Description

ACE 10.2 and later releases no longer support AC7t1500ES0. Instead, all designs that target this device will need to be ported over to AC7t1500.

Updating Target Device Fields

When attempting to load an ACE project that targets AC7t1500ES0, ACE will display error message below, preventing the project from being loaded.

Device not installed

Part name "AC7t1500ES0" is not installed, unable to load the specified project. Please update the set_project_option -- partname "AC7t1500ES0" command in the project file to select an installed part.

When this error message arises, it will be necessary to open up the .acxprj file in a text editor and edit the following line that specifies the device to target "AC7t1500".

partname

set_project_option -project gddr_ref_design_top -- partname "AC7t1500"

Likewise all .acxip files used in the ACE project will need to have their "target device" fields updated to point to AC7t1500.

NoC Row Access to the Southwest Fabric to be Enabled

The AC7t1500ES0 device was unable to make use of any NAPs placed in the southwest portion of the fabric (rows 1-4 and columns 1-5). However, the AC7t1500 device does not have this limitation. Therefore, when porting to AC7t1500 from a design that previously targeted AC7t1500ES0, it is necessary to enable all the rows in the southern half of the fabric, west access to the rest of the chip. To do so the following steps must be done in the ACE project.

1. Open the NoC .acxip utilized in the ACE project in the IP configuration perspective.
2. After selecting the desired frequency profile, click the Next twice in the lower righthand corner of the configuration window.

3. Ensure that all boxes that enable west access on rows 0 to 3 are checked as seen in the image below.
   
   

   Figure: Enabling West Access in the Southern Fabric Rows

4. Click Generate assuming the rest of the .acxip files are configured properly.

Achronix Device Manager Placement

The AC7t1500 requires that the Achronix Device Manager (ADM) is placed in the southern half of the fabric. To ensure that this is done, it is important to regenerate the ADM soft IP (ADM RTL instantiation). When doing so, ACE will ensure that it is only placed on rows 1 - 4.