BittWorks II Toolkit

Capabilities

During Development

• Device setup, device information
• FPGA developer controls and debugs live FPGA images

During Development & Application Run-Time

• Driver and APIs for system integration
• Flash loading and FPGA booting
• Virtual PCIe hot-swap reduces time spent waiting for system reboots
• Monitor board health via Board Management Controller (BMC)
• Remote board upgrades: FPGA loads, BMC firmware, programmable clocks

Libraries

The BittWorks II Toolkit libraries provide a stable API that scales with new boards. The functions are C-callable and are cross-platform, allowing them to be run anywhere that Linux or Windows runs.

BwHIL

The BittWorks Host Interface Library (BwHIL) is a library of C-callable functions for controlling BittWare boards.

• Supports PCIe and USB devices
• Includes functions for FPGA configuration, reset, memory access
• Includes functions for Flash loading, erasing, memory access
• Supports virtual PCIe hot-swap

BmcLib

BmcLib is a function library to control the BMC on a BittWare board.

• Manage board sensors
• Program clocks and voltages
• Perform firmware field-upgrades

Utilities

The Toolkit features several utilities that allow you to configure your device in the system, interact with FPGA projects and debug the FPGA, control the BMC on your board, and access the board from a remote system.

BwConfig

BwConfig is an interface for configuring BittWare devices in a system.

• Control BittWare hardware in PC
• Scan and map new devices via PCIe or USB
• View device resources and information
• Control FPGA booting and Flash loading
• Backup Flash to restore a factory default image over PCIe

BwShell

BwShell is an interactive command-line shell for PHP scripting that provides access to the BwHIL API and the BittWare hardware.

• Quick debug of live FPGA
• Large PHP standard library and extensions
• Refer to FPGA Development Kit components by name without hard-coding addresses
• Access nearly all library functions
• Inline help

BwMonitor

BwMonitor is an interface for controlling the Board Management Controller (BMC) on a BittWare board

• View board health
• Read and log sensors
• Control sensor thresholds that determine when the board will shut down
• Load programmable clocks
• Voltage overrides
• Access devices via I2C
• Upgrade the BMC firmware
• Monitor the board over PCIe or USB

BwMonitor provides a view into the baseboard management capabilities of your BittWare hardware.

BwServer

BwServer provides remote access to the BittWare board over a TCP/IP network via the BwHIL.

• TCP/IP server for accessing Toolkit programs from a remote machine
• Can be used with or without a user interface
• Allows daisy-chaining of multiple BwServers
• Supports unique names and access restrictions

Drivers

The BittWorks II Toolkit includes drivers for Linux and Windows. The Linux driver is BittWare’s fully customizable PCI Express driver, and Windows systems use a standard Jungo driver.

BwPCI

BwPCI is a customizable PCI Express driver for Linux.

• Full source code included
• Fully customizable interrupt service routines
• Customer control for lowest latency, highest throughput
• MSI support
• User / Kernel interaction and custom command support
• Use with any PCI vendor / device ID

Jungo Windows Driver

Windows systems use a standard driver from Jungo.

• Customizable interrupt service routines
• MSI support
• Use with BittWare vendor / device IDs

Examples and Installers

Examples

Several reference designs are available to provide a starting point for your application development. These examples are available to download on BittWare’s developer site.

Installers

Download installers for the Toolkit from BittWare’s developer site: developer.bittware.com. The Toolkit installs quickly and allows you to begin using your BittWare hardware immediately.

Linux Packages

• 64-bit Linux
• .RPM for Centos
• .DEB for Ubuntu

Windows Installer

• 64-bit Windows

Support Resources

Developer.bittware.com

BittWare’s developer site – developer.bittware.com – provides many resources to help you get started with the BittWorks II Toolkit. Once you create an account, you can log in and download the latest release of the Toolkit, view complete online documentation for all of your BittWare products, and find reference designs and examples.

BittWare Technical Support

BittWare’s support team of technical experts are available to answer any installation and usage questions for BittWare products, while also providing assistance with more advanced technical problems that may arise. With your developer site account, you can create and access your technical support issues in our issue tracking system.

User Experience

BittWorks II Toolkit User Experience

The BittWorks II Toolkit significantly eases the effort required to develop applications for BittWare’s FPGA board platforms. The following is an example user experience that steps through installing the Toolkit to deploying the final application.

Install the Toolkit and BittWare Hardware

Download and install the BittWorks II Toolkit quickly and with minimal interaction. After installing the Toolkit, install the BittWare hardware in the system.

Build the FPGA Project

Use BittWare’s FPGA Development Kit (FDK) to build your FPGA project. Use BittWare’s developer website to find a reference design to start your application.

Map the BittWare Devices and Configure Resources

The BwConfig utility contains an easy-to-use PCI and network scanner to find local or remote BittWare devices and map them to the local PC. BwConfig displays device and resource properties of the BittWare hardware. When a device is opened, some of its resources appear in the list, allowing them to be reset or loaded with an FPGA image.

Access Mapped Devices

BwShell provides access to all of the mapped devices. Enter PHP functions and commands into the shell to read and write to device resources. Later, gather functions into scripts to automate tasks.

Create an Application

With the BwHIL and BmcLib APIs, create an application to interact with BittWare hardware. BwHIL allows you to open the device, load the FPGA, read and write memory locations, and create and install an interrupt service routine. Use BwMonitor to view and monitor your board while the application is running.

Deploy the System

Deploy your application for Windows or Linux. You can use the BwHIL and your board’s BMC to remotely upgrade FPGA images and monitor system health.

Example BittWorks II User Experience Steps

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