finn-plus 1.3.0

Fork of FINN, a QNN dataflow compiler for AMD/Xilinx FPGAs

Dataflow Compiler for Fast, Scalable Quantized Neural Network Inference on FPGAs

FINN+ is a fork of FINN, an experimental framework from the Integrated Communications and AI Lab of AMD Research & Advanced Development to explore deep neural network inference on FPGAs. It specifically targets quantized neural networks, with emphasis on generating dataflow-style architectures customized for each network. The resulting FPGA accelerators are highly efficient and can yield high throughput and low latency. The framework is fully open-source in order to give a higher degree of flexibility, and is intended to enable neural network research spanning several layers of the software/hardware abstraction stack.

Quick Links

• Getting Started - Start using FINN+ in minutes
• Wiki Documentation - Complete documentation and guides
• Feature Tracker - Current development status

What's New in FINN+

FINN+ incorporates all upstream FINN development while adding significant enhancements across multiple areas:

Core Improvements

• Transformer/Attention Support - Native support for modern transformer architectures
• Enhanced Streamlining - Improved optimization pipeline for better performance
• Smart FIFO Sizing (WIP) - Automatic folding and FIFO-sizing with better algorithms
• QoR Estimation (WIP) - Empirical quality-of-result estimation for design space exploration

Backend Extensions

• Hardware Profiling - Instrumentation for accurate performance measurement in simulation and hardware
• Alveo Support - Enhanced build flow for Xilinx Alveo cards
• Multi-FPGA - Support for distributed inference across multiple FPGAs
• Optimized Drivers - High-performance C++ drivers for better host-accelerator communication

Developer Experience

• Better Diagnostics - Improved logging and error handling throughout the framework
• Type Safety - Comprehensive type hinting and checking for better code quality
• YAML Configuration - Alternative YAML-based build configuration system
• Simplified Setup - Containerless installation and setup process

Track Development: Check our Feature Tracker for real-time status updates on all features. We merge improvements early to accelerate development and enable cutting-edge research.

Getting Started

This is a quick overview of how to get started, for additional information please refer to our Wiki!

Prerequisites

Before installing FINN+, ensure you have:

• Python: Version 3.10 or 3.11 (Python 3.12+ not yet supported)
• Xilinx Tools: Vivado, Vitis, and Vitis HLS (2022.2 or 2024.2)
• System Dependencies: See our dependency installation script for required packages

Installing via pip

After preparing the dependencies mentioned above, simply run the following to start a build flow:

# Make sure to create a fresh virtual environment for FINN+
pip install finn-plus                     # Install FINN+ and its Python dependencies via pip
finn deps update                          # Ensure FINN+ pulled all further dependencies (this might update packages in your venv!)
finn build build_config.yaml model.onnx   # Run a FINN+ build defined in a YAML file

For more detailed instructions, like installation for development use, please refer to our Wiki!

About Us

FINN+ is maintained by researchers from the Computer Engineering Group (CEG) and Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing (PC²) at Paderborn University, Germany as part of the eki research project.