This Document is not yet Rated

Rate this Document

How do I know if my FPGA VI can be compiled on a chassis I have no access to currently?

Hardware: CompactRIO

Problem:
I have successfully compiled my FPGA VI on a 3M gate cRIO FPGA chassis. How can I find out if I can successfully use this VI on another chassis with fewer number of gates?

Solution:
There are 2 solutions to this problem.
1. Compare FPGA resources used.
2. Add new FPGA target into project

Method 1
After each successful compilation, the compile server will send a compilation report to LabVIEW, the information can be accessed in the Project Explorer: Right Click on the FPGA VI and select Target-Specific Properties...
The compilation report will look like the following.

Compilation Summary

-------------------



Device Utilization Summary:

   Number of BUFGMUXs                        2 out of 8      25%

   Number of External IOBs                 233 out of 333    69%

      Number of LOCed IOBs                 233 out of 233   100%

   Number of RAMB16s                         2 out of 40      5%

   Number of Slices                       3810 out of 20480  18%

      Number of SLICEMs                      6 out of 10240   1%



Clock Rates: (Requested rates are adjusted for jitter and accuracy) 

  Base clock: 40 MHz Onboard Clock

      Requested Rate:      40.408938MHz 

      Theoretical Maximum: 58.671673MHz 

Using the report, you can estimate the resources needed for the FPGA compilation.

It is important to note that different FPGA chassis uses different FPGA chips, hence different architecture, which will result in slight difference in the resources used.

Method 2
The other method is to add a new target to the existing project and re-compile the FPGA VI.
This will determine realistically if the FPGA can be compiled in the specific target.

To add a new target, go to Project Explorer,
Right-click on the existing cRIO controller target. Select New » Targets and Devices



In the dialog box, select the "New target or device" radio button, and select the desired chassis to be used.

This target will appear as "FPGA Target 2" inside the Project Explorer under the cRIO target tree. Drag and drop your FPGA VIs, I/O resources and memory resources to the new target.

Finally, right-click on the FPGA VI and select Compile.
You do not need to connect to the physical target to compile the FPGA.
A successful compilation will generate a report according to the FPGA chip used in the specific chassis.


Related Links:

Attachments:





Report Date: 04/11/2008
Last Updated: 07/02/2008
Document ID: 4KA3R7QR

Your Feedback!	Poor  |  Excellent							Yes	No
Document Quality?							Answered Your Question?
	1	2	3	4	5
Document needs work? Please tell us why.
Please Contact NI for all product and support inquiries.