Documentation
Introduction
This page is an index to documentation for our 64-bit RISC-V SoC platform. We’ll be refreshing with further pointers to documentation for our other projects.
These SoC platform code releases and documentation have the aim of easing the path of new users and students, providing a robust tested platform for research into computer architecture, and conforming to a license model which is compatible with commercial research and development as well as IC manufacture. The current release is:
- lowRISC with run/step debugging via JTAG and GDB
Release version 0.6, released October 2018
This release updates the Rocket IP to March 2018 and includes compressed instructions and JTAG debugging conforming to the RISCV Debug Specification with custom JTAG DTM (see JTAG internals for details). The root filing system is updated to use the mostly upstreamed Debian repository and the peripheral data path widths are increased to 64-bits for better performance.
All releases are available here
What is included
Here you can find selected software and hardware IP which works together to produce an (almost) fully open-source computer system, consisting of:
- RISCV CPU written in the Chisel/Scala hardware description language
- A variety of useful peripherals, UART, MMC/SD-Card controller, Ethernet(100BaseT), VGA compatible screen, keyboard
- AXI compatible interface to proprietary DDR memory controller from Xilinx
- Boot loader for MMC/SD-Cards, based on u-boot
- Ethernet booter incorporating DHCP
- RISCV-Linux, adapted with drivers to attach to the above peripherals
- RISCV-Debian operating system
Quick Start
As the source distribution is large, effort has been put into to making an easy-to-use quickstart procedure. This procedure does not require a huge amount of prior knowledge.
Getting started breakdown
The latest release has the instructions broken down by topic, instead of the release specific documentation that was included previously.
- Introduction to development
- Overview of the Refresh system
- Download the source code
- Install FPGA synthesis and simulation tools
- Preparing the development environment
- Produce an FPGA Bitstream
- Configure DHCP
- Building a bare-metal tool chain
- Install support for RISCV emulation
- Downloading and Installing Debian
- Build the Linux Kernel
- Build the Berkeley boot loader (BBL)
- Initiate Remote Booting
- Updating the kernel on a running system
- Booting a customised NFS system
- Frequently asked questions for this release
Other content
Our first memo describes our vision for tagged memory and minion cores in lowRISC.