move liteusb to a separate repo (https://github.com/enjoy-digital/liteusb)
[litex.git] / README
1 __ ___ _ ____ _____
2 / |/ / (_) / __/__ / ___/
3 / /|_/ / / / _\ \/ _ \/ /__
4 /_/ /_/ /_/ /___/\___/\___/
5
6 Copyright 2007-2015 / M-Labs Ltd
7 Copyright 2012-2015 / Enjoy-Digital
8
9 a high performance and small footprint SoC based on Migen
10
11 [> Features
12 -----------
13 * LatticeMico32 CPU, modified to include an optional MMU (experimental).
14 * mor1kx (a better OpenRISC implementation) as alternative CPU option.
15 * High performance memory controller capable of issuing several SDRAM commands
16 per FPGA cycle.
17 * Supports SDR, DDR, LPDDR, DDR2 and DDR3.
18 * Provided peripherals: UART, GPIO, timer, GPIO, NOR flash controller, SPI
19 flash controller, Ethernet MAC, and more.
20 * High performance:
21 - on Spartan-6, 83MHz system clock frequencies, 10+Gbps DDR
22 SDRAM bandwidth, 1080p 32bpp framebuffer, etc.
23 - on Kintex-7, 125MHz system clock frequencies (up to 200MHz without DDR3),
24 64Gbps DDR3 SDRAM bandwidth.
25 * Low resource usage: basic implementation fits easily in Spartan-6 LX9.
26 * Portable and easy to customize thanks to Python- and Migen-based
27 architecture.
28 * Design new peripherals using Migen and benefit from automatic CSR maps
29 and logic, etc.
30 * Possibility to encapsulate legacy Verilog/VHDL code.
31 * Complex FPGA cores that can be used integrated in MiSoC or standalone:
32 - LiteEth: a small footprint and configurable Ethernet core
33
34 MiSoC comes with built-in support for the following boards:
35 * Mixxeo, the digital video mixer from M-Labs [XC6SLX45]
36 * Milkymist One, the original M-Labs video synthesizer [XC6SLX45]
37 * Papilio Pro, a simple and low-cost development board [XC6SLX9]
38 * Pipistrello, a simple board with USB and HDMI [XC6SLX45]
39 * De0 Nano, a simple and low-cost development board [CYCLONEIV]
40 * KC705, a Kintex-7 devboard from Xilinx [XC7K325T]
41 * Versa, a low-cost Lattice development board [ECP3-35]
42 MiSoC is portable and support for other boards can easily be added as external
43 modules.
44
45 [> Quick start guide
46 --------------------
47 0. If cloned from Git without the --recursive option, get the submodules:
48 git submodule update --init
49
50 1. Install Python 3.3+, Migen and FPGA vendor's development tools.
51 Get Migen from: https://github.com/m-labs/migen
52
53 2. Install JTAG tools.
54 For Mixxeo and M1: http://urjtag.org
55 For Papilio Pro and KC705: http://xc3sprog.sourceforge.net
56 For De0 Nano: USBBlaster from Altera
57 We recommend using xc3sprog for Xilinx devices, but Vivado programmer
58 is also supported for Xilinx 7-series.
59
60 3. (Optional, only needed if you want to flash the bistream/software)
61 Obtain and build any required flash proxy bitstreams. Flash proxy bitstreams
62 give JTAG access to a flash chip through the FPGA.
63 For Mixxeo and M1: https://github.com/m-labs/fjmem-m1
64 For Papilio Pro: https://github.com/GadgetFactory/Papilio-Loader
65 (xc3sprog/trunk/bscan_spi/bscan_spi_lx9_papilio.bit)
66 For KC705: https://github.com/m-labs/bscan_spi_kc705
67
68 4. Compile and install binutils. Take the latest version from GNU.
69 mkdir build && cd build
70 ../configure --target=lm32-elf
71 make
72 make install
73
74 5. Compile and install GCC. Take gcc-core and gcc-g++ from GNU
75 (version 4.5 or >=4.9).
76 rm -rf libstdc++-v3
77 mkdir build && cd build
78 ../configure --target=lm32-elf --enable-languages="c,c++" --disable-libgcc \
79 --disable-libssp
80 make
81 make install
82
83 6. Build and flash the BIOS and bitstream. Run from MiSoC:
84 For Mixxeo: ./make.py all
85 For M1: ./make.py -p m1 all
86 For Papilio Pro: ./make.py -t ppro all
87 For Pipistrello: ./make.py -t pipistrello all
88 For De0 Nano: ./make.py -t de0nano all load-bitstream
89 For KC705: ./make.py -t kc705 all
90
91 If just want to load the bitstream in volatile SRAM use:
92 all load-bitstream
93
94 7. Run a terminal program on the board's serial port at 115200 8-N-1.
95 You should get the BIOS prompt.
96
97 8. Read and experiment with the source!
98 Come to our IRC channel and mailing list!
99 A simple target is provided to test MiSoC easily with your board:
100 Create your target with a clock and serial pins.
101 Build and test it: ./make.py -t simple -p your_platform all load-bitstream
102 If you don't have access to a FPGA board, you can also try MiSoC
103 with Verilator:
104 Download and install Verilator: http://www.veripool.org/
105 Test it: ./make.py -t simple -p sim build-bitstream
106
107 9. Contribute a patch!
108 Once you have experimented with stuff, please send your results back.
109 For more details on how to do so, you can see the CONTRIBUTING.md file.
110
111 [> License
112 ----------
113 MiSoC is released under the very permissive two-clause BSD license. Under
114 the terms of this license, you are authorized to use MiSoC for
115 closed-source proprietary designs.
116 Even though we do not require you to do so, those things are awesome, so please
117 do them if possible:
118 * tell us that you are using MiSoC
119 * cite MiSoC in publications related to research it has helped
120 * send us feedback and suggestions for improvements
121 * send us bug reports when something goes wrong
122 * send us the modifications and improvements you have done to MiSoC.
123 The use of "git format-patch" is recommended. If your submission is large
124 and complex and/or you are not sure how to proceed, feel free to discuss it
125 on the mailing list or IRC (#m-labs on Freenode) beforehand.
126
127 See LICENSE file for full copyright and license info.
128
129 [> Links
130 --------
131 Web:
132 http://m-labs.hk
133 http://enjoy-digital.fr
134
135 Code repository:
136 https://github.com/m-labs/misoc
137
138 You can contact us on the public mailing list devel [AT] lists.m-labs.hk.