"FPGA/FLASH" versus "FPGA/user-image"

Projects Lime Suite
1

Hi,

I’m not confident in understanding the consequence of using the first versus the second of the following:

limeFLASH --device=“LimeSDR XTRX, media=PCIe, addr=/dev/limepcie0,serial=000000000e5dd779” --target=“FPGA/FLASH” LimeSDR_XTRX_user.bin

limeFLASH --device=“LimeSDR XTRX, media=PCIe, addr=/dev/limepcie0,serial=000000000e5dd779” --target=“FPGA/user-image” LimeSDR_XTRX_user.bin

After updating GW (with the first of the above FLASH lines), from Firmware version: 4, Gateware version: 1, Gateware revision: 22

to

Firmware version: 11, Gateware version: 3, Gateware revision: 10 I discovered in the documentation that

  1. If GW version is <1.13 then LimeSDR_XTRX_combined.bin file and FPGA/FLASH programming mode should be used.
  2. If GW version is >1.13 then LimeSDR_XTRX_user.bin file and FPGA/user-image programming mode should be used.
  3. The XTRX board version is 1.2.
  5. Do I require corrective action following this update?
2

Hi,

FPGA/FLASH is a legacy programming mode. I would not recommend using it, unless user/gold modes are unavailable. In gateware versions 1.13 and newer, it functions like FPGA/user-image, whereas in gateware versions 1.12 and older it functions like FPGA/gold-image.

Since your original gateware version was 1.22, there is no functional difference between FPGA/FLASH and FPGA/user-image. i.e. no corrective action required in your case.

3

Thank you TomasS. This is useful and reassuring.

Rick