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2 Prerequisites

2.1 Hardware

Xillinux, which is the Linux distribution by Xillybus for Zynq, currently supports the following boards:

  • Z-Turn Lite (along with any Zynq device it’s available with)

  • Zedboard

  • 7010 MicroZed. 7020 MicroZed is also supported with a minor fix: See section 5.5.

  • Zybo

If you’re about to purchase a Z-Turn Lite board, it’s recommended to visit this web page on this board for help with selecting the items.

Owners of boards not listed above may run the distribution on their own hardware, but certain changes, some of which may be nontrivial, may be necessary. More about this in section 5.2.

In order to use the board (MicroZed excluded) as a desktop computer with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, the following items are required:

  • A monitor capable of displaying VESA-compliant 1024x768 @ 60Hz with an analog VGA or HDMI input, depending on the board’s output (i.e. virtually any PC monitor).

  • A VGA or HDMI cable for the monitor (as applicable)

  • A USB keyboard

  • A USB mouse

  • A USB hub, if the keyboard and mouse are not combined in a single USB plug

Note that the Z-Turn Lite board doesn’t have an output to a monitor. Therefore, the Z-Turn Lite IO Cape board, which has an HDMI port, must be attached to it for a desktop usage scenario.

When Zybo is used, the monitor can be connected to the HDMI port as well as the VGA port. Zedboard’s HDMI output port is not supported.

A wireless keyboard / mouse combo is recommended, since it eliminates the need for a USB hub, and prevents possible physical damage to the USB port on the board, as a result of accidentally pulling the USB cables.

On the Zedboard and Z-Turn Lite, the connection of the keyboard and mouse is done through a Micro B to Type A female USB cable, which arrives with the Zedboard and possibly with Z-Turn Lite (depending on the purchased item).

On the other two boards, a standard USB type A female connector (like a PC’s USB plug) is available for connection of peripherals.

Also required:

  • A reliable SD card (for Zedboard) or MicroSD (for Z-Turn Lite, MicroZed and Zybo) with 4GB or more, most preferably a card manufactured by Sandisk. The card that (possibly) came with the board is not recommended, as problems have been reported using it with Xillinux.

  • Recommended: A USB adapter between an (Micro)SD card and PC, for writing the image and boot file to the card. This may be unnecessary if the PC computer has a built-in slot for SD cards. The Zynq board itself can also be used to write to the SD card, but this is somewhat more difficult.

2.2 Downloading the distribution

The Xillinux distribution is available for download at Xillybus site’s download page:

https://xillybus.com/xillinux/

The distribution consists of two parts, that are downloaded as two separate files:

  • A raw image of the (Micro)SD card consisting of the file system to be seen by Linux at bootup

  • The boot partition kit, which is a set of files for running the implementation with AMD’s tools, in order to populate the boot partition.

More about this in section 3.

The distribution includes a demo of the Xillybus IP core for easy communication between the processor and logic fabric. The specific configuration of this demo bundle may perform relatively poorly on certain applications, as it’s intended for simple tests.

Custom IP cores can be configured, automatically built and downloaded using the IP Core Factory web application. Please visit https://xillybus.com/custom-ip-factory for using this tool.

Any downloaded bundle, including the Xillybus IP core, and the Xillinux distribution, is free for use, as long as this use reasonably matches the term “evaluation”. This includes incorporating the IP core in end-user designs, running real-life data and field testing. There is no limitation on how the IP core is used, as long as the sole purpose of this use is to evaluate its capabilities and fitness for a certain application.

2.3 Development software

Vivado 2014.4 and later can be used for compilation of the logic design in the Xillinux distribution.

If 7z007s or 7z014s devices are intended for use, a Vivado revision that supports these is required (e.g. Vivado 2016.4 and later).

The software can be downloaded directly from AMD’s website (https://www.amd.com).

Any of Vivado’s editions is suitable, including

  • the WebPack Edition, which can be downloaded and used with no license fee for an unlimited time, assuming that the intended device is covered. All devices that go with Z-Turn Lite, Zedboard, MicroZed and Zybo are covered by this edition.

  • Design Edition, which requires a purchased license (but a 30-day trial is available).

  • any edition that may have been licensed specifically with a purchased board, and is therefore limited to a certain Zynq device.

  • the System and any other edition offering a superset of features of the WebPack Edition’s, are fine as well.

All of these editions cover the AMD-supplied IP cores necessary to implement Xillybus for Zynq, with no extra licensing required.

2.4 Experience with FPGA design

When using Z-Turn Lite, Zedboard, MicroZed or Zybo, no previous experience with FPGA design is necessary to have the distribution running on the platform. Using another board requires some knowledge with using AMD’s tools, and possibly some basic skills related to the Linux kernel.

To make the most of the distribution, a good understanding of logic design techniques, as well as mastering an HDL language (Verilog or VHDL) are necessary. Nevertheless, the Xillybus distribution is a good starting point for learning these, as it presents a simple starter design to experiment with.