corundum/README.md

# Corundum Readme

GitHub repository: https://github.com/corundum/corundum

Google group: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/corundum-nic

## Introduction

Corundum is an open-source, high-performance FPGA-based NIC.  Features include
a high performance datapath, 10G/25G/100G Ethernet, PCI express gen 3, a
custom, high performance, tightly-integrated PCIe DMA engine, many (1000+)
transmit, receive, completion, and event queues, scatter/gather DMA, MSI
interrupts, multiple interfaces, multiple ports per interface, per-port
transmit scheduling including high precision TDMA, flow hashing, RSS, checksum
offloading, and native IEEE 1588 PTP timestamping.  A Linux driver is included
that integrates with the Linux networking stack.  Development and debugging is
facilitated by an extensive simulation framework that covers the entire system
from a simulation model of the driver and PCI express interface on one side to
the Ethernet interfaces on the other side.

Corundum has several unique architectural features.  First, transmit, receive,
completion, and event queue states are stored efficiently in block RAM or
ultra RAM, enabling support for thousands of individually-controllable
queues.  These queues are associated with interfaces, and each interface can
have multiple ports, each with its own independent scheduler.  This enables
extremely fine-grained control over packet transmission.  Coupled with PTP time
synchronization, this enables high precision TDMA.

Corundum currently supports Xilinx Virtex 7, UltraScale, and UltraScale+ series
devices.  Designs are included for the following FPGA boards:

*  Alpha Data ADM-PCIE-9V3 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCVU3P)
*  Exablaze ExaNIC X10 (Xilinx Kintex UltraScale XCKU035)
*  Exablaze ExaNIC X25 (Xilinx Kintex UltraScale+ XCKU3P)
*  Silicom fb2CG@KU15P (Xilinx Kintex UltraScale+ XCKU15P)
*  NetFPGA SUME (Xilinx Virtex 7 XC7V690T)
*  Xilinx Alveo U50 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCU50)
*  Xilinx Alveo U200 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCU200)
*  Xilinx Alveo U250 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCU250)
*  Xilinx Alveo U280 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCU280)
*  Xilinx VCU108 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale XCVU095)
*  Xilinx VCU118 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCVU9P)
*  Xilinx VCU1525 (Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ XCVU9P)
*  Xilinx ZCU106 (Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ XCZU7EV)

For operation at 10G and 25G, Corundum uses the open source 10G/25G MAC and
PHY modules from the verilog-ethernet repository, no extra licenses are
required.  However, it is possible to use other MAC and/or PHY modules.
Operation at 100G currently requires using the Xilinx CMAC core with RS-FEC
enabled, which is covered by the free CMAC license on Xilinx UltraScale+ parts.

## Documentation

### Block Diagram

![Corundum block diagram](block.svg)

Block diagram of the Corundum NIC. PCIe HIP: PCIe hard IP core; AXIL M: AXI lite master; DMA IF: DMA interface; PTP HC: PTP hardware clock; TXQ: transmit queue manager; TXCQ: transmit completion queue manager; RXQ: receive queue manager; RXCQ: receive completion queue manager; EQ: event queue manager; MAC + PHY: Ethernet media access controller (MAC) and physical interface layer (PHY).

### Modules

#### cmac_pad module

Frame pad module for 512 bit 100G CMAC TX interface.  Zero pads transmit
frames to minimum 64 bytes.

#### cpl_op_mux module

Completion operation multiplexer module.  Merges completion write operations
from different sources to enable sharing a single cpl_write module instance.

#### cpl_queue_manager module

Completion queue manager module.  Stores device to host queue state in block
RAM or ultra RAM.

#### cpl_write module

Completion write module.  Responsible for enqueuing completion and event
records into the completion queue managers and writing records into host
memory via DMA.

#### desc_fetch module

Descriptor fetch module.  Responsible for dequeuing descriptors from the queue
managers and reading descriptors from host memory via DMA.

#### desc_op_mux module

Descriptor operation multiplexer module.  Merges descriptor fetch operations
from different sources to enable sharing a single desc_fetch module instance.

#### event_mux module

Event mux module.  Enables multiple event sources to feed the same event queue.

#### mqnic_interface module

Interface module.  Contains the event queues, interface queues, and ports.

#### mqnic_port module

Port module.  Contains the transmit and receive datapath components, including
transmit and receive engines and checksum and hash offloading.

#### queue_manager module

Queue manager module.  Stores host to device queue state in block RAM or ultra
RAM.

#### rx_checksum module

Receive checksum computation module.  Computes 16 bit checksum of Ethernet
frame payload to aid in IP checksum offloading.

#### rx_engine module

Receive engine.  Manages receive datapath operations including descriptor
dequeue and fetch via DMA, packet reception, data writeback via DMA, and
completion enqueue and writeback via DMA.  Handles PTP timestamps for
inclusion in completion records.

#### rx_hash module

Receive hash computation module.  Extracts IP addresses and ports from packet
headers and computes 32 bit Toeplitz flow hash.

#### tdma_ber_ch module

TDMA bit error ratio (BER) test channel module.  Controls PRBS logic in
Ethernet PHY and accumulates bit errors.  Can be configured to bin error
counts by TDMA timeslot.

#### tdma_ber module

TDMA bit error ratio (BER) test module.  Wrapper for a tdma_scheduler and
multiple instances of tdma_ber_ch.

#### tdma_scheduler module

TDMA scheduler module.  Generates TDMA timeslot index and timing signals from
PTP time.

#### tx_checksum module

Transmit checksum computation and insertion module.  Computes 16 bit checksum
of frame data with specified start offset, then inserts computed checksum at
the specified position.

#### tx_engine module

Transmit engine.  Manages transmit datapath operations including descriptor
dequeue and fetch via DMA, packet data fetch via DMA, packet transmission, and
completion enqueue and writeback via DMA.  Handles PTP timestamps for
inclusion in completion records.

#### tx_scheduler_ctrl_tdma module

TDMA transmit scheduler control module.  Controls queues in a transmit
scheduler based on PTP time, via a tdma_scheduler instance.

#### tx_scheduler_rr module

Round-robin transmit scheduler.  Determines which queues from which to send
packets.

### Source Files

    cmac_pad.v               : Pad frames to 64 bytes for CMAC TX
    cpl_op_mux.v             : Completion operation mux
    cpl_queue_manager.v      : Completion queue manager
    cpl_write.v              : Completion write module
    desc_fetch.v             : Descriptor fetch module
    desc_op_mux.v            : Descriptor operation mux
    event_mux.v              : Event mux
    event_queue.v            : Event queue
    mqnic_interface.v        : Interface
    mqnic_port.v             : Port
    queue_manager.v          : Queue manager
    rx_checksum.v            : Receive checksum offload
    rx_engine.v              : Receive engine
    rx_hash.v                : Receive hashing module
    tdma_ber_ch.v            : TDMA BER channel
    tdma_ber.v               : TDMA BER
    tdma_scheduler.v         : TDMA scheduler
    tx_checksum.v            : Transmit checksum offload
    tx_engine.v              : Transmit engine
    tx_scheduler_ctrl_tdma.v : TDMA transmit scheduler controller
    tx_scheduler_rr.v        : Round robin transmit scheduler

## Testing

Running the included testbenches requires [cocotb](https://github.com/cocotb/cocotb), [cocotbext-axi](https://github.com/alexforencich/cocotbext-axi), [cocotbext-eth](https://github.com/alexforencich/cocotbext-eth), [cocotbext-pcie](https://github.com/alexforencich/cocotbext-pcie), [scapy](https://scapy.net/), and [Icarus Verilog](http://iverilog.icarus.com/).  The testbenches can be run with pytest directly (requires [cocotb-test](https://github.com/themperek/cocotb-test)), pytest via tox, or via cocotb makefiles.

## Publications

- A. Forencich, A. C. Snoeren, G. Porter, G. Papen, *Corundum: An Open-Source 100-Gbps NIC,* in FCCM'20, [Paper](https://www.cse.ucsd.edu/~snoeren/papers/corundum-fccm20.pdf), [Presentation](https://www.fccm.org/past/2020/forums/topic/corundum-an-open-source-100-gbps-nic/)

- J. A. Forencich, *System-Level Considerations for Optical Switching in Data Center Networks*, [Paper](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mc9070t)

## Citation
If you use Corundum in your project please cite one of the following papers
and/or link to the github project:

```
@inproceedings{forencich2020fccm,
    author = {Alex Forencich and Alex C. Snoeren and George Porter and George Papen},
    title = {Corundum: An Open-Source {100-Gbps} {NIC}},
    booktitle = {28th IEEE International Symposium on Field-Programmable Custom Computing Machines},
    year = {2020},
}

@phdthesis{forencich2020thesis,
    author = {John Alexander Forencich},
    title = {System-Level Considerations for Optical Switching in Data Center Networks},
    school = {UC San Diego},
    year = {2020},
    url = {https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mc9070t},
}
```

## Dependencies

Corundum internally uses the following libraries:

*  https://github.com/alexforencich/verilog-axi
*  https://github.com/alexforencich/verilog-axis
*  https://github.com/alexforencich/verilog-ethernet
*  https://github.com/alexforencich/verilog-pcie
*  https://github.com/solemnwarning/timespec