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High-Performance LabVIEW FPGA Course Overview

The High-Performance LabVIEW FPGA Course Led introduces you to programming practices for applications with I/O rates greater than 5 MHz and targets such as FlexRIO Custom Instruments and Processing hardware. In this instructor-led course, you can interact with a certified instructor in a classroom setting. This course teaches you how to develop high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms and digital designs in LabVIEW to acquire and generate analog and digital signals, control timing, synchronize operations, and implement signal processing on the FPGA. After attending this course, you will understand how to integrate existing LabVIEW and HDL code into LabVIEW FPGA applications and how to architect high-performance FPGA-based systems. The High-Performance LabVIEW FPGA Course is recommended for users with familiarity with LabVIEW FPGA and experience with the topics covered in the LabVIEW Core 1 Course.

 

Course Last Release Date or Version Number: 2019

 

 

Course Details:

Duration

  • • Virtual 3-5 days

Audience

  • Customers new to NI and/or specific hardware devices. Experts in their domain, capable of general-purpose processor (GPP) programming and algorithm engineering, willing to become familiar with NI tools and gain substantial FPGA-programming experience.

  • Experienced LabVIEW Users, but new to FPGA. Customers familiar with NI hardware (including VST and USRP, or other RF hardware), willing to become familiar with HT LV FPGA programming and the considerations, i.e., resource utilization, timing, and throughput.

  • Experienced Digital Designers, but new to LabVIEW. Customers with extensive experience leveraging non-NI FPGA hardware and new to NI Software. Typically, working with more traditional development flows, including Vivado. May have experience using HLS languages with the Xilinx System Generator.

Prerequisites

  • Self-paced external FPGA courses designed to explore the fundamental principles of FPGA operation.

  • LabVIEW Core 1 and 2 courses or equivalent knowledge.

NI Products Used

  • LabVIEW Professional Development System

  • LabVIEW FPGA

After attending this course, you will be able to:

  • Understand how LabVIEW VIs are compiled for FPGA targets.

  • Develop applications on top of the NI-RIO device driver.

  • Develop high-performance DSP algorithms and digital designs in LabVIEW for FPGAs.

  • Integrate existing code (both LabVIEW and HDL) into LabVIEW FPGA applications.

  • Architect high-performance FPGA-based systems.

  • Follow NI-recommended development and debug processes for efficient FPGA implementation.

High-Performance LabVIEW FPGA Course Outline

LessonOverviewTopics

Why LabVIEW FPGA?

Explore the fundamental constructs of an FPGA and the reasons to use one.

  • What Is an FPGA?
  • Identifying the Benefits of LabVIEW FPGA
  • Reviewing FPGA Case Studies

Understanding the Environment

Identifying the main components of the LabVIEW FPGA environment and compiling an FPGA VI.

  • Identifying Software and Hardware for Your Application
  • Navigating the LabVIEW FPGA Development Environment
  • Compiling the FPGA VI
  • Identifying Some Important Constructs While Compiling an FPGA VI

Debugging

Applying techniques and tools for debugging FPGA designs.

  • Understand Execution Modes and Integrated Debug Tools
  • Identifying Strategies for Debugging FPGA Designs

Understanding the Requirements of an Application

Get insight into the main considerations to interpret application requirements and link those interpretations to alternatives for your design solutions.

  • Identifying and Evaluating Application Requirements
  • Determining Solution(s) That Achieve the Application Requirements

Designing Your Application

Break down application requirements into hardware and software features and learn how to design your application.

  • Select a Design Diagram
  • Identify Units of Your FPGA Application
  • Design a Simple FPGA Application
  • Optimize an Application’s Requirements
  • Describe FPGA Design Flow
  • Select an FPGA Design Scenario

Implementation

Explore different design alternatives using LabVIEW FPGA to get the most out of your FPGA resources.

  • Illustrating the FPGA Design Flow 
  • Utilizing External Interfaces for Your FPGA
  • Leveraging External Interfaces for Your FPGA
  • Communicating Between Different Devices
  • Transferring Data from One Clock Domain to Another
  • Interacting with Different IP Blocks Using the Four-Wire Protocol

Optimizing Your Application

Fix common compile problems and get more out of your FPGA.

  • Improving Timing with Pipelining
  • Increasing Compile Success using Multiple Clock Domains
  • Improving Code Generation by Reducing the Enable Chain
  • Reducing Resource Usage

Design Considerations for a Host Application

Explore LabVIEW FPGA capabilities to monitor and control the communication on your application.

  • Interfacing with the FPGA
  • Modularizing the Host Interface
  • Optimizing DMA Communication
  • Monitoring DMA FIFOs

Examples of High- Performance Applications

  • Investigate some High-Performance applications using LabVIEW FPGA, exploring how to use them.
  • NI Streaming 5840 Host
  • Aurora 64b/66b Streaming Example for the PXIe-7915
  • Combine NI Streaming 5840 with Aurora 64b/66b for 7915
  • High- Throughput Streaming (FlexRIO)

Get started with High-Performance LabVIEW FPGA Course today