Simulation

Chipyard supports two classes of simulation:

1. Software RTL simulation using commercial or open-source (Verilator) RTL simulators

2. FPGA-accelerated full-system simulation using FireSim

Software RTL simulators of Chipyard designs run at O(1 KHz), but compile quickly and provide full waveforms. Conversely, FPGA-accelerated simulators run at O(100 MHz), making them appropriate for booting an operating system and running a complete workload, but have multi-hour compile times and poorer debug visibility.

Click next to see how to run a simulation.

Simulation:

• Software RTL Simulation
  • Verilator (Open-Source)
  • Synopsys VCS (License Required)
  • Choice of Simulator
  • Simulating The Default Example
  • Custom Benchmarks/Tests
  • Makefile Variables and Commands
  • Simulating A Custom Project
  • Fast Memory Loading
  • Generating Waveforms
  • Visualizing Chipyard SoCs
  • Additional Verilator Options
  • Speeding up your RTL Simulation by 2x!
• FPGA-Accelerated Simulation
  • FireSim
  • Example FireSim Workflow
  • Pre-built FireSim FPGA Bitstreams