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Guided Hardware Setup

Before you can use the features in the HDL Verifier™ Support Package for Intel® FPGA Boards, HDL Verifier Support Package for Microchip FPGA Boards, or HDL Verifier Support Package for Xilinx® 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).

  • Copy or transfer the compatible SD card image files for the hardware board to an SD card drive path (for the Ethernet interface on Zynq® SoC boards only).

  • Configure your hardware board to start up from the SD card (for the Ethernet interface on Zynq SoC boards only).

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

  • Connect your hardware board to the host computer (for the Ethernet interface on Zynq SoC boards only).

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

Select Board and Interface for Use with FPGA Verification

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 FPGA Devices for FPGA Verification. HDL Verifier supports a PCI Express connection for FPGA-in-the-loop (FIL) with Windows® operating systems only.

Connection Requirements

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 Vivado®, Quartus®, or Microchip Libero® SoC 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)

Ethernet on Zynq SoC or Versal Board Requirements

  • Zynq SoC or Versal® board

  • Dedicated Gigabit NIC or a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle

  • Ethernet cable

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

  • Memory secure digital (SD) card and SD card reader

JTAG Requirements

  • FPGA or SoC development board

  • USB-JTAG cable

  • Installed Vivado or Quartus software

  • Installed Digilent® Adept 2 Runtime (for Linux® operating systems on Xilinx boards only)

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

PCI Express Requirements

HDL Verifier supports a PCI Express connection for Windows operating systems only.

  • FPGA development board

  • USB-JTAG cable

  • Installed Vivado or Quartus software

  • PCI Express slot and available space on the motherboard

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

Connection Setup

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. 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.

  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 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 Zynq SoC Board

  1. 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.

  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 jumpers on the hardware board. See Set Jumpers.

    4. Connect the hardware board. See Connect Hardware.

Ethernet on Versal Board

The Versal board supports Ethernet connection for FPGA-in-the-Loop (FIL), but not through the guided setup.

  1. Make sure that the board power switch is off during these setup steps.

  2. Follow these manual steps setup to:

    1. Configure the network interface card in the host computer. See Configure Network Interface Card (NIC) on Development Computer.

    2. To copy the compatible image files to an SD card drive path, use the copyImageToHostSDCardPath function.

    3. Configure the jumpers on the hardware board. See Set Jumpers.

    4. Connect the hardware board. See Connect Hardware.

JTAG

  1. 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.

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

  3. Use the 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. 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.

  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 SetupDocumentation
    DSP Development Kit, Stratix® V EditionSet 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 KitSet 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
    Kintex®-7 KC705Set jumper J32 so that it connects pins 5 and 6. This setting selects 8-lane PCIe (default board setting).https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/ek-k7-kc705-g.html
    Virtex®-7 VC707 Set jumper J49 so that it connects pins 5 and 6. This setting selects 8-lane PCIe (not the default board setting).https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/ek-v7-vc707-g.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.

    This figure shows the VC707 board installed in a host computer. The power cable is on the right. This installation applies to all supported Xilinx boards.

  5. For Xilinx boards, plug the external power supply into the wall outlet. Then, plug the power supply adapter cable into the hardware board.

    Intel boards do not use an external power supply.

  6. Connect the JTAG cable to the hardware board and the host computer. When you use a PCI Express connection, the JTAG cable is still required to program the FPGA.

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

  8. 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 this case, consider using a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle.

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.

Note

Guided setup does not support Ethernet on Versal boards. For manual configuration, see Configure Network Interface Card (NIC) on Development Computer.

Select a Drive and Load Firmware

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface on a Zynq 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 an SD card into the card reader on the host computer.

    • 8 GB or larger for Versal boards

    • 4 GB or larger for other boards

    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.

    Unlocked SD card and reader slot

    Note

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

Note

Guided setup does not support Ethernet on Versal boards. Use the copyImageToHostSDCardPath function.

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, you can 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 let the support package setup 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 Jumpers

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface on a Versal or Zynq SoC board or the PCI Express interface.

Configure the jumpers on the Versal or Zynq SoC board so that you can use it as a peripheral device. These jumper settings make it so that the board starts up from the SD card. Make sure that the board is turned off.

The jumper settings are different for each board. To learn more about the settings, see the board documentation.

Set Jumpers on Versal VCK190

SW1 Switch Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Up
2Down
3Down
4Down

SW1 switch positions on the Versal VCK190 board

Set Jumpers on ZCU102

SW6 Switch Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Up
2Down
3Down
4Down

SW6 switch positions on the ZCU102 board

Set Jumpers on ZCU111

SW6 Switch Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Up
2Down
3Down
4Down

SW6 switch positions on the ZCU111 board

Set Jumpers on ZCU216

SW2 Switch Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Up
2Down
3Down
4Down

SW2 switch positions on the ZCU216 board

Set Jumpers on ZC702

JTAG Select Jumper Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
TopLeft
BottomRight

SW10 Jumper Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Down
2Down
3Up
4Up
5Down

JTAG Select and SW10 switch positions on the ZC702 board

Set Jumpers on ZC706

SW11 Jumper Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Down
2Down
3Up
4Up
5Down

SW11 switch and pin positions on the ZC706 board

Set Jumpers on ZedBoard

Jumper Positions

SwitchSwitch Position
1Down
2Up
3Up
4Down
5Down

Jumper positions on the ZedBoard

Connect Hardware

This step is required only when you select the Ethernet interface on a Versal or Zynq SoC board.

Follow these instructions for connecting the hardware. The guided setup wizard provides labeled pictures of the steps for each 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 VCK190 Board

VCK190 hardware board connections

Connect ZCU102 Board

ZCU102 hardware board connections

Connect ZCU111 Board

ZCU111 hardware board connections

Connect ZCU216 Board

ZCU216 hardware board connections

Connect ZC702 Board

ZC702 hardware board connections

Connect ZC706 Board

ZC706 hardware board connections

Connect ZedBoard

ZedBoard hardware board connections

Verify Setup

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

  1. You have installed the appropriate vendor tool and that 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 Versal or Zynq 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. Zynq SoC — Read and write the memory locations on the hardware board using AXI manager.

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.

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 the Example

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

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