FireSim 1.17.0 Released with Support for Xilinx VCU118, U250, U280, and RHS Research Nitefury II On-Premises FPGAs
Posted by Sagar Karandikar
We just released FireSim 1.17.0, which adds support for several new on-premises FPGA boards, including:
- Xilinx VCU118: FireSim VCU118 XDMA-based Getting Started Guide
- RHS Research Nitefury II: FireSim Nitefury II XDMA-based Getting Started Guide
- Xilinx Alveo U250: FireSim U250 XDMA-based Getting Started Guide
- Xilinx Alveo U280: FireSim U280 XDMA-based Getting Started Guide
All of these platforms support all FireSim features, including advanced debugging features like TracerV, Printf Synthesis, and more. FireSim’s automation is also maintained, enabling the ability to build large local clusters of FPGAs and automatically deploy simulations to them. The getting started guides for each FPGA (linked above) explain how to set up host systems of various scales, including:
- A portable FireSim-host consisting of a laptop with a Thunderbolt-attached Nitefury II FPGA (e.g., FireStarter laptop on slide 32 here)
- A desktop-based FireSim-host with one or a handful of FPGAs (e.g., FireStation desktop on slide 28 here)
- A large on-premises FireSim-host cluster with many machines and many FPGAs
All of the platforms listed above are supported using XDMA-based shells. If you were previously using FireSim’s Vitis-based U250 support, we highly recommend migrating to the new XDMA-based U250 flow.
