Amazon FPGA Image (AFI) Management Tools

AWS provides the following set of command-line tools for Amazon FPGA Image (AFI) management while running on an FPGA-enabled EC2 instance (e.g., F2). The tools currently support Linux Instances only.

  • ``fpga-describe-local-image-slots``

    • Returns the FPGA image slot numbers and device mappings to use for the fpga-load-local-image, fpga-clear-local-image, and fpga-describe-local-image commands.

  • ``fpga-describe-local-image``

    • Returns the status of the FPGA image for a specified FPGA image slot number. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. Use fpga-describe-local-image-slots to return the available FPGA image slots for the instance.

  • ``fpga-load-local-image``

    • Loads the specified FPGA image to the specified slot number, and returns the status of the command. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. Use fpga-describe-local-image to return the FPGA image status, and fpga-describe-local-image-slots to return the available FPGA image slots for the instance.

  • ``fpga-clear-local-image``

    • Clears the specified FPGA image slot, including FPGA internal and external memories that are used by the slot. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. Use fpga-describe-local-image to return the FPGA image status, and fpga-describe-local-image-slots to return the available FPGA image slots for the instance.

  • ``fpga-start-virtual-jtag``

    • Starts a Virtual JTAG XVC server, to debug tools like Vivado Lab Edition Hardware Manager to access debug cores inside the AFI. Please refer to Virtual JTAG userguide.

  • ``fpga-get-virtual-led``

    • Returns a bit-map representing the state (1/0) the Virtual LEDs exposed by the Custom Logic (CL) part of the AFI.

  • ``fpga-get-virtual-dip-switch``

    • Returns a bit-map representing the current setting for the Virtual DIP Switches that drives the Custom Logic (CL) part of the AFI.

  • ``fpga-set-virtual-dip-switch``

    • Takes bit-map (in binary representation) to set for the Virtual DIP Switches that drives the Custom Logic (CL) part of the AFI.

  • ``fpga-describe-clkgen``

    • Returns the currently loaded frequencies in MHz for each clock in each MMCM. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. If the design loaded onto the FPGA does not have the clkgen IP, error clkgen-ip-not-found will be returned.

  • ``fpga-load-clkgen-dynamic``

    • Loads a frequency into the first clock of each specified MMCMs. MMCMs that are not specified will be set to the default recipes. Returns the currently loaded frequencies in MHz for each clock in each MMCM. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. If the design loaded onto the FPGA does not have the clkgen IP, error clkgen-ip-not-found will be returned.

  • ``fpga-load-clkgen-recipe``

    • Loads a clkgen recipe into the specified clocking groups. MMCMs that are not specified will be set to the default recipes. Returns the currently loaded frequencies in MHz for each clock in each MMCM. The fpga-image-slot parameter is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. If the design loaded onto the FPGA does not have the clkgen IP, error clkgen-ip-not-found will be returned.

All of the AFI Management Tools support a -help option that may be used to display the full set of options.

sudo or root Privileges

The tools require sudo or root access rights since AFI loads and clears modify the underlying system hardware (also see the FAQ section “Q: How do the AFI Management Tools work?”.

Installs or Updates to the AFI Management Tools

The tools can be downloaded and installed from AWS SDK/HDK GitHub repository aws-fpga, as follows:

git clone https://github.com/aws/aws-fpga.git
cd aws-fpga
source sdk_setup.sh

The sdk_setup.sh script will build the AFI Management Tools and install them in /usr/bin.

Quickstart

Once you have the AFI Management Tools installed on your F2 instance, you can display the FPGA slot numbers and PCIe mappings for driver attachment (e.g., PCI Domain:Bus:Device:Function).

Getting Inventory of the Available FPGA Slots

sudo fpga-describe-local-image-slots -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:9f:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    1       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:a1:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    2       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:a3:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    3       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:a5:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    4       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:ae:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    5       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:b0:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    6       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:b2:00.0
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    7       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:b4:00.0

  • The above list displayed the slots in an F2.48xl instance that has 8 FPGAs on slot 0 through 7.

  • The VendorId is the PCIe Configuration space Vendor ID, with 0x1d0f representing the Amazon registered PCIe Vendor ID. The developer can choose the Vendor ID for their own AFIs.

  • The DeviceId is the PCIe Configuration space Device ID, with 0x9048 being the default.

  • The DBDF is the common PCIe bus topology representing the Domain:Bus#:Device#:Function#.

** NOTE: ** While each FPGA has more than one PCIe Physical Function, the AFI Management Tools will present the VendorId and DeviceId of the first PF only.

Describing the AFI Content Loaded on a Specific FPGA Slot

The following command displays the current state for the given FPGA slot number. The output shows that the FPGA in the “cleared” state right after instance create.

sudo fpga-describe-local-image -S 0 -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  FpgaImageId             StatusName    StatusCode   ErrorName    ErrorCode   ShVersion
   AFI          0       No AFI                  cleared           1        ok               0       <shell version>
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:34:00.0

Synchronous AFI Load and Clear Operations

Synchronously Loading an AFI to a Specific FPGA Slot

To load the AFI, use the FPGA slot number and Amazon Global FPGA Image ID parameters (see FAQ for AGFI). In synchronous mode, this command will wait for the AFI to transition to the “loaded” state, perform a PCI device remove and rescan in order to expose the unique AFI Vendor and Device Id, and display the final state for the given FPGA slot number.

sudo fpga-load-local-image -S 0 -I agfi-0fedcba9876543210 -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  FpgaImageId             StatusName    StatusCode   ErrorName    ErrorCode   ShVersion
   AFI          0       agfi-0fedcba9876543210  loaded            0        ok               0       <shell version>
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x6789      0x1d50      0000:34:00.0

Synchronously Clearing the FPGA Image on Specific Slot

The following command will clear the FPGA image, including internal and external memories. In synchronous mode, this command will wait for the AFI to transition to the “cleared” state, perform a PCI device remove and rescan in order to expose the default AFI Vendor and Device Id, and display the final state for the given FPGA slot number.

sudo fpga-clear-local-image -S 0 -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  FpgaImageId             StatusName    StatusCode   ErrorName    ErrorCode   ShVersion
   AFI          0       No AFI                  cleared           1        ok               0       <shell version>
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:34:00.0

Asynchronous AFI Load and Clear Operations

Asynchronously Loading an AFI to a Specific FPGA Slot

To load the AFI, use the FPGA slot number and Amazon Global FPGA Image ID parameters (see FAQ for AGFI). The “-A” is used for asynchronous AFI load operations.

sudo fpga-load-local-image -S 0 -I agfi-0fedcba9876543210 -A

Describing the AFI content loaded on a specific FPGA slot after an asynchronous AFI load

Displays the current state for the given FPGA slot number. The output shows the FPGA in the “loaded” state after the FPGA image “load” operation. The “-R” option performs a PCI device remove and rescan in order to expose the unique AFI Vendor and Device Id.

sudo fpga-describe-local-image -S 0 -R -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  FpgaImageId             StatusName    StatusCode   ErrorName    ErrorCode   ShVersion
   AFI          0       agfi-0fedcba9876543210  loaded            0        ok               0       <shell version>
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x6789      0x1d50      0000:34:00.0

Asynchronously Clearing the FPGA Image on Specific Slot

The following command will clear the FPGA image, including internal and external memories. The “-A” is used for asynchronous AFI clear operations.

sudo fpga-clear-local-image -S 0 -A

Describing the AFI content loaded on a specific FPGA slot after an asynchronous AFI clear

The following command displays the current state for the given FPGA slot number. It shows that the FPGA is in the “cleared” state after the FPGA image “clear” operation. The “-R” option performs a PCI device remove and rescan in order to expose the default AFI Vendor and Device Id.

sudo fpga-describe-local-image -S 0 -R -H

   ...

   Type  FpgaImageSlot  FpgaImageId             StatusName    StatusCode   ErrorName    ErrorCode   ShVersion
   AFI          0       No AFI                  cleared           1        ok               0       <shell version>
   Type  FpgaImageSlot  VendorId    DeviceId    DBDF
   AFIDEVICE    0       0x1d0f      0x9048      0000:34:00.0

FAQ

  • Q: What is the Amazon Global FPGA Image ID (AGFI)?

    • The AGFI is an AWS globally unique identifier that is used to reference a specific Amazon FPGA Image (AFI).

    • It is used to refer to a specific AFI when using the FPGA Management tools from within an EC2 instance.

    • In the examples, agfi-0fedcba9876543210 is specified in the fpga-load-local-image command in order to load a specific AFI into the given fpga-image-slot.

    • AGFI IDs should not be confused with AFI IDs. The latter are regional IDs that are used to refer to a specific AFI when using the AWS EC2 APIs to create or manage and AFI. For example, when copying an AFI across regions, it will preserve the same AGFI ID, but get a new regional AFI ID.

  • Q: What is a ``fpga-image-slot``?

    • The fpga-image-slot is an index that represents a given FPGA within an instance. Use fpga-describe-local-image-slots to return the available FPGA image slots for the instance.

  • Q: What are the Vendor and Device IDs listed in the ``fpga-describe-local-image-slots`` and ``fpga-describe-local-image`` output?

    • The VendorId and DeviceId represent the unique identifiers for a PCI device as seen in the PCI Configuration Header Space. These identifiers are typically used by device drivers to know which devices to attach to. The identifiers are assigned by PCI-SIG. You can use Amazon’s default DeviceId, or use your own during the CreateFpgaImage EC2 API.

  • Q: What is a DBDF?

    • A DBDF is simply an acronym for Domain:Bus:Device.Function (also see PF).

  • Q: What is a PF?

    • A PF refers to a PCI Physical Function that is exposed by the FPGA hardware. For example, it is accessible by a user-space programs via the sysfs filesystem in the path /sys/bus/pci/devices/Domain:Bus:Device.Function. The Domain:Bus:Device.Function syntax is the same as returned from lspci program output. Examples: FPGA application PF 0000:34:00.0, FPGA management PF 0000:34:00.1.

  • Q: What is a BAR?

    • A PCI Base Address Register (BAR) specifies the memory region where FPGA memory space may be accessed by an external entity (like the instance CPU or other FPGAs). Multiple BARs may be supported by a given PCI device. In this FAQ section (also see PF), BAR0 from a device may be accessed (for example) by opening and memory mapping the resource0 sysfs file in the path /sys/bus/pci/devices/Domain:Bus:Device.Function/resource0. Once BAR0 has been memory mapped, the BAR0 registers may be accessed through a pointer to the memory mapped region (refer to the open and mmap system calls).

  • Q: What is the AFIDEVICE and how is it used?

    • Within the fpga-describe-local-image-slots and fpga-describe-local-image commands the AFIDEVICE represents the PCI PF that is used to communicate with the AFI. The AFIDEVICE functionality exposed through the PF is dependent on the AFI that is loaded via the fpga-load-local-image command. For example, DMA and/or memory-mapped IO (MMIO) may be supported depending on the loaded AFI, which is then used to communicate with the AFI in order to perform an accelerated application-dependent task within the FPGA. User-space applications may access the AFIDEVICE PF through sysfs as is noted above in this FAQ section (also see PF).

  • Q: How do the AFI Management Tools work?

    • Within the F2 instance, the FPGAs expose a management PF (e.g. 0000:34:00.1) that is used for control channel communication between the instance and AWS.

    • The FPGA management PF BAR0 is reserved for this communication path.

    • The FPGA application drivers should not access the FPGA management PF BAR0.

    • The AFI Management Tools memory map the FPGA management PF BAR0 and communicate with AWS using internally defined messages and hardware registers.

    • The Amazon FPGA Image Tools require sudo or root access level since AFI loads and clears are modifying the underlying system hardware.

    • sudo or root privilege is also required since the tools access the sysfs PCI subsystem and /dev/kmsg for dmesg logging.

  • Q: Can the AFI Management Tools work concurently on multiple FPGA image slots?

    • The tools can be executed on multiple FPGAs concurrently. This may be done without synchronization between processes that are using the tools.

  • Q: Can the AFI Management Tools work concurrently from multiple processes on the same FPGA?

    • Without synchronization between processes, the tools should only be executed as one worker process per FPGA (highest level of concurrency), or one worker process across all FPGAs (least level of concurrency).

    • Multiple concurrent process access to the tools using the same FPGA without proper synchronization between processes will cause response timeouts, and other indeterminate results.

  • Q: What is an afi-power-violation?

    • The F2 system can only reliably provide a certain amount of power to the FPGA. If an AFI consumes more than this amount of power, the F2 system will disable the input clocks to the AFI. For more information on preventing, detecting, and recovering from this state, see AFI power guide (COMING SOON)

  • Q: How can I reset the AFI?

    • The AFI may be reset (reloaded) via fpga-load-local-image, and/or reset back to a fully clean slate via fpga-clear-local-image and fpga-load-local-image.

References

AWS EC2 References