Which ModelSim and Questa editions can I use for cosimulation with HDL Verifier?

Which ModelSim™ and Questa™ editions can I use for cosimulation with HDL Verifier?

When using an unsupported edition, I see errors and warnings similar to the following:

# ** Error: (vsim-FLI-3155) The FLI is not enabled in this version of ModelSim.

# ** Fatal: Questa Intel FPGA Edition can only run vopt output of Questa Intel FPGA Edition

Warning: Could not determine 32/64bit mode from
'Model Technology ModelSim - INTEL FPGA STARTER EDITION vsim 2021.1 Simulator 2021.02 Feb  3 2021'
version string. Will attempt to launch 32-bit ModelSim.

Warning: Could not determine 32/64bit mode from
'Questa  Intel FPGA Edition-64 vcom 2021.2 Compiler 2021.04 Apr 14 2021'
version string. Will attempt to launch 32-bit ModelSim.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

For a complete list supported HDL simulators with HDL Verifier for the current release, see:

Supported EDA Tools and Hardware - mathworks.com

Cosimulation with HDL Verifier should work with any full Questa and ModelSim edition that has the Programming Language Interface (PLI) or ModelSim Foreign Language Interface (FLI) enabled, such as:

• Questa Core/Prime
• ModelSim DE (Deluxe Edition)
• ModelSim SE (Special Edition)

HDL Verifier does not support free editions of ModelSim as they do not have PLI or FLI enabled, such as:

• Questa-Intel® FPGA Edition & Starter Edition (bundled with Intel® Quartus®)
• ModelSim-Intel® FPGA Edition & Starter Edition (bundled with Intel® Quartus®)
• ModelSim PE (Personal Edition)
• ModelSim PE Student Edition
• ModelSim ME (bundled with Microsemi Libero)
• ModelSim XE (bundled with Xilinx Vivado)
• ModelSim Lattice FPGA Edition (bundled with Lattice iCEcube2). 

Please contact Siemens® EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics) to receive up-to-date information about the PLI and FLI availability in their products: https://eda.sw.siemens.com/

[Eric Cigan]

Effective January 2021, Mentor Graphics is now known as Siemens EDA.

[Stefanie Schwarz]

Thanks Eric, I updated the answer.

[Marc Erickson]

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting with FPGA tool releases after 2024-25, the ModelSim HDL simulator bundled with the FPGA tools has migrated to a new core technology based on Questa. This new Questa core now supports HDL cosimulation from HDL Verifier since MathWorks R2025a and Questa 2024.2. The version string returned for the Questa bundled with the vendor tool should look similar to this report from "vsim -version" for the Lattice bundle:

Questa Lattice OEM Edition-64 vsim 2024.2 Simulator 2024.05 May 20 2024

See https://www.mathworks.com/help/hdlverifier/gs/supported-eda-tools.html#mw_5ff87672-7202-4800-9fb0-0b13f77bf267 .

Also note that Siemens has consolidated their offerings around Questa-Base, Core, and Prime. Please inquire with Siemens about any transition plans that may be needed.