| title | Quickstart |
|---|---|
| description | Minimal steps to integrate iDMA and run a transfer. |
This guide shows the shortest path to an end-to-end iDMA transfer: choose a backend, define types, wire modules, and launch a request. It assumes a single clock domain and a 1D transfer flow.
iDMA's SystemVerilog is generated from templates, so the first step in any checkout is to render it.
Prerequisites: bender >= 0.32.0 and Python >= 3.11 with uv.
make idma_hw_allOn first run this provisions a local uv environment (uv sync --locked) — no manual venv setup or activation needed — and renders the templates into target/rtl/, which Bender exposes through its rtl and synth targets.
When iDMA is pulled as a Bender dependency, regenerate its RTL from the consuming repo the same way:
make -C $(bender path idma) idma_hw_allPick the backend variant that matches your read/write protocols. For AXI-to-AXI systems, start with rw_axi.
Use the typedef.svh macros to define the request/response structs you will wire between layers.
`include "idma/typedef.svh"
typedef logic [AddrWidth-1:0] addr_t;
typedef logic [DataWidth-1:0] data_t;
typedef logic [IdWidth-1:0] id_t;
typedef logic [TFLenWidth-1:0] tf_len_t;
`IDMA_TYPEDEF_FULL_REQ_T(idma_req_t, id_t, addr_t, tf_len_t)
`IDMA_TYPEDEF_FULL_RSP_T(idma_rsp_t, addr_t)Instantiate the backend and connect the request/response handshake. The exact bus ports depend on the backend variant.
idma_backend_rw_axi #(
.DataWidth ( DataWidth ),
.AddrWidth ( AddrWidth ),
.idma_req_t ( idma_req_t ),
.idma_rsp_t ( idma_rsp_t ),
.axi_req_t ( axi_req_t ),
.axi_rsp_t ( axi_rsp_t )
) i_backend (
.clk_i,
.rst_ni,
.idma_req_i ( dma_req ),
.req_valid_i ( req_valid ),
.req_ready_o ( req_ready ),
.idma_rsp_o ( dma_rsp ),
.rsp_valid_o ( rsp_valid ),
.rsp_ready_i ( rsp_ready )
// ... bus ports ...
);A frontend produces idma_req_t. If you do not use a frontend, you can drive the request directly from a testbench or a custom control block.
The backend produces one idma_rsp_t per completed transfer. Check error and err_payload_t to determine whether the transfer succeeded.
- For a full integration recipe, see System Integration.
- For ND transfers, see Programming Model.