pynq_to_zynq

Phase 1: Board Bring-up & “Hello World”

1. The Goal

To establish a functional PYNQ environment on your PYNQ-Z2 board.
By the end of this phase, you will have a running Embedded Linux system that you can program using Python via a web browser (Jupyter Notebooks), proving the hardware is alive and the network is configured correctly.

2. Sanity Check (Pre-Flight)

Ensure you have the physical assets required to power and connect the board.

3. Step-by-Step Instructions

Part A: Prepare the Boot Medium

  1. Download Image:
    • Go to PYNQ.io Boards Page.
    • Locate the PYNQ-Z2 section.
    • Download the latest SD Card Image (e.g., v3.0.1 or v2.7). Note: This is a large zip file.
  2. Flash the SD Card:
    • Insert your MicroSD card into your computer.
    • Open BalenaEtcher.
    • Select the downloaded image file (you typically don’t need to unzip it; Etcher handles zip files).
    • Select your SD card target.
    • Click Flash!.
    • Validation: Wait for the “Validation” step to complete successfully to ensure no write errors occurred.

Part B: Hardware Configuration (The Jumpers)

The Zynq chip checks physical pins on startup to decide where to boot from. We must set these correctly.

  1. Boot Jumper (JP1):
    • Locate JP1 (Top right, near the HDMI Out).
    • Move the jumper shunts to the SD position. (This tells the BootROM to look at the SD card first).
  2. Power Jumper (JP6):
    • Locate JP6 (Bottom right, near the Power Switch).
    • If powering via USB: Set to USB.
    • If powering via Wall Adapter: Set to REG.

Part C: Physical Connections

  1. Insert SD Card: Slot is on the underside of the board.
  2. Ethernet: Connect the board to your Router/Switch. (Direct PC connection is possible but requires static IP configuration; Router is easiest for beginners).
  3. USB Serial: Connect the Micro-USB cable to the PROG/UART port on the board and your PC.

Part D: Power On & Boot Sequence

  1. Power On: Slide the Power Switch (SW1) to ON.
  2. Observe LEDs:
    • Red (LD13): Powers on immediately.
    • Yellow/Green (LD12 - DONE): Turns on after a few seconds. Meaning: The FPGA bitstream was successfully loaded.
    • Blue/Green Flashing: After 30-60 seconds, the 4 User LEDs (LD0-LD3) and 2 RGB LEDs will flash. Meaning: Linux has booted and the PYNQ system is ready.

4. Testing & Validation

Test 1: The Network Check

  1. Open your web browser on the same network.
  2. Navigate to: http://pynq:9090
    • Note: If that doesn’t resolve, try the default static IP fallback: http://192.168.2.99:9090 (Requires your PC Ethernet to be in the same subnet).
  3. Login:
    • Password: xilinx

Test 2: The “Hello World” Notebook

  1. In the Jupyter interface, navigate to the folder base/board.
  2. Open the notebook board_btns_leds.ipynb.
  3. Click the Run button (Play icon) on the first few cells.
  4. Action: When you execute the code block that reads buttons, press a physical button (BTN0-BTN3) on the board.
  5. Success: The Python output should update to reflect which button you pressed. This proves the Python layer is successfully talking to the FPGA hardware.

5. Recap: Knowledge Gained

Next Steps: With the board confirmed working, we will now look at how the PYNQ framework itself works.

6. Next Phase

We will peel back the layers of the Python libraries to see how they talk to memory.

Go to Phase 2: The PYNQ Flow (Rapid Prototyping)

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