Dependencies and Requirements

Dependencies

The USRP FPGA build system requires a UNIX-like environment with the following dependencies

The N200 will work with the WebPack version of ISE.

Requirements

Xilinx ISE Platform Requirements

What FPGA does my USRP have?

USRP N200: Spartan® 3A-DSP 1800
USRP N210: Spartan® 3A-DSP 3400

Build Instructions

Download and install Xilinx ISE 12.2
To add xtclsh to the PATH and to setup up the Xilinx build environment run
- source <install_dir>/Xilinx/12.2/ISE_DS/settings64.sh (64-bit platform)
- source <install_dir>/Xilinx/12.2/ISE_DS/settings32.sh (32-bit platform)
Navigate to usrp2/top/{project} where project is:
- N2x0: For USRP N200 and USRP N210
To build a binary configuration bitstream run make <target> where the target is specific to each product. To get a list of supported targets run make help.
The build output will be specific to the product and will be located in the usrp2/top/{project}/build directory. Run make help for more information.

N2x0 Targets and Outputs

Supported Targets

N200R3: Builds the USRP N200 Rev 3 design.
N200R4: Builds the USRP N200 Rev 4 design.
N210R3: Builds the USRP N210 Rev 3 design.
N210R4: Builds the USRP N210 Rev 4 design.

Outputs

build-<target>/u2plus.bit : Configuration bitstream with header
build-<target>/u2plus.bin : Configuration bitstream without header
build-<target>/u2plus.syr : Xilinx system report
build-<target>/u2plus.twr : Xilinx timing report

Adding DSP logic to Generation 2 products

As part of the USRP FPGA build-framework, there are several convenient places for users to insert custom DSP modules into the transmit and receive chains.

Before the DDC module
After the DDC module
Replace the DDC module
Before the DUC module
After the DUC module
Replace the DUC module
As an RX packet engine
As an TX packet engine

Customizing the top level makefile

Each USRP device has a makefile associated with it. This makefile contains all of the necessary build rules. When making a customized FPGA design, start by copying the current makefile for your device. Makefiles can be found in usrp2/top/{product}/Makefile

Edit your new makefile:

Set BUILD_DIR to a unique directory name
Set CUSTOM_SRCS for your verilog sources
Set CUSTOM_DEFS (see section below)

Inserting custom modules

CUSTOM_DEFS is a string of space-separate key-value pairs. Set the CUSTOM_DEFS variable so the FPGA fabric glue will substitute your custom modules into the DSP chain.

Example:

CUSTOM_DEFS = "TX_ENG0_MODULE=my_tx_engine RX_ENG0_MODULE=my_rx_engine"

Where my_tx_engine and my_rx_engine are the names of custom verilog modules.

The following module definition keys are possible (X is a DSP number):

TX_ENG<X>_MODULE: Set the module for the transmit chain engine.
RX_ENG<X>_MODULE: Set the module for the receive chain engine.
RX_DSP<X>_MODULE: Set the module for the transmit dsp chain.
TX_DSP<X>_MODULE: Set the module for the receive dsp chain.

Examples of custom modules can be found in the Verilog files in usrp2/custom/.