Try SDSoC for Free on Linux

Updated: May 15, 2023

This post show you how to try SDSoC for free on Linux: install SDSoC 2018.2 on Ubuntu 16.04.3, get a free 60-day license and run SDSoC.

Notes

The full download of SDSoC is 20.35 GB
This guide was built using a fresh install of Ubuntu 16.04.3 where Download updates and Install third party software were not selected

OSes Supported

Windows 7.1: 64-bit
Windows 10 Professional versions 1709 and 1803: 64-bit
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.6-6.9: 64-bit
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.2-7.4: 64-bit
CentOS Linux 6.6-6.9: 64-bit
CentOS Linux 7.2-7.4: 64-bit
Ubuntu Linux 16.04.3 LTS: 64-bit - Additional library installation required

Boards Support & Memory Needed Per Board

SDSoC does not state the required memory in the SDx Development Environment Release Notes, Installation and Licensing Guide.

Assuming SDSoC runs "Vivado" under the hood, the memory requirements should be similar to the memory requirements of Vivado.

At [link] under Memory Recommendations for Vivado the memory recommendations for Vivado 2018.2 have been listed.

Here are the typical and peak memory usages (and cost and links to buy) for each board supported in SDSoC 2018.2:

Spreadsheet available at [link].

Sizing a Virtual Machine

If you are installing SDSoC 2018.2 on a VirtualBox virtual machine and using a ZC702 use 5GB of RAM and 100 GB of disk. I named my sdsoc_ubuntu-16.04.3-desktop-amd64_5GB-RAM_100GB-Disk. 5 GB is 5120 MB.

Help!

If you need help installing Ubuntu 16.04.3 on VirtualBox 5.2.12 running on Windows 7 SP1 check out [link].

Get SDSoC

1. Go to Xilinx at [link] and (A) click Developer Zone and (B) click SDSoC Development Environment.

2. (A) Click Download / Buy and (B) click SDSoC Downloads (License Required)

3. Click SDx 2018.2 SFD

Add Packages

1. Type sudo apt-get upgrade;

2. Type sudo apt-get install build-essential module-assistant;

3. Type sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

4. Type sudo apt-get update

5. Type sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386

6. Type sudo apt-get install g++-multilib

7. Type sudo apt-get install libgtk2.0-0:i386 dpkg-dev:i386

8. Type sudo ln -s /usr/bin/make /usr/bin/gmake

Extract

1. Type mkdir ~/xpkgs

2. Move Xilinx_SDx_2018.2_0614_1954.tar.gz to ~/xpkgs

3. Type cd ~/xpkgs

4. Type tar -zxvf Xilinx_SDx_2018.2_0614_1954.tar.gz

5. Type cd Xilinx_SDx_2018.2_0614_1954/

6. Type ./xsetup

You should see:

...followed by:

If you click the Preferences button:

...you'll see a place where you can set up a proxy:

...and/or select the amount of CPU bandwidth you wish to use during installation:

1. Click Next >

2. (A) Agree to the Xilinx Inc. End User License Agreement, (B) WebTalk Terms And Conditions and (C) Third Party Software End User License Agreement and (D) click Next >

3. Click off everything you don't need. In my case I only care about Zynq-7000 so I can save 12.59 GB

Calculation

I started with the stated space and started subtracing features. You can use this to figure out how "big" each sub feature is.

Original disk space required: 48.85 GB

- Devices / Built-in Platforms and associated device for SDAccel: 47.63 GB

- Devices / Devices for Custom Platforms / SoCs / Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC: 45.51 GB

- Devices / Devices for Custom Platforms / SoCs / Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC: 44.12 GB

- Devices / Devices for Custom Platforms / 7 Series: 42.82 GB

- Devices / Devices for Custom Platforms / UltraScale: 39.39 GB

- Devices / Devices for Custom Platforms / UltraScale+: 36.26 GB

...once configured click Next >

If you see Cannot write to /opt/Xilinx. Check the read/write permissions. as seen here: (if you don't jump to 4.)

Open a new terminal window and:

Type sudo mkdir -p /opt/Xilinx

Type sudo chmod -R a+rwX /opt/Xilinx

...as seen here:

Then click < Back

Then Next >

4. ...and you'll see the following. Click Next >.

Here are the Installation location(s):

/opt/Xilinx/SDx/2018.2
/opt/Xilinx/Vivado/2018.2
/opt/Xilinx/SDK/2018.2
/opt/Xilinx/DocNav

5. Finally, click Install

You'll see the Installation Progress screen:

At the end you'll see a pop up that says Installation completed successfully. and the Vivado License Manager 2018.2 popping up behind the Installation Progress window.

6. Click OK.

You'll see the Vivado License Manager:

Get a 60-Day License

1. Go to https://www.xilinx.com/getproduct and sign in.

2. (A) Click the SDSoC Environment: 60 Day Evaluation License checkbox then click (B) Generate Node-Locked License

3. (A) Click Select a host... then (B) Add a host...

4. Back in the License Manager, click (A) View Host Information then record (B) the Host Name and (C) the Network Interface Card (NIC) ID

5. (A) Enter the Host Name, (B) select Linux 64-bit, (C) select Ethernet MAC, (D) enter in the Network Interface Card (NIC) ID from the previous step into the Host ID value and (E) click Add.