XILINX Zynq UltraScale+
RidgeRun is proud to support Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs, which delivers an advanced architecture with high-density system integration and great performance/ watt for the most computing-demanding embedded applications. RidgeRun's Xilinx development tools are customized and designed to improve the development process.
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC: Security, Reliability and Scalability
Xilinx Zynq Ultrascale+ MPSoCs takes heterogeneous computing to its core. It combines the Ultrascale programmable logic (FPGAs) and high capacity of the ARM processors, through a one ARM v8-based Cortex A53 64-bit application processor and an ARM Cortex-R5 real-time processor, a video codec unit (VCU), a graphics processing unit and flexible power management, making it a great option for advanced multimedia systems.
This architecture is the first of its kind. It provides ASIC-level system optimization in an all programmable platform. It allows for accelerating and optimizing computing tasks, decreasing power requirements, and improving programmable acceleration. It also enables massive I/O and memory management for any kind of application.
There are three different variants; CG, EG, EV. CG provides a dual application processor for low power applications. EG provides a quad application processor and GPU for high demanding computing applications. EV comes with hardware video codec, creating a wide range of possibilities to enable the next generation of multimedia systems.
RidgeRun's SDK has been ported and customized to make development on the Xilinx UltraScale+ SoC based boards much easier. RidgeRun has customized and improved the development process by:
RidgeRun Xilinx UltraScale+ SoC SDK: Development Tool
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Making it easier to patch and modify the code for the Bootloader, kernel, and FS.
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Extending the file system possibilities over Petalinux, which uses a very reduced FS (not GStreamer, not apt, not build-essential). The RidgeRun's SDK allows you to use Ubuntu, debootstrap jessie 64bit with packages like Ruby, GStreamer, apt and build-essential.
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Our SDK can use Vivado generated files for generating the BOOT.BIN needed by the Ultrascale to configure the hardware as requested.
​RidgeRun will also extend this SDK to support the hardware accelerated CODECs as they become available through GStreamer.
Xilinx Development Tool and Design: GstDaemon
GStreamer Daemon is gst-launch on steroids created by RidgeRun, where you can create a GStreamer pipeline, play, pause, change speed, skip around, and even change element parameter settings all while the pipeline is active (on-the-fly). Also called gstd, GStreamer Daemon allows Xilinx Ultrascale+ developers to control audio and video pipelines using TCP connection messages through the library provided or the example client application.
DRM Management: Direct Rendering Manager
Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) is a subsystem of the Linux Kernel in charge of interfacing video devices such as GPUs and display devices (HDMI, Display Port). It provides user-friendly APIs for setting modes and configuring complete systems. RidgeRun has experience developing DRM solutions to use with user space libraries such as libdrm and GStreamer.
Advanced Audio Drivers: Alsa Drivers
The Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) provides audio and MIDI functionality to the Linux operating system. RidgeRun has experience developing ALSA drivers for multiple platforms and custom systems, to expose complete control and functionality of audio devices.
UltraScale+ Development Tool / Design / GStreamer tuning: GstShark
GstShark is an open-source project from Ridgerun that provides benchmarks and profiling tools for GStreamer. GstShark includes tracers for generating debug information, plus some tools to analyze it. GstShark provides easy to use and useful tracers to UltraScale+ developers, paired with analysis tools to enable straightforward optimizations. GstShark leverages GStreamer's tracing hooks and standard tracing and plotting tools to simplify the process of understanding the bottlenecks in your pipeline.
Linux Drivers: Xilinx V4L2 Drivers
V4L2 is the official Linux Kernel API to handle capture and processing devices like camera sensors, video converters, and video processing elements. RidgeRun has more than 12 years of experience creating custom Linux V4L2 drivers for embedded systems. The customer selects the hardware sensor or chip and RidgeRun creates the V4L2 driver for it. RidgeRun drivers can be used with V4L2 compliant frameworks like GStreamer.
Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC Main Features
Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC main features include:
Xilinx Development Tools, Drivers & More
Application processing unit (APU):
• Dual or Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 MPCore
• CPU frequency up to 1.5GHz
Real-time processing unit (RPU):
• Dual-core ARM Cortex-R5 real-time processor unit
• CPU frequency up to 600MHz
• On-the-fly change of multiple encoding parameter
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• Any-to-Any connectivity using the Xilinx Vivado IP catalog, Vivado, and SDK tools
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• IPs to capture and display video from SDI RX, HDMI RX, MIPI CSI, HDMI TX, SDI TX MIPI DSI. Other IPs for peripherals connectivity such as USB, Ethernet, and PCIe
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Graphics processing unit (GPU):
• ARM Mali™-400 MP2
• GPU frequency up to 667MHz
Video codec unit (VCU)
• Simultaneous Encode and Decode through separate cores (up to 8 streams)
• H.264 Baseline, Main, High, High10, High 4:2:2 up to 5.2 level
• H.265 Main, Main Intra, Main10, Main10 Intra, Main 4:2:2 10, Main 4:2:2 10 Intra up to 5.1 High Tier
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• 8 and 10-bit support
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• Supports simultaneous transcoding up to 4K UHD resolution at 60Hz
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