Guided Hardware Setup

Before you can use the features in the HDL Verifier™ Support Package for Intel^® FPGA Boards, you must establish communication between the host computer and the hardware board. After the installer completes the support package installation, it guides you through the process of establishing communication with the hardware board.

If the support package is already installed, you can start the hardware setup by opening the Add-On Manager.

In the Add-On Manager, start the hardware setup process by clicking the Gear icon .

The setup process includes these steps:

• Specify a hardware board and interface.

• Configure the network interface card in the host computer (for the Ethernet interface only).

• Copy the compatible secure digital (SD) card image files for the hardware board to an SD card drive path (for the Ethernet interface on an Intel Agilex^® 7 SoC board only).

• Configure your hardware board to start up from the SD card (for the Ethernet interface on an Intel Agilex 7 SoC board only).

• Install the PCIe driver on the host computer (for the PCI Express^® interface only).

• Connect your hardware board to the host computer.

• Verify the connection between the host computer and the hardware board.

Select Board and Interface

Choose a hardware board and an interface to use with this board from the list. For the full list of supported boards and interfaces, see Supported Intel FPGA Boards. HDL Verifier supports a PCI Express connection for FPGA-in-the-loop (FIL) with Windows^® operating systems only.

Setup Checklist

The guided setup wizard displays a checklist of the hardware requirements. Confirm that you have the hardware required to complete the setup process.

Note

Do not connect to the board or turn it on until you are prompted at a later step.

Ethernet Requirements

• FPGA or SoC development board

• USB-JTAG cable (for FPGA boards only)

• Installed Quartus^® software, with a supported version listed in Supported EDA Tools and Hardware (for FPGA boards only)

• Dedicated Gigabit network interface card (NIC) or USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle

• Ethernet cable

• Power supply adapter, if the board requires one

Ethernet on Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board Requirements

• Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

• Installed Quartus Prime Pro software, with a supported version listed in Supported EDA Tools and Hardware

• Dedicated Gigabit NIC or USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle

• Ethernet cable

• Power supply adapter, if the board requires one

• SD card reader and writable SD card with a capacity of 4 GB or larger

JTAG Requirements

• FPGA or SoC development board

• USB-JTAG cable

• Installed Quartus software, with a supported version listed in Supported EDA Tools and Hardware

• Power supply adapter, if the board requires one

PCI Express Requirements

• FPGA development board

• USB-JTAG cable

• Installed Quartus software, with a supported version listed in Supported EDA Tools and Hardware

• PCI Express slot and available space on the motherboard

• Power supply adapter, if the board requires one

Setup Steps

The guided setup wizard displays the setup steps for the selected interface. Follow these steps to set up your hardware board with the selected interface.

Ethernet

1. Ensure that the board power switch is off.

2. Connect the AC power cord to the power plug and plug the power supply adapter cable into the hardware board.

3. Use the crossover Ethernet cable to connect the Ethernet connector on the hardware board directly to the Ethernet adapter on your host computer.

4. Use the USB-JTAG download cable to connect the hardware board to the host computer.

5. Make sure that all the jumpers on the hardware board are in the factory default position.

6. Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.

Ethernet on Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

1. Ensure that the board power switch is off.

2. Follow the guided setup to:

   1. Configure the network interface card in the host computer. See Configure NIC on Host Computer.

   2. Copy the compatible SD card image files for the hardware board to an SD card drive path. See Select a Drive and Load Firmware.

   3. Configure the Secure Device Manager (SDM) and jumpers on the hardware board. See Set Jumper Switches.

   4. Connect the hardware board. See Connect Hardware.

JTAG

1. Ensure that the board power switch is off.

2. Connect the AC power cord to the power plug and plug the power supply adapter cable into the hardware board.

3. Use the USB-JTAG download cable to connect the hardware board to the host computer.

4. Make sure that all the jumpers on the hardware board are in the factory default position.

5. Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.

PCI Express

1. Ensure that the board power switch is off.

2. Select the maximum number of PCI Express lanes that the board supports. For details, refer to the user manual for the board.

   Supported Board	PCI Express Setup	Documentation
   DSP Development Kit, Stratix® V Edition	Set the three switches (PCIE_PRSNT2nx1, x4, x8) in dip switch SW6 to ON. This setting selects 8-lane PCIe (default board setting).	https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/fpga/development-kits/stratix/v-gs.html
   Cyclone® V GT FPGA Development Kit	Set the two switches(PCIe_x1, x4) in dip switch SW3 to ON. This setting selects 4-lane PCIe (default board setting).	https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/details/fpga/development-kits/cyclone/v-gt.html

3. Turn the host computer off.

4. Install the hardware board in a PCI Express slot inside the host computer.

   This figure shows the Stratix V board installed in a host computer. This installation applies to all supported Intel VC boards.

   

5. Connect the JTAG cable to the hardware board and the host computer. The JTAG cable is required to program the FPGA.

   

6. Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.

7. Start up the host computer.

Configure NIC on Host Computer

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface.

In this step, you configure the host computer so that it can communicate with the hardware board. You must have a dedicated Gigabit Ethernet NIC for the hardware board, with an Ethernet cable connecting the card to your hardware board. If you also want simultaneous internet access and you do not have a wireless connection, your host computer requires a second Ethernet NIC.

The guided setup supports the NIC configuration on the Windows operating system only. For the Linux^® operating system, manually configure the NIC by following the steps in Configure Linux.

In the guided setup, select the NIC that you want to connect with the hardware board. If you have already configured the NIC, select Skip this step if your network card is already configured for communicating with the FPGA or SoC board.

The list displays the connected NICs detected on your host computer. The menu options show each NIC as (In Use) or (Available). The installer marks an NIC as (In Use) when the NIC is connected to a device and has an assigned IP address.

If you do not see your NIC listed, click Refresh to trigger the NIC detection and refresh the list. Refreshing the list is useful when, for example, you plug in a USB Ethernet adapter dongle while viewing this pane.

• If all the NICs listed are in use, release an NIC and click Refresh.

• If the NIC list is empty, VMWare software, if present, can interfere with NIC detection. To get an accurate list of NICs on your host computer, remove the VMWare software.

• Check whether the missing NIC is disabled in the control panel. If the NIC is disabled, enable it.

Leave the IP address of the NIC as the default. Alternatively, specify the IP address in dotted quad format, for example, 192.168.0.1.

When you click Next, the software configures the NIC.

Select a Drive and Load Firmware

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface on an Intel Agilex 7 SoC board.

Next, the installer must write an FPGA image to an SD card. This FPGA image is included with the support package. The image includes the embedded software and the FPGA programming file necessary for using the hardware board as an I/O peripheral.

1. Insert a 4 GB or larger SD card into the card reader on the host computer. The card must be in FAT32 format. Select the appropriate drive from the list. If you have already downloaded the FPGA image, skip this step.

   

   Note

   Unlock the SD card before downloading the firmware image to the card. Keep the card unlocked while the card is in the board card reader.

2. Write the FPGA image to the SD card. In the guided setup, select the location of the SD drive containing the card, then click Next. On the next screen, to copy the programming file from the host computer to the SD card, click Write. This process erases any existing data on the card.

Install PCI Express Driver

This step is required only when you select the PCI Express interface.

If you have already installed the PCI Express drivers, skip this step.

Install the PCI Express drivers before you use FIL, FPGA data capture, or AXI manager with a PCI Express connection. This step performs the driver installation for you. The process can take 10 or more minutes to install, and might require system administrator privileges.

You can install the drivers now, or you can choose to perform the setup again later. To run the support package setup, on the MATLAB^® Home tab, in the Environment section, select Help > Check for Updates.

Set Jumper Switches

This step is required only when you select the PCI Express interface or the Ethernet interface on an Intel Agilex 7 SoC board.

You must configure the SDM on the Intel Agilex 7 SoC board to manage the security functions. If you have already configured the SDM, skip this step and set the S9 switch positions to on-on-off-off before connecting the hardware.

Configure the S9 and other jumpers on the Intel Agilex 7 SoC board so that you can use it as a peripheral device. These jumper settings ensure that the board starts up from the SD card. Make sure that the board is turned off. To learn more about the jumper settings, see the board documentation.

Set Jumpers on Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

Jumpers	Switch Positions
	Switch 1	Switch 2	Switch 3	Switch 4
S9 before configuring SDM	On	On	On	Off
S9 after configuring SDM	On	On	Off	Off
S4	On	On	On	On
S15	On	On	On	Off
S10	On	On	On	On
S23	On	On	On	On
S6	Off	Off	Off	Off
S1	Off	Off	Off	Off
S22	On	On	On	On
S19	Off	Off	On	On
S20	On	On	On	On

Connect Hardware

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface on an Intel Agilex 7 SoC board.

To configure the SDM, set the S9 switch positions to on-on-on-off and follow these instructions.

1. Connect the JTAG cable to the board.

2. Connect the power cable to the board and turn the power on.

3. Run this command in the MATLAB Command Window to program the SDM via the JTAG cable.

   programSDM

4. Turn the board power off and set the S9 switch positions to on-on-off-off.

Configure SDM on Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

After you configure the SDM or when you skip configuring the SDM, set the S9 switch positions to on-on-off-off and follow these instructions for connecting the hardware. The guided setup wizard provides labeled pictures of the steps for the board.

1. Remove the SD card from the host computer and insert it into the hardware board.

2. Connect an Ethernet cable to the board. Connect the other end of the Ethernet cable to the selected NIC.

3. Connect the power cable.

4. Turn the power on.

Connect Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

Verify Setup

You can verify the hardware setup for Ethernet and JTAG interfaces. This step runs the tests to verify the connection between the host computer and the hardware board based on the selected interface. Before you run the test, make sure that:

1. You have installed the appropriate vendor tool and the tool is on the MATLAB path. See Set Up FPGA Design Software Tools.

2. The board is turned on.

This step runs these tests to verify the connection for the selected interface.

Ethernet

1. Generate an FPGA programming file for your hardware board.

2. Program the FPGA.

3. Detect an Ethernet connection.

Ethernet on Intel Agilex 7 SoC Board

1. Verify the IP address configuration on the host computer.

2. Verify the Ethernet connection between the host computer and the hardware board.

3. Read and write the memory locations on the hardware board with the default SD card image bitstream.

JTAG

1. Generate an FPGA programming file for your board.

2. Program the FPGA.

3. Perform the data transaction between the FPGA and the host computer.

Open Examples

When the installer completes your hardware setup, you can exit the installer or open the examples to get started.