Ethernet only. The processing system (PS) Ethernet is not supported.
To enable the
PL Ethernetoption for the Xilinx boards that have the Ethernet physical layer (PHY), manually add the Ethernet media access controller (MAC) Hub IP in theplugin_boardfile using theaddEthernetMACInterface(HDL Coder) method before you open the Configuration Parameters dialog box or HDL Workflow Advisor.FPGA data capture in Configuration Parameters or HDL Workflow Advisor does not support SGMII interface.
Map DUT Ports
To automatically map the DUT ports to the required interfaces, on the System on Chip tab, click Map Interfaces.
To view and edit the interface mapping:
On the HDL Code tab, click Target Interface to open the IP Core editor.
Select the Interface Mapping tab to map each DUT port to one of the IP core target interfaces. If no mapping table appears, click the Reload IP core settings
button to compile the model and repopulate the
DUT ports and their data types.Validate your settings by clicking the Validate IP core settings
button.
Generate IP Core and Program FPGA
Generate the IP core and the FPGA bitstream file. Then, program the FPGA:
In the Simulink Toolstrip, on the HDL Code tab, click Build Bitstream to generate the IP core and bitstream file. Wait until the synthesis tool runs in the external window.
Expand the Build Bitstream menu. To download the bitstream, select Program Target Device.
Generate Host Interface Script
Verify the generated IP core on the hardware board by using the generated host interface script. This script contains the DUT ports and interface mapping information. Use this script to access the board memory, DUT registers, and AXI4-Stream interfaces from MATLAB. To generate a host interface script file, in the Simulink Toolstrip, on the HDL Code tab, expand the Host Interface Script menu. Then, select Host Interface Script. This option generates these MATLAB files:
gs_modelName_setup— This script adds the AXI4 Slave, AXI4-Stream, and memory interfaces. The script also contains DUT port objects that contain the port name, direction, data type, and interface mapping information. The script then maps the DUT ports to the corresponding interfaces.gs_modelName_interface— This script creates a target object, instantiates the setup scriptgs_modelName_setup, and then connects to the target hardware. The script then sends read and write commands to the generated HDL IP core.
For more information about host interface script, see Host Interface Script Files (HDL Coder).
Generate Software Interface Model
To target your hardware board, you can generate a software model in addition to the FPGA model. This action generates two models: a hardware interface model and a software interface model. It also generates two libraries that contain the interface blocks used in the generated models.
The software interface model and its library are generated only if you have Embedded Coder®, SoC Blockset for AMD, and SoC Blockset Support Package for AMD FPGA and SoC Devices installed.
You can use the hardware interface model to control the reference design on the board, including IP core, from the Simulink model, without Embedded Coder.
The software interface model enables you to target your software algorithms to the ARM® processor on the board.
For more information about software interface model, see Generate SoC Software Model.