Support simulating SNAP actions using Vivado WebPACK

[rs22]

Might it be a good idea to offer one of Xilinx' smaller FPGAs in the SNAP config menu, which could only be used for simulation but doesn't require a paid Vivado License?

As I was scrolling through the comments of a thread on Hacker News discussing the reasons for slow adoption of FPGA frameworks and tooling, I noticed that one of the perceived issues was that it's difficult to get access to Xilinx tooling as a beginner in the field.

So my idea was that it could be helpful for those beginners to be able to try out SNAP without having to purchase a Xilinx License. At least for first steps with the framework, building and testing simulation models might already provide valuable insights.

[bmesnet]

Excellent idea @rs22 .
Indeed to fully enable a new card with a small FPGA, the PSL/BSP will be the main issue since:

• for Power8: the PSL needs to be created for each card (this takes time and resources)
• for Power9: the BSP needs UltraRAM resource which needs almost an UltraScale+ family FPGA.
  but if we just enable simulation, this should be easier. Let me think about that and come back to you.

The easiest and quickest path may be to use the 72hours free Trial that IBM should be provide very shortly (ETA: SC18) to allow new users to discover for free SNAP environment on 2 different FPGA cards
In a 2nd step, for only 36cents per hour, you can simulate as much as you want on existing cards using our partner Nimbix cloud.