AXI Burst Types

AXI supports versatile burst modes and handles unaligned start addresses automatically.

Burst Types (AxBURST)

Value Type Description
00 FIXED Address remains constant (used for FIFOs).
01 INCR Incrementing address (Normal memory access).
10 WRAP Wraps at boundary (Cache line fills).

Unaligned Access

AXI Masters can issue a start address that is NOT aligned to the transfer size.

// Example: 32-bit transfer (Size=4 bytes), Start Address = 0x1 (Not 0x0/0x4)
// The first beat will drive 0x1.
// The next beat will force alignment -> 0x4.
// Subsequent beats increment by 4: 0x8, 0xC, etc.

Slaves must handle this. Typically, the Master uses the Write Strobe (WSTRB) signals to indicate which bytes are valid in the unaligned first transfer.

4KB Boundary Rule

Critical Restriction

An AXI burst must NEVER cross a 4KB address boundary.

Why 4KB? Because virtual memory pages are typically 4KB. If a burst crosses 4KB, it might cross from a valid physical page to an invalid one (Page Fault), or from Device A to Device B. The interconnect cannot easily check address permissions mid-burst.