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Designing with PlanAhead

Learn to increase design performance and achieve repeatable results by using the PlanAhead� software tool. Topics include: a product overview, synthesis and project tips, design analysis, creating a floorplan, improving performance, experimenting with implementation options, incremental methodology, block-based IP design, and I/O pin assignment.

Note: The hands-on labs provided within this course are identical to the tutorials that are packaged with the PlanAhead software. This course is supplemented with instructor-led presentations and demos.

Level
Intermediate

Duration
2 Days

Who Should Attend
FPGA designers, system architects, and system engineers who are interested in analyzing and driving the physical implementation of their designs to maximize performance and capacity.

Software Tools

Xilinx ISE 9.1i

PlanAhead 9.1.2

Skills Gained
After completing this comprehensive training, you will have the necessary skills to:

Import designs into the PlanAhead software project environment

Analyze design statistics, connectivity, timing, and placement results

Run the Design Rule Checker (DRC) and Weighted Average Simultaneous Switching Output (WASSO) analysis

Partition and floorplan designs

Run ExploreAhead to try multiple implementation strategies

Import and analyze the implementation results to improve the floorplan

Floorplan to improve performance and consistency

Use block-based design and create and reuse module-level IP

Use PinAhead to import, define and assign I/O pins for the design

Course Outline
Day 1

Course Overview

Lab 1: Getting Started with PlanAhead

Design Analysis and Exploration

Lab 2: Design Analysis and Exploration

Design Partitioning and Top-Level Floorplanning

Lab 3: Design Partitioning and Top-Level Floorplanning

Implementing a Floorplanned Design

Lab 4: Implementation

Day 2

Floorplanning Techniques

Lab 5: Floorplanning

Tuning a Floorplan for Performance

Lab 6: Floorplan Tuning

Block-Based Design and IP Reuse

Lab 7: Block-Based Design and IP Reuse

I/O Pin Assignment

Lab 8: I/O Pin Assignment

Floorplanning Strategies

Course Summary

Labs

Lab 1: Getting Started with PlanAhead – Illustrates the steps you take to import a synthesized design into the PlanAhead software so that you can begin floorplanning. Also introduces the PlanAhead software environment and views.

Lab 2: Design Analysis and Exploration – Introduces the analysis features of the PlanAhead software that enable early detection of potential design issues, alternate device selection, initial floorplanning direction, and post-implementation exploration.

Lab 3: Design Partitioning and Top-Level Floorplanning – Introduces the concept of floorplanning. By using automated partitioning tools, you will create a top-level floorplan and experiment with sizing and shaping Pblocks based on resources assigned to them.

Lab 4: Implementation – Introduces the integration of the ISE software implementation tools with the PlanAhead software. Also introduces the ExploreAhead tool for queuing multiple ISE software runs with varying strategies.

Lab 5: Floorplanning – Describes how to analyze implementation results and to use that information to generate a floorplan aimed at increasing design performance.

Lab 6: Floorplan Tuning – Introduces techniques to help close on timing targets consistently.

Lab 7: Block-Based Design and IP Reuse – Describes the steps to implement a block-based methodology that includes the creation and reuse of an IP module.

Lab 8: I/O Pin Assignment – Introduces the PinAhead environment for performing I/O pin assignment

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of FPGA Design course or equivalent knowledge
Designing for Performance course or equivalent knowledge

Scheduled Sessions

Plymouth Meeting,PA - SpringHill Suites	6/25/2009 through 6/26/2009
Rochester,NY - Avnet	7/9/2009 through 7/10/2009
Parsippany,NJ - TBD	8/6/2009 through 8/7/2009
Columbia,MD - Genesis Mid Atlantic	8/27/2009 through 8/28/2009

Education Investment Options

Course & Basic Follow-on Coaching	$1,600	REGISTER
Course & Comprehensive Follow-on Coaching	$2,200	REGISTER
Course Only	$1,400	REGISTER
Course Only	14 Training Credits	REGISTER
Basic Coaching ala Carte	Not currently offered	REGISTER
S3 Board & 1 hour support	$450	REGISTER
V4 Board & 1 hour support	$800	REGISTER
V5 Board & 1 hour support	$1,900	REGISTER

Basic follow-on coaching includes 2 hours (max 4 calls)

Comprehensive follow-on coaching includes 8 hours (max 12 calls)