Guided Hardware Setup

Select Board and Interface for Use with FPGA-in-the-Loop

The guided hardware setup for FPGA boards helps you get started with FPGA-in-the-Loop (FIL), data capture, or MATLAB AXI master more quickly. Before you run the guided setup, make sure you have all the required hardware ready and any required third-party tools already installed.

The guided setup starts automatically during support package download and installation. After the support package you selected is installed, you are prompted to select your board name and the interface you want to use with this board. You can select only interfaces supported by the FPGA board. A PCI Express® connection with FIL is not supported on Linux®.

Note

To rerun the support package setup at any time:

On the MATLAB® Home tab, in the Environment section, select Help > Check for Updates.

Connection Requirements

Note

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

Ethernet

  • FPGA development board

  • USB-JTAG cable with installed vendor software (Vivado® or Quartus®)

  • Ethernet cable

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

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

JTAG

  • FPGA development board

  • USB-JTAG cable with installed vendor software (Vivado or Quartus)

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

PCI Express

HDL Verifier™ supports a PCI Express connection for FIL with Windows® 7 and Windows 8 operating systems only.

  • FPGA development board

  • USB-JTAG cable with installed vendor software (Vivado or Quartus)

  • A PCI Express slot and available space on the motherboard

  • Power supply adapter (if the board requires one)

Connection Setup

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 FPGA development board.

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

  4. Use the JTAG download cable to connect the FPGA development board to the computer.

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

  6. Turn on the power switch on the FPGA board.

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 FPGA development board.

  3. Use the JTAG download cable to connect the FPGA development board to the computer.

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

  5. Turn on the power switch on the FPGA board.

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 supported by the board. 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.altera.com/products/boards_and_kits/dev-kits/altera/kit-stratix-v-dsp.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.altera.com/products/boards_and_kits/dev-kits/altera/kit-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 off the host computer.

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

    • Stratix V Board Installed

      This installation also applies to all supported Intel® VC boards.

    • VC707 Board Installed

      Note power cable on right. This installation also 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 FPGA development board.

    Intel boards do not use an external power supply.

  6. Connect the JTAG cable to the FPGA development board and the computer. When you use PCI Express for FIL simulation, the JTAG cable is still required to program the FPGA.

  7. Turn on the power switch on the FPGA board.

  8. Start up the host computer.

Configure Network Card on Host

This step is required only when you use FIL over Ethernet.

If you have already configured the network card, you can skip this step.

Specify the NIC on the host computer that you want to use with the development board and FIL. If you have only one NIC, you must disconnect from the Internet while using the NIC for FIL. In this case, consider using a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle. If you add a NIC or a USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongle during this setup step, click Refresh to see the new hardware in the list.

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

PCI Express Driver Installation

This step is required only when you use FIL over PCI Express.

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

Install the PCI Express drivers before you use FIL 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 re-run the setup later. To run the support package setup at any time:

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 connections. This step runs an FPGA-in-the-loop test, which generates an FPGA programming file for your board. You can also specify that this step include the FPGA board in the test, which means the step actually performs a FIL cosimulation with your board.

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

  2. Select Run FPGA-in-the-Loop test. If you want to include the FPGA board in the test, select Include FPGA board in the test.

  3. Click Run Selected Tests.

You can rerun the tests as many times as you like. When the tests have been completed to your satisfaction, you can continue with the setup.

Open the Example

When the installer completes your hardware setup, you can either exit the installer or open the Verify HDL Implementation of PID Controller Using FPGA-in-the-Loop example to get started.

Related Topics

HDL Verifier Documentation

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