Calculating Bitstream Load Time for Tandem - 1.3 English

UltraScale+ Devices Integrated Block for PCI Express Product Guide (PG213)

Document ID
PG213
Release Date
2023-10-19
Version
1.3 English
The configuration loading time is a function of the configuration clock frequency and precision, data width of the configuration interface, and bitstream size. The calculation is broken down into three steps:
  1. Calculate the minimum clock frequency based on the nominal clock frequency and subtract any variation from the nominal.

    Minimum Clock Frequency = Nominal Clock - Clock Variation

  2. Calculate the minimum PROM bandwidth, which is a function of the data bus width, clock frequency, and PROM type. The PROM bandwidth is the minimum clock frequency multiplied by the bus width.

    PROM Bandwidth = Minimum Clock Frequency × Bus Width

  3. Calculate the first-stage bitstream loading time, which is the minimum PROM bandwidth from step 2, divided by the first-stage bitstream size as reported by write_bitstream.

    Stage 1 Load Time = (Stage 1 Bitstream Size) / (PROM Bandwidth)

    The stage 1 bitstream size, reported by write_bitstream, can be read directly from the terminal or from the log file.

The following is a snippet from the write_bitstream log showing the bitstream size for stage 1 in a VU9P device (with default settings, including compression):

Creating bitstream...
Tandem stage1 bitstream contains 11822112 bits.
Tandem stage2 bitstream contains 110742368 bits.
Writing bitstream ./xilinx_pcie_ip.bit...

These values represent the explicit values of the bitstream stages, whether in one bit file or two. The effects of bitstream compression are reflected in these values.