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.

On the MATLAB tool bar, from the Add-Ons menu, select Manage Add-Ons.

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

JTAG Requirements

FPGA or SoC development board
USB-JTAG cable
Installed Quartus software
Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

PCI Express Requirements

FPGA development board
USB-JTAG cable
Installed Quartus software
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

Make sure that the board power switch is off during these setup steps. You are prompted to turn the power on at a later step.
Connect the AC power cord to the power plug and plug the power supply adapter cable into the hardware board.
Use the crossover Ethernet cable to connect the Ethernet connector on the hardware board directly to the Ethernet adapter on your host computer.
Use the USB-JTAG download cable to connect the hardware board to the host computer.
Make sure that all the jumpers on the hardware board are in the factory default position.
Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.

JTAG

Make sure that the board power switch is off during these setup steps. You are prompted to turn the power on at a later step.
Connect the AC power cord to the power plug and plug the power supply adapter cable into the hardware board.
Use the USB-JTAG download cable to connect the hardware board to the host computer.
Make sure that all the jumpers on the hardware board are in the factory default position.
Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.

PCI Express

Make sure that the board power switch is off during these setup steps. You are prompted to turn the power on at a later step.

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

Turn the host computer off.
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.
Connect the JTAG cable to the hardware board and the host computer. The JTAG cable is required to program the FPGA.
Turn the power switch of the hardware board on.
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.

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, free up a NIC for use with the hardware and then 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 for 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.

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.

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:

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

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

Ethernet

Generate an FPGA programming file for your hardware board.
Program the FPGA.
Detect an Ethernet connection.

JTAG

Generate an FPGA programming file for your board.
Program the FPGA.
Perform the data transaction between the FPGA and the host computer.

If the connection is not successful, the most common reasons are that the board is not connected properly or it is not turned on. Check the cable connections and power switch and try again.

Open Examples

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