Forum Discussion
New ContributorEnabling Ethernet via QSFP or SFP+ on Agilex™ 5 FPGA E-Series 065B Premium Development Kit
Hello,
We are trying to enable enable Ethernet stack on the Linux OS installed on HPS of "Agilex™ 5 FPGA E-Series 065B Premium Development Kit". The dev kit comes with two QSFPs and two SFP+ physical ports.
Wondering if anyone has been able to successfully connect Linux OS Ethernet driver to any of the QSFP or SFP+ port? If yes, can you please point to any documentation or user-guide or provide hints.
We have been exploring possibly connecting via the TSE soft-IP, but don't know how to go about it.
Here is our desired configuration:
Our Linux User Application <--> Linux OS running on ARM-core HPS <--> Ethernet Driver (stack) <---> Ethernet TSE IP <---> Agilex 5 FPGA Fabric <----> Ethernet PHY <---> SFP+ or QSFP.
We are trying to understand: How should we implement this Ethernet connectivity? Is there a specific driver that we need to use on the OS side? How should we configure the TSE?, etc.
We want to use soft-IP because we want to enable at least two interfaces (SFP+ or QSFP) simultaneously.
FYI: The FPGA part number on our board:
The FPGA part number on our Premium board is: A5ED065BB32AE6SR0
Thank you in advance for any guidance or pointers.
Sincerely,
RS
6 Replies
tehjingy_AlteraRegular Contributor
Hi
There is an Example Design Scheduled to be release in Q1 2026.
However, right now I could share with you an example design for an older device and few other links to for your reference.
https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/net/altera_tse.txt
https://www.rocketboards.org/foswiki/Projects/AlteraSoCTripleSpeedEthernetDesignExample
Regards
Jingyang, Teh
kbsHi Jingyang Teh,
Thank you very much! We are trying out these recommendations.
-------------------------------------
We also found the following links. Would appreciate any comments/inputs regarding either of the approach's feasibility, for our immediate need.
1) Agilex™ 5E HPS Enhanced System Example Design Architecture
Could you please indicate what HIP or SIP it uses. In the diagram it says "he_hssi". But it seems like this an Agilex 7 IP, would it work on Agilex 5? Secondly, what Linux driver it uses on HPS side. While we plan to try out this example design, thought I would ask in case you have more information readily available.
2) Reading all the documentation on different options, it seems like using "GTS Ethernet Intel® FPGA Hard IP" is a great option for our use-case. Could you please point to any documentation or resource on the appropriate HPS Linux driver that we can use to connect with this HIP?
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/docs/programmable/817676/25-1/overview-18220.html
Thank you!
KBS
- tehjingy_Altera
Hi
Sorry that I miss out your requirement for the QSFP Cage.
The TSE IP could not meet this requirement as the signals from the TSE IP is not compatible to the QSFP Cage.
There are currently 2 examples the Multirate Ethernet IP (Soft IP) and the GTS Ethernet Hard IP (HardIP).
The enhanced GSRD Link that you shared shows the example fot the GTS Ethernet Hard IP.
I would suggest you to check out the example of the Multirate Ethernet IP below:
The difference between these 2 are the supported speed.
Multirate Ethernet IP supports 1GB to 10GB speed
GTS Ethernet Hard IP supports greater than 10GB speed.
Regards
Jingyang, Teh
- tehjingy_Altera
Hi
Do you have any follow up question on this?
Regards
Jingyang, Teh
- kbs
Hello Jingyang, Teh,
Thanks for checking the status. No, I don't have follow-up questions at this time.
After considering the different options, we decided to start with this example design. It seems to be the best fit for our situation.
Have a nice day.
Regards,
KBS
- tehjingy_Altera
Hi
I’m glad that your question has been addressed, I will now transition this thread to community support. If you have a new question, Please login to ‘https://supporttickets.intel.com/s/?language=en_US’, view details of the desire request, and post a feed/response within the next 15 days to allow me to continue to support you. After 15 days, this thread will be transitioned to community support. The community users will be able to help you on your follow-up questions.
Regards
Jingyang, Teh
