Setup Environment

Requirements

• Vivado: 2023.2
• Python: 3.*
• Cocotb: any version

Installing Vivado Design Suite

Before getting started, ensure that Vivado is installed. This tool, provided by AMD-Xilinx for their FPGA and SoC products, must be downloaded from the AMD-Xilinx downloads portal. A registered AMD-Xilinx account is required for access.

Boreal uses Vivado 2023.2, as this version is the last to support the ZC706 evaluation board through its corresponding PetaLinux release.

About simulation tools

Boreal does not mandate a specific simulation tool, allowing users to choose their preferred option. However, to accelerate the design cycle, Cocotb has proven to be an excellent choice for developing simulation testbenches. Cocotb is an open-source, coroutine-based co-simulation framework that enables verification of VHDL and SystemVerilog RTL using Python in conjunction with various simulation tools.