Altera Arria GX User Manual
101 Innovation Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
(408) 544-7000
www.altera.com
P25-36169-00
Arria® GX Development Kit
Getting Started User Guide
Document Date: October 2007
Copyright © 2007 Altera Corporation. All rights reserved. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations, and all other words and logos that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and
service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders. Altera products are protected under numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending applications, maskwork rights, and copyrights. Altera warrants
performance of its semiconductor products to current specifications in accordance with Altera's standard warranty, but reserves the right to make
changes to any products and services at any time without notice. Altera assumes no responsibility or liability arising out of the application or use of any information, product, or service described herein except as expressly agreed to in writing by Altera
Corporation. Altera customers are advised to obtain the latest version of device specifications before relying on any published information and before placing orders for products or services.
Part Number UG-01023-1.0
ii Getting Started User Guide0 Altera Corporation
Arria GX Development Kit October 2007
Contents
Chapter 1. About This Kit
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1–1
Kit Features ............................................................................................................................................. 1–1
Documentation ....................................................................................................................................... 1–2
Chapter 2. Getting Started
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2–1
Before You Begin ................................................................................................................................... 2–1
Check the Kit Contents .................................................................................................................... 2–2
Inspect the Board .............................................................................................................................. 2–2
Hardware Requirements ................................................................................................................. 2–3
Software Requirements ................................................................................................................... 2–4
Software Installation ............................................................................................................................. 2–4
Installing the Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM Contents .................................................. 2–4
Installing the Quartus II Software and MegaCore Functions .................................................... 2–6
Licensing Considerations ..................................................................................................................... 2–7
Using the Demo Application and Example Design .......................................................................... 2–7
Data Flow Block Diagram ............................................................................................................... 2–7
Install Drivers and Arria GX Development Board ...................................................................... 2–8
Finish Installing the Drivers and the Development Board ........................................................ 2–9
Run the Demo Application ............................................................................................................. 2–9
Using the Arria GX Development Board for Your Applications .................................................. 2–11
PCI Express Applications .............................................................................................................. 2–11
Non-PCI Express Applications ..................................................................................................... 2–12
Appendix A. Programming the Development Board
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... A–1
Hardware Setup .................................................................................................................................... A–1
Using the Parallel Flash Loader .......................................................................................................... A–2
Launch the Quartus II Development Tool ................................................................................... A–3
Prepare Application File for Downloading ................................................................................. A–3
Set Up the Programming Download ............................................................................................ A–7
Additional Information
Revision History ............................................................................................................................... Info–i
How to Contact Altera ..................................................................................................................... Info–i
Typographic Conventions ............................................................................................................... Info–i
Altera Corporation iii
Preliminary
Contents Stratix Device Handbook, Volume 1
iv Altera Corporation
Preliminary
1. About This Kit
Introduction
Kit Features
The Arria®GX Development Kit provides everything you need to
develop and test a complete x1 or x4 PCI Express system based on the
Arria GX device.
The development kit includes these kit features and documentation:
■ The Arria GX development board
■ Altera Complete Design Suite DVD containing:
● Quartus
● MegaCore
● Nios
■ Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM
■ Design examples
■ Power supply, cables, and documentation
®
II Web Edition Software
®
IP Library
®
II Embedded Software Design Tools
This section briefly describes the Arria GX Development Kit features.
■ The Arria GX Development Board—a prototyping platform that
allows you to develop and prototype high-speed bus interfaces as
well as evaluate Arria GX transceiver performance.
f For specific information about board components and interfaces, refer to
the Arria GX Development Board Reference Manual.
■ Quartus II Web Edition Software—The Quartus II software
(available on the DVD) integrates into nearly any design
environment, with interfaces to industry-standard EDA tools. The
kit includes:
● The SOPC Builder system development tool
● Free Quartus II Web Edition software license, Windows
platform only
f For more information, refer to the Altera website at
http://www.altera.com/products/software/products/quartus2web/
sof-quarwebmain.html.
■ MegaCore IP Library—This library (available on the DVD) contains
Altera IP MegaCore functions. You can evaluate MegaCore functions
by using the OpenCore
● Simulate behavior of a MegaCore function within your system
Altera Corporation Getting Started User Guide 1–1
October 2007 Arria GX Development Kit
®
Plus feature to do the following:
Documentation
● Verify functionality of your design, andquickly and easily
evaluate its size and speed
● Generate time-limited device programming files for designs that
include MegaCore functions
● Program a device and verify your design in hardware
■ Nios II Embedded Software Design Tools—This full-featured set of
tools (available on the DVD) allows you to develop embedded
software on the Nios II processor running on Altera
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
■ Arria GX Development Kit Application & Drivers—The
application and drivers (available on the CD-ROM) allow you to
execute memory read and write transactions to the board.
■ Design Examples—The design examples (available on the
CD-ROM) are useful for a variety of hardware applications and let
you quickly begin board prototyping and device verification.
You only need to purchase a license for a MegaCore function when you
are completely satisfied with its functionality and performance, and want
to take your design to production.
1 The OpenCore Plus hardware evaluation feature is an
evaluation tool for prototyping only. You must purchase a
license to use a MegaCore function in production.
Documentation
The Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM contains the following
documents:
■ Readme file—Contains special instructions and refers to the kit’s
documentation.
■ Arria GX Development Kit Getting Started User Guide (this
document) —Describes how to start using the kit.
■ Arria GX Development Board Reference Manual—Provides specific
information about the board components and interfaces, steps for
using the board, and pin-outs and signal specifications.
1–2 Getting Started User Guide Altera Corporation
Arria GX Development Kit Preliminary October 2007
2. Getting Started
Introduction
Before You Begin
The Arria GX Development Kit is a complete PCI Express prototyping
and testing kit based on the Arria GX device. With this kit, you can
perform device qualification testing, memory read and write transactions
to the Arria GX development board, read the configuration registers, and
use an example design to write to system DDR2 memory.
In addition to providing a development board, the kit also includes all of
the hardware and software development tools, as well as the
documentation and accessories you need to begin developing
PCI Express systems using the Arria GX device.
This user guide familiarizes you with the contents of the kit and guides
you through the Arria GX development board setup. Using this guide,
you can do the following:
■ Inspect the contents of the kit
■ Install the development tool software
■ Set up licensing
■ Use the demo application and example design to:
● Perform memory read and write transactions on the board
● Read configuration registers
■ Use the development software to:
● Set up and prepare new application designs
● Program new designs into the development board
Before using the kit or installing the software, check the kit contents and
inspect the board to verify that you received all of the items listed in this
section. If any of the items are missing, contact Altera before you proceed.
Also verify that your computer hardware and software meet system
requirements for the kit. You can use a single computer to run the
demonstration application pre-installed on the Arria GX development
board, but to develop PCI Express applications, Altera recommends
using two computers:
■ Computer #1, as the PCI Express host system, to communicate with
the board and to support the graphical user interface (GUI) for the
demonstration application.
■ Computer #2, as the development host for application development
and to support programming of the Arria GX development board.
Altera Corporation Getting Started User Guide 2–1
October 2007 Arria GX Development Kit
Before You Begin
1 You can use a single computer for application development, but
it results in a more cumbersome process because it involves
repeatedly powering down and restarting the computer as well
as removing and reinserting the development board.
Check the Kit Contents
The Arria GX Development Kit (ordering code: DK-DEV-1AGX60N)
contains the following items:
■ Arria GX development board with an EP1AGX60DF780C6N
Arria GX device
■ Altera Complete Design Suite DVD containing:
● Quartus II Web Edition Software
● MegaCore IP Library
● Nios II Embedded Software Design Tools
■ Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM, which includes:
● PCI Express example design
● Arria GX development kit application and device drivers
● Design examples
● Arria GX Development Board Reference Manual
● Arria GX Development Kit Getting Started User Guide (this
document)
● Schematic and board design files
■ USB-Blaster
■ Power supply and adapters for North America, Europe, the United
Kingdom, and Japan
■ Heatsink/fan combination and board standoff hardware
™
download cable
Inspect the Board
Place the board on an anti-static surface and inspect it to ensure that it has
not been damaged during shipment.
w Without proper anti-static handling, the Arria GX development
board can be damaged.
Verify that all components are on the board and appear intact.
1 In typical applications with the Arria GX development board, a
heatsink is not necessary. However under extreme conditions
the board may require the use of additional cooling to stay
within operating temperature guidelines. Power consumption
and thermal modeling should be done to determine whether
additional cooling is necessary. In the event that it is, a
heatsink/fan combination has been provided for your
convenience.
2–2 Getting Started User Guide Altera Corporation
Arria GX Development Kit October 2007
Figure 2–1 shows the Arria GX development board.
Switch
(S1, S2, S4)
Figure 2–1. Arria GX Development Board
Configuration
Push Button (S5)
Channel Activity
LEDs (D12 and D13)
JTAG Chain Bypass
Switches for the
MAX II Device and
the HSMC (SW2, SW3)
Configuration
DIP Switch (S6)
JTAG Header (J6)
MAX II CPLD (U5)
PCIe Power
Mode LEDs
(D19 and D20)
Flash Device (U6)
Oscillator (X2)
Oscillator (X3)
125 MHz
62.5 MHz
Voltage Present LEDs
(D21, D22, D23)
HSMC Present LED (D1)
HSMC Connector (J2)
PCIe Edge
Connector (J14)
Configuration
Done LED
(D2)
PCIe Mode
Select Jumper (J13)
es
User DIP
Switch (S3)
DDR2 SDRAM (U8)
Getting Started
User LEDs
(D3 through D10)
Powe r
Switch (SW1)
DC Power
Jack (J1)
Powe r
LED (D11)
100 MHz
Oscillator (X1)
SMA Clock
Input (J4)
f Refer to the Arria GX Development Board Reference Manual (available on
the Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM) for information on the board
components.
Hardware Requirements
To run the pre-installed demo application design requires only a single
computer, Computer #1, with a x4 PCI Express slot to hold the Arria GX
development board.
For application development, however, it is best to also use a second
computer, Computer #2, that is loaded with the Quartus II software as a
programming host. This setup provides the flexibility needed for
downloading different device programming files to the development
board.
Altera Corporation Getting Started User Guide 2–3
October 2007 Arria GX Development Kit
Software Installation
f The Quartus II software requires some minimum system requirements;
f Refer to the Quartus II Installation & Licensing for Windows document for
refer to the Altera website at
http://www.altera.com/products/software/products/quartus2web/
sof-quarwebmain.html for details.
The Arria GX Development Kit provides all of the other hardware needed
to use the board.
Software Requirements
This kit requires the following software:
■ Windows XP operating system running on both computers
■ Quartus II Web Edition software version 7.2 or later.
1 Although it is already available on the DVD included in the kit,
you can also download the Quartus II software from the Altera
website at http://www.altera.com/products/software/
products/quartus2web/sof-quarwebmain.html.
further information on the Quartus II system software requirements,
especially heeding the following:
● A web browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later
or Firefox version 2.0 or later. You need a web browser to register
the Quartus II software and request license files. Refer to
“Licensing Considerations” on page 2–7.
● Version 2.0 or later of the .NET framework. Refer to page 2–9 for
the .NET related issue.
Software
Installation
The instructions in this section explain how to install the following:
■ Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM
■ Arria GX Development Kit demo application and drivers
■ The Quartus II Web Edition Software DVD, including MegaCore
functions from the MegaCore IP Library
Installing the Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM Contents
Perform this installation on Computer #1.
The Arria GX Development Kit CD-ROM contains the following items:
■ Arria GX Development Kit GUI application and drivers
■ Example design programming files
2–4 Getting Started User Guide Altera Corporation
Arria GX Development Kit October 2007
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