Using GNAT on the XESS XSA-3S1000 Board

Application Note

How to use GNAT to monitor and control FPGA designs through a JTAG port.

Using GNAT on the XESS XSA-3S1000 Board

USING GNAT ON THE XESS XSA-3S1000 Board

GNAT is a simple module invented by Silicon and Software Systems (S3) Ltd. that makes it easy to control and monitor your FPGA design through the JTAG port. You can find out all about GNAT at http://www.s3group.com/system_ic/gnat/. They also have an example design for an FPGA board that illustrates what can be done with GNAT ( http://www.s3group.com/system_ic/gnat/download_gnat/ ).

We have slightly modified their example design to port it to the XESS XSA-3S1000 Board. You can find the archive for this modified project at /projects/gnat_xsa_3s1000.zip.

APPLICATION DIRECTORY TREE

The directory tree for the XSA-3S1000 GNAT example is shown below:

	  gnat_xsa_3s1000 --+
						|
						+--- bin
						|
						+--- gnat
						|            
						+--- spartan3

The content of each subdirectory is listed below.

  • bin
    • This directory contains several executables. gnat-gui.exe is S3's interactive interface to a GNAT-enabled design. Xilinx provides the playxsvf*.exe executables that will download an XSVF-formatted bitstream into an FPGA through its JTAG port. (These can be used by gnat-gui.exe to configure the FPGA directly without using the Xilinx iMPACT program.)

  • gnat
    • This directory stores the VHDL files for the GNAT module. These files are unchanged from those provided directly by S3.

  • spartan3
    • This directory stores the top-level VHDL module and pin assignment UCF file for the example design that interfaces to the GNAT module. These design files are compiled with the GNAT module using Xilinx WebPACK 6.3 to create an XSVF file that can be downloaded to the XSA-3S1000. There is also a gnat-setup-s3.tcl file that tells the gnat-gui.exe program about the connection of the GNAT module to the other circuitry in the example design. All these files have been slightly modified to reflect the hardware of the XSA-3S1000 Board. The changes have been clearly marked so you can identify the places where you will have to alter these files for your own designs.

INSTALLATION

  • Get the GNAT archive from the S3 website ( http://www.s3group.com/system_ic/gnat/download_gnat/ ). This contains an article from the Xilinx XCELL magazine that describes GNAT (xc_jtag53.pdf). Another document (gnat-s3.pdf) describes how to install and use GNAT in greater detail than is discussed here. It also describes the circuitry included in the example design.

  • Get the archive for the modified GNAT example design from the XESS website ( /projects/gnat_xsa_3s1000.zip ) and unpack it.

  • Go to http://www.xilinx.com and download and install the WebPACK and Chipscope Pro software packages.

  • Create a new CHIPSCOPE environment variable that points to the Chipscope installation directory. (On Windows 2000 or XP, define the new variable by clicking START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SYSTEM -> ADVANCED -> ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES and then click on New... to create a system variable named CHIPSCOPE with the appropriate directory as its value.) Then add %CHIPSCOPE%; to the beginning of the PATH system variable.

  • Copy one of the playxsvf*.exe files from gnat_xsa_s3\bin to your %XILINX%\bin\nt directory and change its name to playxsvf.exe. (On Windows 2000, I found only the playxsvfdyn501b.exe would work correctly when called by gnat-gui.exe.)

  • Prepare your XSA-3S1000 Board by using GXSLOAD or XSLOAD to program the CPLD with the XSTOOLS\XSA\3S1000\p3jtag.svf file. Then move the shunt on jumper J9 to the XI position. (This allows the board to respond to JTAG commands by making the CPLD emulate a Xilinx Parallel 3 cable.)

TESTING THE EXAMPLE DESIGN

  • Double-click the gnat_xsa_3s1000\spartan3\spartan3.npl file to open the WebPACK project for the example design.

  • Highlight the toplevel-rtl object in the Sources pane. Then double-click the ``Generate PROM, ACE or JTAG File'' item in the Processes pane. The example design will go through the synthesis and implementation phases and then iMPACT will start. Once iMPACT starts, do the following:
    • Indicate that you want to create a Boundary-Scan File. Click Next>.

    • Select XSVF as the file type. Click Finish.

    • Type-in the name of the file to be created: gnat-s3.xsvf. Click Save and then click OK on the acknowledgement window that follows.

    • Select the file containing the device configuration bitstream that will be translated into XSVF. Click Open.

    • A drawing of a JTAG chain containing a single xc3s1000 FPGA should appear in the main iMPACT window. Right-click on the xc3s1000 block and select Program... Click on OK in the window that appears. Within a few seconds, you should receive an acknowledgement that the programming was successful. The gnat-s3.xsvf file now contains the bitstream for the FPGA. You can close iMPACT at this point.

  • Start the GNAT interface by double-clicking the gnat_xsa_3s1000\bin\gnat-gui.exe icon. You will be asked to select a setup file. Go to the gnat_xsa_3s1000\spartan3 directory, highlight the gnat-setup-s3.tcl file and click on Open. (This file contains information that tells gnat-gui.exe about the various interfaces between the GNAT module and the other circuitry in the example design.) The main GNAT window should appear.

  • Higlight the xc3s1000 object in the JTAG Chain pane. Then click on the ``select file'' button in the Command Window. Go to the gnat_xsa_3s1000\spartan3 directory, highlight the gnat-s3.xsvf file that was created, and click on Open. Then click on the run button in the Command Window. The contents of the XSVF file will be downloaded to configure the FPGA with the circuitry of the example design. This should take about 10 seconds. Look in the Log Window for error messages. (You may have to scroll it to the right to see errors relating to the XSVF download procedure.) If errors occur during the download, you may have to try a different version of the playxsvf.exe file. If none of the versions works, then you will have to download the bitstream using iMPACT. (Remember to close iMPACT before starting gnat-gui or they will clash as they both try to access the JTAG port of the FPGA).

  • Click on the ``Start Polling'' button. This will make gnat-gui continuously monitor the state of the circuit downloaded into the FPGA. Now you can click on the Inc button and watch how the LEDs change on the XSA-3S1000 Board and in the Virtual Instruments Window. Pressing the SW2 pushbutton on the XSA-3S1000 Board will extinguish the LEDs on the board and in the Virtual Instruments Window. Changing the DIP switch settings on the board will also be reflected in the Virtual Instruments Window.

ENVIRONMENT

This example design was developed using the following versions of software:

	   Xilinx WebPACK       : 6.3.03i
	   Xilinx Chipscope Pro : 6.3.03i
	   Xilinx playxsvf      : playxsvfdyn501b.exe
	   S3 GNAT              : V1.1 (beta)

SOURCE FILES

You can download the source files for the original GNAT example design from the S3 website at http://www.s3group.com/system_ic/gnat/download_gnat/ .

You can download the source files for the modified GNAT example design from the XESS website at /projects/gnat_xsa_3s1000.zip .

AUTHOR

Dave Vanden Bout, X Engineering Software Systems Corp.

Send bug reports to bugs@xess.com.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright 2005 by X Engineering Software Systems Corporation.

These applications can be freely distributed and modified as long as you do not remove the attributions to the author or his employer.

HISTORY

08/11/2005 - Initial release.

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