Forum Discussion
Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorHELP! - Virtualization and the USB ByteBlaster
Hello,
This is weird one - I'm sure of it. I also made sure that I didn't miss any other posts that could help me regarding this issue in the forum. I am running linux; Ubuntu 8.04 to be exact. Knowing that I can only run the web edition for Quartus in Windows, I needed to create a "virtual machine" with Sun VirtualBox. I figured out how to get USB working inside of the virtual XP installation and the best part is that the DE2 was recognized and it installed the driver correctly as well! The issue - and I humbly ask you all for your insights - is that when I am in quartus, I cannot Auto-detect/program the DE2. I can select the installed "USB-0" hardware, but I still cannot program. I get the message "Unable to scan device chain..." The weirdest thing is that when I autodetect or try to program something, the "load" blue LED lights up! I can only assume the problem could be that: 1.) I am doing something horribly stupid and everything is working fine 2.) there is a problem with the driver/installation or the virtualization itself 3.) the DE2 is defective (unlikely as it is brand new) I really hope I can get this - I know I am close. It will be such a triumph if I can get it working. Please, I respectfully invite anyone to jot down any thoughts they have here - you never know, it may just be a solution. Thank you, Mike :)13 Replies
Altera_ForumYou may try to install the Altera Programmer (get it from the Download area of the Altera website) to see if the read & verify operation works correctly out of the QuartusII environment. Just to remove some problems that may arise from QuartusII in the virtual box.
Anyway, are you using the latest QuartusII version?- Altera_Forum
Thank you OrchestraDirector for your reply,
I am using Quartus 8.1 web edition in my virtualization. Works with no hiccups. I didn't realise that there was a separate programmer version. I thought it was only a the USB Blaster driver that was to be concerned with. BTW: the driver version I am using is: 2.2.4.0 6/27/2007 I noticed in the computer engineering lab I work in, the driver version is considerably older: 1.5.4.0 1/24/2003 I'll try my DE2 board there tomorrow. - Altera_Forum
I wouldn't try virtualizing USB, but rather get the USB Blaster working in your host OS, setup remote JTAG (over ethernet) and then use the ethernet device, in your virtual machine to communicate with your "remote" JTAG connection.
I would choose this path mostly because virtualized networking is very well tested, whereas specific USB devices, like the USB Blaster, are not. See this post (http://forum.niosforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8756), on Nios Forum, recommending the same thing. You'll have to do some documentation hunting to setup remote JTAG, but it shouldn't be all that hard to do and (IMO) has a higher probability of success than what you're currently trying. Cheers, - Ura - Altera_Forum
Thanks uraslacker,
I think you're definitely on to something - I used a network debugger in a similar way. I didn't know that I could program the DE2 over Ethernet... Kinda brings up a few questions: 1.) IPs - static or dynamic? 2.) I haven't loaded anything into the DE2 (other than preloaded) - do I need to program it with something to be able to program over Ethernet? 3.) why didn't the manual, user guide or any of the tutorials not describe this? I'll investigate and let you know. Thanks again, MK - Altera_Forum--- Quote Start --- 1.) IPs - static or dynamic? --- Quote End --- Why would it matter? --- Quote Start --- 2.) I haven't loaded anything into the DE2 (other than preloaded) - do I need to program it with something to be able to program over Ethernet? --- Quote End --- I'm not at all familiar with the DE2, but assume it has built-in USB<->JTAG. Mind you, you're not "programming over ethernet", you're just setting up jtagd (which talks to the USB programmer built into your DE2) on your host, and then allowing remote ethernet connections to this server process. --- Quote Start --- 3.) why didn't the manual, user guide or any of the tutorials not describe this? --- Quote End --- Because it's not DE2 specific, but rather a QII feature. Good luck! Cheers, - Ura
- Altera_Forum
Ok,
After looking into the Etherblaster I realized something very important - i don't have one :(. Nor does the DE2 have one incorporated to my knowledge. Therefore, I naturally cannot set it up to connect to my hardware. I Bought a DE2 knowing it had a built in blaster so that I would not have to get any other external hardware. Thanks for the input, but this is sadly a dead end. MK I'm starting to think this is actually a driver issue. :confused: - Altera_Forum
I think Ura meant that you should use your USB blaster, but not through your virtual machine.
You should install and run the JTAG server on Ubuntu. This server opens a network socket, and Quartus in your Windows virtual machine can connect to that socket to access the JTAG chain. - Altera_Forum
I am hugely inexperienced with this kind of thing...
There is no software support in my host system (Ubuntu) to open a JTAG server. Am I missing something? Only SUSE, Redhat and Solaris are supported other than windows. MK - Altera_Forum
Well, its official,
It is definitely something to do with the virtualization - I tried the DE2 in my lab (XP native) and it worked well. Back to the drawing board - I wonder if there is something funny going on between the software layers of Ubuntu and VirtualBox. MK - Altera_Forum
I also found this post in the VirtualBox Forums:
http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=6426&highlight=altera
