How to set the external mode ?

[surajkarki66]

Hi @LinusJungemann and @fpjentzsch

I hope this message finds you well. I am currently working on deploying various YOLO model versions on a ZCU104 FPGA using FINN+. Due to model sizes, I'm encountering BRAM constraints that prevent some models from fitting onto the FPGA.

I wanted to explore using external memory for weight storage, but I have concerns about potential AXI Lite interface limitations when implementing this approach. Could you please advise:

Is there a recommended method to configure external memory access for weights in FINN+ ?

Are there specific considerations or constraints regarding AXI Lite connections when using external memory mode (using lot of MVAU/VVAU nodes with external mem_mode) ?

I would greatly appreciate your insights on managing these resource constraints while maintaining reasonable performance.

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise.

Best regards,
Suraj Karki
Hochschule Bielefeld