Selecting IP from the IP Catalog - 2021.1 English

Versal ACAP Hardware, IP, and Platform Development Methodology Guide (UG1387)

Document ID
UG1387
Release Date
2021-07-26
Version
2021.1 English

All Xilinx and third-party vendor IP is categorized based on applications such as communications and networking; video and image processing; and automotive and industrial. Use this categorization to browse the catalog to see which IP is available for your area of interest.

A majority of the IP in the IP catalog is free. However, some high value IP has an associated cost and requires a license. The IP catalog informs you about whether or not the IP requires purchase, as well as the status of the license. To select an IP from the catalog, consider the following key features, based on your design requirements, and what the specific IP offers:

  • Silicon Resources required by this IP (found in the respective IP Product Guide)
  • Is this IP supported in the device and speed grade being considered (the selection of the IP often drives the speed grade decision)? If supported, what is the max achievable throughput and Fmax?
  • External interface standards, needed for your design to talk to its companion chip on board:
    • Industry-standard interfaces such as Ethernet, PCIe® interfaces, etc.
    • Memory interfaces - number of memory interfaces, including their size and performance.
    • Xilinx proprietary interfaces such as Aurora.
      Note: You can also choose to design your own custom interface.
  • On-chip bus protocol supported by the IP (Application interface)
  • On-chip bus protocol, needed for interaction with the rest of your design. Examples:
    • AXI4
    • AXI4-Lite
    • AXI4-Stream
  • If multiple protocols are involved, bridging IP cores might have to be chosen using infrastructure IP from the IP catalog. For example:
    • AXI-AHB bridge
    • AXI SmartConnect
    • DMA/bridge subsystem for PCIe