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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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15 years ago

CycloneII or MAXII with the PFL?

I'm trying to implement a system which consists of a CycloneII,two Cyclone IIIs, CFI flash. I'd like to be able to use the parallel flash loader in the CII to JTAG program the flash, as well as configure two Cyclone IIIs with FPP mode,what's more ,I'd like to be able to use JTAG chain to program CycloneII, two Cyclone IIIs.

Is this possible, or do I need to resort to using a MaxII to implement the PFL function?

3 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    15 years ago

    Hello,

    the PFL function can be implemented in other FPGA families as well.

    However, the Cyclone II does not support Active Parallel configuration, so it won't load it's configuration from the CFI Flash.

    A few options:

    a) drop the CFI and go with a serial flash

    b) replace the Cyclone II with a Cyclone III

    c) use a MAX-II to implement the PFL and configure the Cyclone II (PS) and Cyclone III (PS, PP, FPP).
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    15 years ago

    Hello,rbugalho

    I need to configure my system dynamically,and so I want to use large-capacity flash memory to store all my configuration data,then I can dynamically switch to select the desired configuration.That's why I need the large-capacity CFI flash.

    I noticed that the PFL megafunction for CIII does not allow the operating mode to be set to "FPGA Configuration", as only "Flash Programming" is available as an option,so I cannot replace the Cyclone II with a Cyclone III

    I use PCI IP core in Cyclone II,However, each reconfigure force me to restart the computer then the core can work well,This is what I do not want to see,So I do not want to re-configure the Cyclone II.

    I look for FPGA-Based PFL in a lot of dev_kits,but no available reference designs,They all use MAXII,I donot know why?
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    15 years ago

    Hi,

    well, there's another option for you: use an EPCS to store the Cyclone II's configuration and then use the CFI to store the Cyclone III's configurations.

    As far as why the devkits use MAX-II, that will depend on the devkit.

    On some, such as the DE2 board, the MAX-II is there as part of the USB<->JTAG interface. It has nothing to do with the PFL.

    I don't know if there's any devkit that uses PFL.