5. Manager Configuration Files

This page contains a centralized reference for all of the configuration options in config_runtime.yaml, config_build.yaml, config_build_farm.yaml, config_build_recipes.yaml, and config_hwdb.yaml. It also contains references for all build and run farm recipes (in :gh-file-ref:`deploy/build-farm-recipes` and :gh-file-ref:`deploy/run-farm-recipes`).

5.1. config_runtime.yaml

Here is a sample of this configuration file:

# Run-time configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

run_farm:
  # managerinit replace start
  base_recipe: run-farm-recipes/aws_ec2.yaml
  # Uncomment and add args to override defaults.
  # Arg structure should be identical to the args given
  # in the base_recipe.
  #recipe_arg_overrides:
  #  <ARG>: <OVERRIDE>
  # managerinit replace end

metasimulation:
  metasimulation_enabled: false
  # vcs or verilator. use vcs-debug or verilator-debug for waveform generation
  metasimulation_host_simulator: verilator
  # plusargs passed to the simulator for all metasimulations
  metasimulation_only_plusargs: "+fesvr-step-size=128 +max-cycles=100000000"
  # plusargs passed to the simulator ONLY FOR vcs metasimulations
  metasimulation_only_vcs_plusargs: "+vcs+initreg+0 +vcs+initmem+0"

# DOCREF START: target_config area
target_config:
    topology: no_net_config
    no_net_num_nodes: 1
    link_latency: 6405
    switching_latency: 10
    net_bandwidth: 200
    profile_interval: -1

    # This references a section from config_hwdb.yaml for fpga-accelerated simulation
    # or from config_build_recipes.yaml for metasimulation
    # In homogeneous configurations, use this to set the hardware config deployed
    # for all simulators
    default_hw_config: midasexamples_gcd

    # Advanced: Specify any extra plusargs you would like to provide when
    # booting the simulator (in both FPGA-sim and metasim modes). This is
    # a string, with the contents formatted as if you were passing the plusargs
    # at command line, e.g. "+a=1 +b=2"
    plusarg_passthrough: ""
# DOCREF END: target_config area

tracing:
    enable: no

    # Trace output formats. Only enabled if "enable" is set to "yes" above
    # 0 = human readable; 1 = binary (compressed raw data); 2 = flamegraph (stack
    # unwinding -> Flame Graph)
    output_format: 0

    # Trigger selector.
    # 0 = no trigger; 1 = cycle count trigger; 2 = program counter trigger; 3 =
    # instruction trigger
    selector: 1
    start: 0
    end: -1

autocounter:
    read_rate: 0

workload:
    workload_name: null.json
    terminate_on_completion: no
    suffix_tag: null

host_debug:
    # When enabled (=yes), Zeros-out FPGA-attached DRAM before simulations
    # begin (takes 2-5 minutes).
    # In general, this is not required to produce deterministic simulations on
    # target machines running linux. Enable if you observe simulation non-determinism.
    zero_out_dram: no
    # If disable_synth_asserts: no, simulation will print assertion message and
    # terminate simulation if synthesized assertion fires.
    # If disable_synth_asserts: yes, simulation ignores assertion firing and
    # continues simulation.
    disable_synth_asserts: no

# DOCREF START: Synthesized Prints
synth_print:
    # Start and end cycles for outputting synthesized prints.
    # They are given in terms of the base clock and will be converted
    # for each clock domain.
    start: 0
    end: -1
    # When enabled (=yes), prefix print output with the target cycle at which the print was triggered
    cycle_prefix: yes
# DOCREF END: Synthesized Prints

Below, we outline each mapping in detail.

5.1.1. run_farm

The run_farm mapping specifies the characteristics of your FireSim run farm so that the manager can automatically launch them, run workloads on them, and terminate them.

5.1.1.1. base_recipe

The base_recipe key/value pair specifies the default set of arguments to use for a particular run farm type. To change the run farm type, a new base_recipe file must be provided from deploy/run-farm-recipes. You are able to override the arguments given by a base_recipe by adding keys/values to the recipe_arg_overrides mapping.

5.1.1.2. recipe_arg_overrides

This optional mapping of keys/values allows you to override the default arguments provided by the base_recipe. This mapping must match the same mapping structure as the args mapping within the base_recipe file given. Overridden arguments override recursively such that all key/values present in the override args replace the default arguments given by the base_recipe. In the case of sequences, a overridden sequence completely replaces the corresponding sequence in the default args. Additionally, it is not possible to change the default run farm type through these overrides. This must be done by changing the default base_recipe.

See Run Farm Recipes (run-farm-recipes/*) for more details on the potential run farm recipes that can be used.

5.1.2. metasimulation

The metasimulation options below allow you to run metasimulations instead of FPGA simulations when doing launchrunfarm, infrasetup, and runworkload. See Debugging & Testing with Metasimulation for more details.

5.1.2.1. metasimulation_enabled

This is a boolean to enable running metasimulations in-place of FPGA-accelerated simulations. The number of metasimulations that are run on a specific Run Farm host is determined by the num_metasims argument in each run farm recipe (see Run Farm Recipes (run-farm-recipes/*)).

5.1.2.2. metasimulation_host_simulator

This key/value pair chooses which RTL simulator should be used for metasimulation. Options include verilator and vcs if waveforms are unneeded and *-debug versions if a waveform is needed.

5.1.2.3. metasimulation_only_plusargs

This key/value pair is a string that passes plusargs (arguments with a + in front) to the metasimulations.

5.1.2.4. metasimulation_only_vcs_plusargs

This key/value pair is a string that passes plusargs (arguments with a + in front) to metasimulations using vcs or vcs-debug.

5.1.3. target_config

The target_config options below allow you to specify the high-level configuration of the target you are simulating. You can change these parameters after launching a Run Farm (assuming you have the correct number of instances), but in many cases you will need to re-run the infrasetup command to make sure the correct simulation infrastructure is available on your instances.

5.1.3.1. topology

This field dictates the network topology of the simulated system. Some examples:

no_net_config: This runs N (see no_net_num_nodes below) independent simulations, without a network simulation. You can currently only use this option if you build one of the NoNIC hardware configs of FireSim.

example_8config: This requires a single f1.16xlarge, which will simulate 1 ToR switch attached to 8 simulated servers.

example_16config: This requires two f1.16xlarge instances and one m4.16xlarge instance, which will simulate 2 ToR switches, each attached to 8 simulated servers, with the two ToR switches connected by a root switch.

example_64config: This requires eight f1.16xlarge instances and one m4.16xlarge instance, which will simulate 8 ToR switches, each attached to 8 simulated servers (for a total of 64 nodes), with the eight ToR switches connected by a root switch.

Additional configurations are available in deploy/runtools/user_topology.py and more can be added there. See the Manager Network Topology Definitions (user_topology.py) section for more info.

5.1.3.2. no_net_num_nodes

This determines the number of simulated nodes when you are using topology: no_net_config.

5.1.3.4. switching_latency

In a networked simulation, this specifies the minimum port-to-port switching latency of the switch models, in CYCLES.

5.1.3.5. net_bandwidth

In a networked simulation, this specifies the maximum output bandwidth that a NIC is allowed to produce as an integer in Gbit/s. Currently, this must be a number between 1 and 200, allowing you to model NICs between 1 and 200 Gbit/s.

5.1.3.6. profile_interval

The simulation driver periodically samples performance counters in FASED timing model instances and dumps the result to a file on the host. profile_interval defines the number of target cycles between samples; setting this field to -1 disables polling.

5.1.3.7. default_hw_config

This sets the server configuration launched by default in the above topologies. Heterogeneous configurations can be achieved by manually specifying different names within the topology itself, but all the example_Nconfig configurations are homogeneous and use this value for all nodes.

You should set this to one of the hardware configurations you have defined already in config_hwdb.yaml. You should set this to the NAME (mapping title) of the hardware configuration from config_hwdb.yaml, NOT the actual AGFI or bitstream_tar itself (NOT something like agfi-XYZ...).

5.1.4. tracing

This section manages TracerV-based tracing at simulation runtime. For more details, see the Capturing RISC-V Instruction Traces with TracerV page for more details.

5.1.4.1. enable

This turns tracing on, when set to yes and off when set to no. See the Enabling Tracing at Runtime.

5.1.4.2. output_format

This sets the output format for TracerV tracing. See the Selecting a Trace Output Format section.

5.1.4.3. selector, start, and end

These configure triggering for TracerV. See the Setting a TracerV Trigger section.

5.1.5. autocounter

This section configures AutoCounter. See the AutoCounter: Profiling with Out-of-Band Performance Counter Collection page for more details.

5.1.5.1. read_rate

This sets the rate at which AutoCounters are read. See the AutoCounter Runtime Parameters section for more details.

5.1.6. workload

This section defines the software that will run on the simulated system.

5.1.6.1. workload_name

This selects a workload to run across the set of simulated nodes. A workload consists of a series of jobs that need to be run on simulated nodes (one job per node).

Workload definitions are located in firesim/deploy/workloads/*.json.

Some sample workloads:

br-base-uniform.json: This runs the default FireSim Linux distro on as many nodes as you specify when setting the target_config parameters.

Others can be found in the aforementioned directory. For a description of the JSON format, see [DEPRECATED] Defining Custom Workloads.

5.1.6.2. terminate_on_completion

Set this to no if you want your Run Farm to keep running once the workload has completed. Set this to yes if you want your Run Farm to be TERMINATED after the workload has completed and results have been copied off.

5.1.6.3. suffix_tag

This allows you to append a string to a workload’s output directory name, useful for differentiating between successive runs of the same workload, without renaming the entire workload. For example, specifying suffix_tag: test-v1 with a workload named super-application will result in a workload results directory named results-workload/DATE--TIME-super-application-test-v1/.

5.1.7. host_debug

5.1.7.1. zero_out_dram

Set this to yes to zero-out FPGA-attached DRAM before simulation begins. This process takes 2-5 minutes. In general, this is not required to produce deterministic simulations on target machines running linux, but should be enabled if you observe simulation non-determinism.

5.1.7.2. disable_synth_asserts

Set this to yes to make the simulation ignore synthesized assertions when they fire. Otherwise, simulation will print the assertion message and terminate when an assertion fires.

5.2. config_build.yaml

Here is a sample of this configuration file:

# Build-time build design / AGFI configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

# this refers to build farms defined in config_build_farm.yaml
build_farm:
  # managerinit replace start
  base_recipe: build-farm-recipes/aws_ec2.yaml
  # Uncomment and add args to override defaults.
  # Arg structure should be identical to the args given
  # in the base_recipe.
  #recipe_arg_overrides:
  #  <ARG>: <OVERRIDE>
  # managerinit replace end

builds_to_run:
    # this section references builds defined in config_build_recipes.yaml
    # if you add a build here, it will be built when you run buildbitstream
    - midasexamples_gcd

agfis_to_share:
    - midasexamples_gcd

share_with_accounts:
    # To share with a specific user:
    somebodysname: 123456789012
    # To share publicly:
    # public: public

Below, we outline each mapping in detail.

5.2.1. build_farm

In this section, you specify the specific build farm configuration that you wish to use to build FPGA bitstreams.

5.2.1.1. base_recipe

The base_recipe key/value pair specifies the default set of arguments to use for a particular build farm type. To change the build farm type, a new base_recipe file must be provided from deploy/build-farm-recipes. You are able to override the arguments given by a base_recipe by adding keys/values to the recipe_arg_overrides mapping.

See Build Farm Recipes (build-farm-recipes/*) for more details on the potential build farm recipes that can be used.

5.2.1.2. recipe_arg_overrides

This optional mapping of keys/values allows you to override the default arguments provided by the base_recipe. This mapping must match the same mapping structure as the args mapping within the base_recipe file given. Overridden arguments override recursively such that all key/values present in the override args replace the default arguments given by the base_recipe. In the case of sequences, a overridden sequence completely replaces the corresponding sequence in the default args. Additionally, it is not possible to change the default build farm type through these overrides. This must be done by changing the default base_recipe.

5.2.2. builds_to_run

In this section, you can list as many build entries as you want to run for a particular call to the buildbitstream command (see config_build_recipes.yaml below for how to define a build entry). For example, if we want to run the builds named awesome_firesim_config and quad_core_awesome_firesim_config, we would write:

builds_to_run:
    - awesome_firesim_config
    - quad_core_awesome_firesim_config

5.2.3. agfis_to_share

Note

This is only used in the AWS EC2 case.

This is used by the shareagfi command to share the specified agfis with the users specified in the next (share_with_accounts) section. In this section, you should specify the section title (i.e. the name you made up) for a hardware configuration in config_hwdb.yaml. For example, to share the hardware config:

firesim_rocket_quadcore_nic_l2_llc4mb_ddr3:
    # this is a comment that describes my favorite configuration!
    agfi: agfi-0a6449b5894e96e53
    deploy_quintuplet_override: null
    custom_runtime_config: null

you would use:

agfis_to_share:
    - firesim_rocket_quadcore_nic_l2_llc4mb_ddr3

5.2.4. share_with_accounts

Note

This is only used in the AWS EC2 case.

A list of AWS account IDs that you want to share the AGFIs listed in agfis_to_share with when calling the manager’s shareagfi command. You should specify names in the form usersname: AWSACCTID. The left-hand-side is just for human readability, only the actual account IDs listed here matter. If you specify public: public here, the AGFIs are shared publicly, regardless of any other entires that are present.

5.3. config_build_recipes.yaml

Here is a sample of this configuration file:

# Build-time build recipe configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

# this file contains sections that describe hardware designs that /can/ be built.
# edit config_build.yaml to actually "turn on" a config to be built when you run
# buildbitstream

###########
# Schema:
###########
# <NAME>:
#    PLATFORM: <string>
#    TARGET_PROJECT: <string>
#    TARGET_PROJECT_MAKEFRAG: <string | null>
#    DESIGN: <string>
#    TARGET_CONFIG: <string>
#    PLATFORM_CONFIG: <string>
#    deploy_quintuplet: <string | null>
#    platform_config_args:
#       fpga_frequency: <int>
#       build_strategy: <string>
#    post_build_hook: <string | null>
#    metasim_customruntimeconfig: <string | null>
#    bit_builder_recipe: <string>
#    # OPTIONAL: overrides for bit builder recipe
#    # Arg structure should be identical to the args given
#    # in the base_recipe.
#    #bit_builder_arg_overrides:
#    #  <ARG>: <OVERRIDE>

# MIDAS Examples -- BUILD SUPPORT ONLY; Can't launch driver correctly on run farm
midasexamples_gcd:
    PLATFORM: f2
    TARGET_PROJECT: midasexamples
    TARGET_PROJECT_MAKEFRAG: null
    DESIGN: GCD
    TARGET_CONFIG: NoConfig
    PLATFORM_CONFIG: DefaultF2Config
    deploy_quintuplet: null
    platform_config_args:
        fpga_frequency: 75
        build_strategy: TIMING
    post_build_hook: null
    metasim_customruntimeconfig: null
    bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/f2.yaml

################################################################################################
# FireAxe Examples
################################################################################################

# DOC include start: f2 Rocket Partition Build Recipe
################################################################################################
# Fast-mode : pull out a RocketTile out from your SoC
################################################################################################
# f2_rocket_split_soc_fast:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: f2
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: RocketTileF1PCIMBase
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/f2.yaml
#     ...
#
# f2_rocket_split_tile_fast:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: f2
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: RocketTileF1PCIMPartition0
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/f2.yaml
#     ...
# DOC include end: F1 Rocket Partition Build Recipe

# DOC include start: F1 Exact Rocket Partition Build Recipe
################################################################################################
# Exact-mode : pull out a RocketTile out from your SoC
################################################################################################
# f2_firesim_rocket_soc_exact:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: f2
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: ExactMode_RocketTileF1PCIMBase
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/f2.yaml
#     ...
#
# f2_firesim_rocket_tile_exact:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: f2
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: ExactMode_RocketTileF1PCIMPartition0
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/f2.yaml
#     ...
# DOC include end: F1 Exact Rocket Partition Build Recipe

##############################################################################
# Splitting the design onto 3 FPGAs
##############################################################################
# xilinx_u250_firesim_dual_rocket_split_base:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: WithDefaultFireSimBridges_WithFireSimConfigTweaks_chipyard.DualRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: DualRocketTileQSFPBase
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...
#
# xilinx_u250_firesim_dual_rocket_split_0:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: WithDefaultFireSimBridges_WithFireSimConfigTweaks_chipyard.DualRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: DualRocketTileQSFP0
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...
#
# xilinx_u250_firesim_dual_rocket_split_1:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: WithDefaultFireSimBridges_WithFireSimConfigTweaks_chipyard.DualRocketConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: DualRocketTileQSFP1
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...

# DOC include start: Xilinx U250 NoC Partition Build Recipe
##############################################################################
# Using the NoC-partition-mode to partition the design across 3 FPGAs
# connected as a ring.
##############################################################################
# xilinx_u250_quad_rocket_ring_base:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimQuadRocketSbusRingNoCConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: QuadTileRingNoCBase
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...
#
# xilinx_u250_quad_rocket_ring_0:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimQuadRocketSbusRingNoCConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: QuadTileRingNoC0
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...
#
# xilinx_u250_quad_rocket_ring_1:
#     ...
#     PLATFORM: xilinx_alveo_u250
#     TARGET_CONFIG: FireSimQuadRocketSbusRingNoCConfig
#     PLATFORM_CONFIG: QuadTileRingNoC1
#     bit_builder_recipe: bit-builder-recipes/xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml
#     ...
# DOC include end: Xilinx U250 NoC Partition Build Recipe

Below, we outline each section and parameter in detail.

5.3.1. Build definition sections, e.g. awesome_firesim_config

In this file, you can specify as many build definition sections as you want, each with a header like awesome_firesim_config (i.e. a nice, short name you made up). Such a section must contain the following fields:

5.3.1.1. DESIGN

This specifies the basic target design that will be built. Unless you are defining a custom system, this should be set to FireSim. We describe this in greater detail in Generating Different Targets).

5.3.1.2. TARGET_CONFIG

This specifies the hardware configuration of the target being simulated. Some examples include FireSimRocketConfig and FireSimQuadRocketConfig. We describe this in greater detail in Generating Different Targets).

5.3.1.3. TARGET_PROJECT_MAKEFRAG

This specifies where to find the FireSim makefile hooks to configure FireSim as a library in a larger project. See how Chipyard integrates FireSim for how to use this. This path can be an absolute path or relative to the location of the recipe file itself.

5.3.1.4. PLATFORM_CONFIG

This specifies parameters to pass to the compiler (Golden Gate). Notably, PLATFORM_CONFIG can be used to enable debugging tools like assertion synthesis, and resource optimizations like instance multithreading. Critically, it also calls out the host-platform (e.g., F1) to compile against: this defines the widths of internal simulation interfaces and specifies resource limits (e.g., how much DRAM is available on the platform).

5.3.1.4.1. platform_config_args

These configure the bitstream build, and are host-platform-agnostic. Platform-specific arguments, like the Vitis platform (“DEVICE”), are captured as arguments to the bitbuilder.

5.3.1.4.1.1. fpga_frequency

Specifies the host FPGA frequency for a bitstream build.

5.3.1.4.1.2. build_strategy

Specifies a pre-canned set of strategies and directives to pass to the bitstream build. Note, these are implemented differently on different host platforms, but try to optimize for the same things. Strategies supported across both Vitis, Xilinx Alveo U200/U250/U280, and EC2 F1 include:

  • TIMING: Optimize for improved fmax.

  • AREA: Optimize for reduced resource utilization.

Names are derived AWS’s strategy set.

5.3.1.5. TARGET_PROJECT (Optional)

This specifies the target project in which the target is defined (this is described in greater detail here). If TARGET_PROJECT is undefined the manager will default to firesim. Setting TARGET_PROJECT is required for building the MIDAS examples (TARGET_PROJECT: midasexamples) with the manager, or for building a user-provided target project.

5.3.1.6. PLATFORM (Optional)

This specifies the platform for which the target will be built for (this is described in greater detail here). If PLATFORM is undefined the manager will default to f1.

5.3.1.7. deploy_quintuplet

This allows you to override the deployquintuplet stored with the AGFI. Otherwise, the PLATFORM/TARGET_PROJECT/DESIGN/TARGET_CONFIG/PLATFORM_CONFIG you specify above will be used. See the AGFI Tagging section for more details. Most likely, you should leave this set to null. This is usually only used if you have proprietary RTL that you bake into an FPGA image, but don’t want to share with users of the simulator.

5.3.1.8. post_build_hook

(Optional) Provide an a script to run on the results copied back from a _single_ build instance. Upon completion of each design’s build, the manager invokes this script and passing the absolute path to that instance’s build-results directory as it’s first argument.

5.3.1.9. metasim_customruntimeconfig

This is an advanced feature - under normal conditions, you can use the default parameters generated automatically by the simulator by setting this field to null for metasimulations. If you want to customize runtime parameters for certain parts of the metasimulation (e.g. the DRAM model’s runtime parameters), you can place a custom config file in sim/custom-runtime-configs/. Then, set this field to the relative name of the config. For example, sim/custom-runtime-configs/GREATCONFIG.conf becomes metasim_customruntimeconfig: GREATCONFIG.conf.

5.3.1.10. bit_builder_recipe

This specifies the bitstream type to generate for a particular recipe. This must point to a file in deploy/bit-builder-recipes/. See Bit Builder Recipes (bit-builder-recipes/*) for more details on bit builders and their arguments.

5.3.1.11. bit_builder_arg_overrides

This optional mapping of keys/values allows you to override the default arguments provided by the bit_builder_recipe. This mapping must match the same mapping structure as the args mapping within the bit_builder_recipe file given. Overridden arguments override recursively such that all key/values present in the override args replace the default arguments given by the bit_builder_recipe. In the case of sequences, a overridden sequence completely replaces the corresponding sequence in the default args. Additionally, it is not possible to change the default bit builder type through these overrides. This must be done by changing the default bit_builder_recipe.

5.4. config_hwdb.yaml

Here is a sample of this configuration file:

# Hardware config database for FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

# Hardware configs represent a combination of:
#   - an agfi/bitstream_tar with the bitstream for an fpga
#   - (optional) a deployquintuplet override
#   - (optional) a deploy_makefrag_override
#   - (optional) a custom_runtime_config

# The HWDBs (and their AGFI's/bitstream_tar's) provided below are public and available to all users.

# DOCREF START: Example HWDB Entry
midasexamples_gcd:
    bitstream_tar: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/invalid/address.tar.gz
    deploy_quintuplet_override: null
    deploy_makefrag_override: null
    custom_runtime_config: null
# DOCREF END: Example HWDB Entry

This file tracks hardware configurations that you can deploy as simulated nodes in FireSim. Each such configuration contains a name for easy reference in higher-level configurations, defined in the section header, an handle to a bitstream (i.e. an AGFI or bitstream_tar path), which represents the FPGA image, a custom runtime config, if one is needed, and a deploy quintuplet override if one is necessary.

When you build a new bitstream, you should put it in this file so that it can be referenced from your other configuration files.

The following is an example section from this file - you can add as many of these as necessary:

midasexamples_gcd:
    bitstream_tar: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/invalid/address.tar.gz
    deploy_quintuplet_override: null
    deploy_makefrag_override: null
    custom_runtime_config: null

Here are the components of these entries:

5.4.1. The name: firesim_boom_singlecore_nic_l2_llc4mb_ddr3

In this example, firesim_boom_singlecore_nic_l2_llc4mb_ddr3 is the name that will be used to reference this hardware design in other configuration locations. The following items describe this hardware configuration:

5.4.1.1. agfi

This represents the AGFI (FPGA Image) used by this hardware configuration. Only used in AWS EC2 F1 FireSim configurations (a bitstream_tar key/value cannot exist with this key/value in the same recipe).

5.4.1.2. bitstream_tar

This is not shown in the example entry above, but would be used for an on-premises bitstream.

Indicates where the bitstream (FPGA Image) and metadata associated with it is located, may be one of:

  • A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), (see Manager URI Paths for details)

  • A filesystem path available to the manager. Local paths are relative to the deploy folder.

5.4.1.3. deploy_quintuplet_override

This is an advanced feature - under normal conditions, you should leave this set to null, so that the manager uses the configuration quintuplet that is automatically stored with the bitstream metadata at build time. Advanced users can set this to a different value to build and use a different driver when deploying simulations. Since the driver depends on logic now hardwired into the FPGA bitstream, drivers cannot generally be changed without requiring FPGA recompilation.

5.4.1.4. deploy_makefrag_override

This is an advanced feature - under normal conditions, you should leave this set to null, so that the manager uses the makefrag path that was automatically stored with the bitstream metadata at build time. Advanced users can set this to a different value to override the makefile hooks used to build the driver.

5.4.1.5. custom_runtime_config

This is an advanced feature - under normal conditions, you can use the default parameters generated automatically by the simulator by setting this field to null. If you want to customize runtime parameters for certain parts of the simulation (e.g. the DRAM model’s runtime parameters), you can place a custom config file in sim/custom-runtime-configs/. Then, set this field to the relative name of the config. For example, sim/custom-runtime-configs/GREATCONFIG.conf becomes custom_runtime_config: GREATCONFIG.conf.

5.4.1.6. driver_tar

The value for this key can be one of:

  • A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), (see Manager URI Paths for details)

  • A filesystem path available to the manager. Local paths are relative to the deploy folder.

When this key is present, the FireSim FPGA-driver software will not be built from source. Instead, during firesim infrasetup, this file will be deployed and extracted into the sim_slot_X folder on the run farm instance. This file may be a .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2 or any other format that GNU tar (version 1.26) can automatically detect. The purpose of this feature is to enable advanced CI configurations where the driver build step is decoupled. For now this can only accept a path to a file on the manager’s local filesystem. This key can also be a URI.

5.4.2. Add more hardware config sections, like NAME_GOES_HERE_2

You can add as many of these entries to config_hwdb.yaml as you want, following the format discussed above (i.e. you provide agfi or bitstream_tar, deploy_quintuplet_override, and custom_runtime_config).

5.5. Run Farm Recipes (run-farm-recipes/*)

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# AWS EC2 run farm hosts recipe.
# all fields are required but can be overridden in the `*_runtime.yaml`

run_farm_type: AWSEC2F2
args:
    # managerinit arg start
    # tag to apply to run farm hosts
    run_farm_tag: mainrunfarm
    # enable expanding run farm by run_farm_hosts given
    always_expand_run_farm: true
    # minutes to retry attempting to request instances
    launch_instances_timeout_minutes: 60
    # run farm host market to use (ondemand, spot)
    run_instance_market: ondemand
    # if using spot instances, determine the interrupt behavior (terminate, stop, hibernate)
    spot_interruption_behavior: terminate
    # if using spot instances, determine the max price
    spot_max_price: ondemand
    # default location of the simulation directory on the run farm host
    default_simulation_dir: /home/ubuntu

    # run farm hosts to spawn: a mapping from a spec below (which is an EC2
    # instance type) to the number of instances of the given type that you
    # want in your runfarm.
    run_farm_hosts_to_use:
      - f2.6xlarge: 1
      - f2.12xlarge: 0
      - f2.48xlarge : 0
      - m4.16xlarge: 0
      - z1d.3xlarge: 0
      - z1d.6xlarge: 0
      - z1d.12xlarge: 0
    # managerinit arg end

    # REQUIRED: List of host "specifications", i.e. re-usable collections of
    # host parameters.
    #
    # On EC2, most users will never need to edit this section,
    # unless you want to add new host instance types.
    #
    # The "name" of a spec below (e.g. "f2.6xlarge" below) MUST be a valid EC2
    # instance type and is used to refer to the spec above.
    #
    # Besides required parameters shown below, each can have multiple OPTIONAL
    # arguments, called "override_*", corresponding to the "default_*" arguments
    # specified above. Each "override_*" argument overrides the corresponding
    # "default_*" argument in that run host spec.
    #
    # Optional params include:
    #       override_simulation_dir: /scratch/specific-build-host-build-dir
    #       override_platform: EC2InstanceDeployManager
    run_farm_host_specs:
      - f2.6xlarge: # REQUIRED: On EC2, the spec name MUST be an EC2 instance type.
          # REQUIRED: number of FPGAs on the machine
          num_fpgas: 1
          # REQUIRED: number of metasims this machine can host
          num_metasims: 0
          # REQUIRED: whether it is acceptable to use machines of this spec
          # to host ONLY switches (e.g. any attached FPGAs are "wasted")
          use_for_switch_only: false
      - f2.12xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 2
          num_metasims: 0
          use_for_switch_only: false
      - f2.48xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 8
          num_metasims: 0
          use_for_switch_only: false
      - m4.16xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 0
          num_metasims: 0
          use_for_switch_only: true
      - z1d.3xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 0
          num_metasims: 1
          use_for_switch_only: false
      - z1d.6xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 0
          num_metasims: 2
          use_for_switch_only: false
      - z1d.12xlarge:
          num_fpgas: 0
          num_metasims: 8
          use_for_switch_only: false

5.5.1. run_farm_type

This key/value specifies a run farm class to use for launching, managing, and terminating run farm hosts used for simulations. By default, run farm classes can be found in :gh-file-ref:`deploy/runtools/run_farm.py`. However, you can specify your own custom run farm classes by adding your python file to the PYTHONPATH. For example, to use the AWSEC2F1 run farm class, you would write run_farm_type: AWSEC2F1.

5.5.2. args

This section specifies all arguments needed for the specific run_farm_type used. For a list of arguments needed for a run farm class, users should refer to the _parse_args function in the run farm class given by run_farm_type.

5.5.3. aws_ec2.yaml run farm recipe

The run farm recipe shown above configures a FireSim run farm to use AWS EC2 instances. It contains several key/value pairs:

5.5.3.1. run_farm_tag

Use run_farm_tag to differentiate between different Run Farms in FireSim. Having multiple config_runtime.yaml files with different run_farm_tag values allows you to run many experiments at once from the same manager instance.

The instances launched by the launchrunfarm command will be tagged with this value. All later operations done by the manager rely on this tag, so you should not change it unless you are done with your current Run Farm.

Per AWS restrictions, this tag can be no longer than 255 characters.

5.5.3.2. always_expand_run_farm

When true (the default behavior when not given) the number of instances of each type (see f1.16xlarges etc. below) are launched every time you run launchrunfarm.

When false, launchrunfarm looks for already existing instances that match run_farm_tag and treat f1.16xlarges (and other ‘instance-type’ values below) as a total count.

For example, if you have f1.2xlarges set to 100 and the first time you run launchrunfarm you have launch_instances_timeout_minutes set to 0 (i.e. giveup after receiving a ClientError for each AvailabilityZone) and AWS is only able to provide you 75 f1.2xlarges because of capacity issues, always_expand_runfarm changes the behavior of launchrunfarm in subsequent attempts. yes means launchrunfarm will try to launch 100 f1.2xlarges again. no means that launchrunfarm will only try to launch an additional 25 f1.2xlarges because it will see that there are already 75 that have been launched with the same run_farm_tag.

5.5.3.3. launch_instances_timeout_minutes

Integer number of minutes that the launchrunfarm command will attempt to request new instances before giving up. This limit is used for each of the types of instances being requested. For example, if you set to 60, and you are requesting all four types of instances, launchrunfarm will try to launch each instance type for 60 minutes, possibly trying up to a total of four hours.

This limit starts to be applied from the first time launchrunfarm receives a ClientError response in all AvailabilityZones (AZs) for your region. In other words, if you request more instances than can possibly be requested in the given limit but AWS is able to satisfy all of the requests, the limit will not be enforced.

To experience the old (<= 1.12) behavior, set this limit to 0 and launchrunfarm will exit the first time it receives ClientError across all AZ’s. The old behavior is also the default if launch_instances_timeout_minutes is not included.

5.5.3.4. run_instance_market

You can specify either spot or ondemand here, to use one of those markets on AWS.

5.5.3.5. spot_interruption_behavior

When run_instance_market: spot, this value determines what happens to an instance if it receives the interruption signal from AWS. You can specify either hibernate, stop, or terminate.

5.5.3.6. spot_max_price

When run_instance_market: spot, this value determines the max price you are willing to pay per instance, in dollars. You can also set it to ondemand to set your max to the on-demand price for the instance.

5.5.3.7. default_simulation_dir

This is the path on the run farm host that simulations will run out of.

5.5.3.8. run_farm_hosts_to_use

This is a sequence of unique specifications (given by run_farm_host_specs) to number of instances needed. Set these key/value pairs respectively based on the number and types of instances you need. While we could automate this setting, we choose not to, so that users are never surprised by how many instances they are running.

Note that these values are ONLY used to launch instances. After launch, the manager will query the AWS API to find the instances of each type that have the run_farm_tag set above assigned to them.

Also refer to always_expand_runfarm which determines whether launchrunfarm treats these counts as an incremental amount to be launched every time it is envoked or a total number of instances of that type and run_farm_tag that should be made to exist. Note, launchrunfarm will never terminate instances.

5.5.3.9. run_farm_host_specs

This is a sequence of specifications that describe a AWS EC2 instance and its properties. A sequence consists of the AWS EC2 instance name (i.e. f1.2xlarge) and number of FPGAs it supports (num_fpgas), number of metasims it could support (num_metasims), and if the instance should only host switch simulations (use_for_switch_only). Additionally, a specification can optionally add override_simulation_dir to override the default_simulation_dir for that specific run farm host. Similarly, a specification can optionally add override_platform to choose a different default deploy manager platform for that specific run farm host (for more details on this see the following section). By default, the deploy manager is setup for AWS EC2 simulations.

5.5.4. externally_provisioned.yaml run farm recipe

This run farm allows users to provide a list of pre-setup unmanaged run farm hosts (by hostname or IP address) that they can run simulations on. Note that this run farm type does not launch or terminate the run farm hosts. This functionality should be handled by the user. For example, users can use this run farm type to run simulations locally.

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Unmanaged list of run farm hosts. Assumed that they are pre-setup to run simulations.
# all fields are required but can be overridden in the `*_runtime.yaml`

run_farm_type: ExternallyProvisioned
args:
    # managerinit arg start
    # REQUIRED: default platform used for run farm hosts. this is a class specifying
    # how to run simulations on a run farm host.
    default_platform: EC2InstanceDeployManager

    # REQUIRED: default directory where simulations are run out of on the run farm hosts
    default_simulation_dir: /home/ubuntu

    # REQUIRED: default fpga db file that enumerates what fpgas are available on the machine (used by XilinxU* Deploy Managers)
    default_fpga_db: /opt/firesim-db.json

    # REQUIRED: List of unique hostnames/IP addresses, each with their
    # corresponding specification that describes the properties of the host.
    #
    # Ex:
    # run_farm_hosts_to_use:
    #     # use localhost which is described by "four_fpgas_spec" below.
    #     - localhost: four_fpgas_spec
    #     # supply IP address, which points to a machine that is described
    #     # by "four_fpgas_spec" below.
    #     - "111.111.1.111": four_fpgas_spec
    run_farm_hosts_to_use:
        - localhost: one_fpgas_spec
    # managerinit arg end

    # REQUIRED: List of host "specifications", i.e. re-usable collections of
    # host parameters.
    #
    # The "name" of a spec (e.g. "four_fpgas_spec" below) is user-determined
    # and is used to refer to the spec above.
    #
    # Besides required parameters shown below, each can have multiple OPTIONAL
    # arguments, called "override_*", corresponding to the "default_*" arguments
    # specified above. Each "override_*" argument overrides the corresponding
    # "default_*" argument in that run host spec.
    #
    # Optional params include:
    #       override_platform: EC2InstanceDeployManager
    #       override_simulation_dir: /scratch/specific-build-host-build-dir
    #       override_fpga_db: /opt/firesim-db-specific.json
    run_farm_host_specs:
        - four_fpgas_spec:
            # REQUIRED: number of FPGAs on the machine
            num_fpgas: 4
            # REQUIRED: number of metasims this machine can host
            num_metasims: 0
            # REQUIRED: whether it is acceptable to use machines of this spec
            # to host ONLY switches (e.g. any attached FPGAs are "wasted")
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - four_metasims_spec:
            num_fpgas: 0
            num_metasims: 4
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - switch_only_spec:
            num_fpgas: 0
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: true

        - one_fpga_spec:
            num_fpgas: 1
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - one_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 1
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - two_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 2
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - three_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 3
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - four_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 4
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - five_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 5
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - six_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 6
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - seven_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 7
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - eight_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 8
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - nine_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 9
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - ten_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 10
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - eleven_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 11
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - twelve_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 12
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - thirteen_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 13
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - fourteen_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 14
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - fifteen_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 15
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

        - sixteen_fpgas_spec:
            num_fpgas: 16
            num_metasims: 0
            use_for_switch_only: false

5.5.4.1. default_platform

This key/value specifies a default deploy platform (also known as a deploy manager) class to use for managing simulations across all run farm hosts. For example, this class manages how to flash FPGAs with bitstreams, how to copy back results, and how to check if a simulation is running. By default, deploy platform classes can be found in :gh-file-ref:`deploy/runtools/run_farm_deploy_managers.py`. However, you can specify your own custom run farm classes by adding your python file to the PYTHONPATH. There are default deploy managers / platforms that correspond to AWS EC2 F1 FPGAs, Vitis FPGAs, Xilinx Alveo U200/U250/U280 FPGAs, Xilinx VCU118 FPGAs, and RHS Research Nitefury II FPGAs: EC2InstanceDeployManager, VitisInstanceDeployManager, Xilinx{AlveoU200,AlveoU250,AlveoU280,VCU118}InstanceDeployManager, and RHSResearchNitefuryIIInstanceDeployManager respectively. For example, to use the EC2InstanceDeployManager deploy platform class, you would write default_platform: EC2InstanceDeployManager.

5.5.4.2. default_simulation_dir

This is the default path on all run farm hosts that simulations will run out of.

5.5.4.3. run_farm_hosts_to_use

This is a sequence of unique hostnames/IP address to specifications (given by run_farm_host_specs). Set these key/value pairs respectively to map unmanaged run farm hosts to their description (given by a specification). For example, to run simulations locally, a user can write a sequence element with - localhost: four_fpgas_spec to indicate that localhost should be used and that it has a type of four_fpgas_spec.

5.5.4.4. run_farm_host_specs

This is a sequence of specifications that describe an unmanaged run farm host and its properties. A sequence consists of the specification name (i.e. four_fpgas_spec) and number of FPGAs it supports (num_fpgas), number of metasims it could support (num_metasims), and if the instance should only host switch simulations (use_for_switch_only). Additionally, a specification can optionally add override_simulation_dir to override the default_simulation_dir for that specific run farm host. Similarly, a specification can optionally add override_platform to choose a different default_platform for that specific run farm host.

5.6. Build Farm Recipes (build-farm-recipes/*)

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time build farm design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.
# all fields are required but can be overridden in the `*_runtime.yaml`

###########
# Schema:
###########
#   # Class name of the build farm type.
#   # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/buildfarm.py`).
#   build_farm_type: <TYPE NAME>
#   args:
#       # Build farm arguments that are passed to the `BuildFarmHostDispatcher`
#       # object. Determined by looking at `parse_args` function of class.
#       <K/V pairs of args>

# Note: For large designs (ones that would fill a EC2 F2.6xlarge/Xilinx VU9P)
# Vivado uses in excess of 32 GiB. Keep this in mind when selecting a
# non-default instance type.
build_farm_type: AWSEC2
args:
    # managerinit arg start
    # tag to apply to build farm hosts
    build_farm_tag: mainbuildfarm
    # instance type to use per build
    instance_type: z1d.2xlarge
    # instance market to use per build (ondemand, spot)
    build_instance_market: ondemand
    # if using spot instances, determine the interrupt behavior (terminate, stop, hibernate)
    spot_interruption_behavior: terminate
    # if using spot instances, determine the max price
    spot_max_price: ondemand
    # default location of build directory on build host
    default_build_dir: /home/ubuntu/firesim-build
    # managerinit arg end

5.6.1. build_farm_type

This key/value specifies a build farm class to use for launching, managing, and terminating build farm hosts used for building bitstreams. By default, build farm classes can be found in :gh-file-ref:`deploy/buildtools/buildfarm.py`. However, you can specify your own custom build farm classes by adding your python file to the PYTHONPATH. For example, to use the AWSEC2 build farm class, you would write build_farm_type: AWSEC2.

5.6.2. args

This section specifies all arguments needed for the specific build_farm_type used. For a list of arguments needed for a build farm class, users should refer to the _parse_args function in the build farm class given by build_farm_type.

5.6.3. aws_ec2.yaml build farm recipe

This build farm recipe configures a FireSim build farm to use AWS EC2 instances enabled with Vivado.

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time build farm design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.
# all fields are required but can be overridden in the `*_runtime.yaml`

###########
# Schema:
###########
#   # Class name of the build farm type.
#   # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/buildfarm.py`).
#   build_farm_type: <TYPE NAME>
#   args:
#       # Build farm arguments that are passed to the `BuildFarmHostDispatcher`
#       # object. Determined by looking at `parse_args` function of class.
#       <K/V pairs of args>

# Note: For large designs (ones that would fill a EC2 F2.6xlarge/Xilinx VU9P)
# Vivado uses in excess of 32 GiB. Keep this in mind when selecting a
# non-default instance type.
build_farm_type: AWSEC2
args:
    # managerinit arg start
    # tag to apply to build farm hosts
    build_farm_tag: mainbuildfarm
    # instance type to use per build
    instance_type: z1d.2xlarge
    # instance market to use per build (ondemand, spot)
    build_instance_market: ondemand
    # if using spot instances, determine the interrupt behavior (terminate, stop, hibernate)
    spot_interruption_behavior: terminate
    # if using spot instances, determine the max price
    spot_max_price: ondemand
    # default location of build directory on build host
    default_build_dir: /home/ubuntu/firesim-build
    # managerinit arg end

5.6.3.1. build_farm_tag

Use build_farm_tag to differentiate between different Build Farms used across multiple FireSim repositories. The instances launched by the buildbitstream command will be tagged with this value. Mainly for CI use.

Per AWS restrictions, this tag can be no longer than 255 characters.

5.6.3.2. instance_type

The AWS EC2 instance name to run a bitstream build on. Note that for large designs, Vivado uses an excess of 32 GiB so choose a non-default instance type wisely.

5.6.3.3. build_instance_market

You can specify either spot or ondemand here, to use one of those markets on AWS.

5.6.3.4. spot_interruption_behavior

When run_instance_market: spot, this value determines what happens to an instance if it receives the interruption signal from AWS. You can specify either hibernate, stop, or terminate.

5.6.3.5. spot_max_price

When build_instance_market: spot, this value determines the max price you are willing to pay per instance, in dollars. You can also set it to ondemand to set your max to the on-demand price for the instance.

5.6.3.6. default_build_dir

This is the path on the build farm host that bitstream builds will run out of.

5.6.4. externally_provisioned.yaml build farm recipe

This build farm recipe allows users to provide an list of pre-setup unmanaged build farm hosts (by hostname or IP address) that they can run bitstream builds on. Note that this build farm type does not launch or terminate the build farm hosts. This functionality should be handled by the user. For example, users can use this build farm type to run bitstream builds locally.

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time build farm design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

###########
# Schema:
###########
#   # Class name of the build farm type.
#   # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/buildfarm.py`).
#   build_farm_type: <TYPE NAME>
#   args:
#       # Build farm arguments that are passed to the `BuildFarmHostDispatcher`
#       # object. Determined by looking at `parse_args` function of class.
#       <K/V pairs of args>

# Unmanaged list of build hosts. Assumed that they are pre-setup to run builds.
build_farm_type: ExternallyProvisioned
args:
    # managerinit arg start
    # REQUIRED: (replace this) default location of build directory on build host.
    default_build_dir: null
    # REQUIRED: List of IP addresses (or "localhost"). Each can have an OPTIONAL
    # argument, called "override_build_dir", specifying to override the default
    # build directory.
    #
    # Ex:
    # build_farm_hosts:
    #     # use localhost and don't override the default build dir
    #     - localhost
    #     # use other IP address (don't override default build dir)
    #     - "111.111.1.111"
    #     # use other IP address (override default build dir for this build host)
    #     - "222.222.2.222":
    #         override_build_dir: /scratch/specific-build-host-build-dir
    build_farm_hosts:
        - localhost
    # managerinit arg end

5.6.4.1. default_build_dir

This is the default path on all the build farm hosts that bitstream builds will run out of.

5.6.4.2. build_farm_hosts

This is a sequence of unique hostnames/IP addresses that should be used as build farm hosts. Each build farm host (given by the unique hostname/IP address) can have an optional mapping that provides an override_build_dir that overrides the default_build_dir given just for that build farm host.

5.7. Bit Builder Recipes (bit-builder-recipes/*)

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time bitbuilder design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

###########
# Schema:
###########
# # Class name of the bitbuilder type.
# # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/bitbuilder.py`).
# bitbuilder_type: <TYPE NAME>
# args:
#     # Bitbuilder arguments that are passed to the `BitBuilder`
#     # object. Determined by looking at `_parse_args` function of class.
#     <K/V pairs of args>

bit_builder_type: F1BitBuilder
args:
    # REQUIRED: name of s3 bucket
    s3_bucket_name: firesim
    # REQUIRED: append aws username and current region to s3_bucket_name?
    append_userid_region: true

5.7.1. bit_builder_type

This key/value specifies a bit builder class to use for building bitstreams. By default, bit builder classes can be found in :gh-file-ref:`deploy/buildtools/bitbuilder.py`. However, you can specify your own custom bit builder classes by adding your python file to the PYTHONPATH. For example, to use the F1BitBuilder build farm class, you would write bit_builder_type: F1BitBuilder.

5.7.2. args

This section specifies all arguments needed for the specific bit_builder_type used. For a list of arguments needed for a bit builder class, users should refer to the _parse_args function in the bit builder class given by bit_builder_type.

5.7.3. f1.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an AWS EC2 F1 AGFI (FPGA bitstream).

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time bitbuilder design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

###########
# Schema:
###########
# # Class name of the bitbuilder type.
# # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/bitbuilder.py`).
# bitbuilder_type: <TYPE NAME>
# args:
#     # Bitbuilder arguments that are passed to the `BitBuilder`
#     # object. Determined by looking at `_parse_args` function of class.
#     <K/V pairs of args>

bit_builder_type: F1BitBuilder
args:
    # REQUIRED: name of s3 bucket
    s3_bucket_name: firesim
    # REQUIRED: append aws username and current region to s3_bucket_name?
    append_userid_region: true

5.7.3.1. s3_bucket_name

This is used behind the scenes in the AGFI creation process. You will only ever need to access this bucket manually if there is a failure in AGFI creation in Amazon’s backend.

Naming rules: this must be all lowercase and you should stick to letters and numbers ([a-z0-9]).

The first time you try to run a build, the FireSim manager will try to create the bucket you name here. If the name is unavailable, it will complain and you will need to change this name. Once you choose a working name, you should never need to change it.

In general, firesim-yournamehere is a good choice.

5.7.3.2. append_userid_region

When enabled, this appends the current users AWS user ID and region to the s3_bucket_name.

5.7.4. vitis.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an Vitis bitstream (FPGA bitstream called an xclbin, packaged into a bitstream_tar).

5.7.4.1. device

This specifies a Vitis platform to compile against, for example: xilinx_u250_gen3x16_xdma_3_1_202020_1 when targeting a Vitis-enabled Alveo U250 FPGA.

Here is an example of this configuration file:

# Build-time bitbuilder design configuration for the FireSim Simulation Manager
# See https://docs.fires.im/en/stable/Advanced-Usage/Manager/Manager-Configuration-Files.html for documentation of all of these params.

###########
# Schema:
###########
# # Class name of the bitbuilder type.
# # This can be determined from `deploy/buildtools/bitbuilder.py`).
# bitbuilder_type: <TYPE NAME>
# args:
#     # Bitbuilder arguments that are passed to the `BitBuilder`
#     # object. Determined by looking at `_parse_args` function of class.
#     <K/V pairs of args>

bit_builder_type: VitisBitBuilder
args:
    # REQUIRED: vitis fpga platform
    device: xilinx_u250_gen3x16_xdma_4_1_202210_1

5.7.5. xilinx_alveo_u200.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an Xilinx Alveo U200 bitstream, packaged into a bitstream_tar.

5.7.6. xilinx_alveo_u250.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an Xilinx Alveo U250 bitstream, packaged into a bitstream_tar.

5.7.7. xilinx_alveo_u280.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an Xilinx Alveo U280 bitstream, packaged into a bitstream_tar.

5.7.8. xilinx_vcu118.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an Xilinx VCU118 bitstream, packaged into a bitstream_tar.

5.7.9. rhsresearch_nitefury_ii.yaml bit builder recipe

This bit builder recipe configures a build farm host to build an RHS Research Nitefury II bitstream, packaged into a bitstream_tar.