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Hello!
I am working on an existing project, updating the design's MAC core from Altera's tse to the 10GbE.
I want to verify that the changes I've made to implement the new MAC core is working by simulating packets through the design by means of a loopback.
However, I am having problems adding some of Altera's submodules generated with QSYS to the modelsim project.
I believe it's because the particular submodules are protected (encrypted).
When I run the do script in ModelSim I get eight of the following error messages: ** Error: nofile(37): in protected region
during design optimization.
I've also noticed the submodules in question are not being added to the appropriate modelsim library like all the other submodules.
Is there some trick to simulating an IP core? I must be doing something wrong.
I'm using Quartus 13.0 64-bit Full Edition and ModelSim SE 10.0.
Sorry if my question isn't composed very well. I'm still very new to this FPGA stuff.
Thanks for any help!
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The solution: After you get this no file/error in protected context in ModelSim's transcript window, go to Modelsim's main window under Tools/Tcl/Execute Macro search for the folder named <component_name>_sim/mentor and select and run the file msim_setup.tcl. Where I have assumed your instance of the megacore is <component_name>. Then, run a .do file from the modelsim transcript which only compiles your design files (not the libraries or megafunction related files) from modelsim's transcript window. You can cut and paste it into the transcript from the bottom half of the .do which created the error in the first place including the vsim, wave and run -all lines.
Apparently, there are things in the .tcl which must be used to setup modelsim before it can load all files for a certain megacores, including certain high speed phy cores like XAUI. Actually, this is vaguely inferred from table 1-5 of Altera's "Simulating Altera Designs": in www dot altera dot com/literature/hb/qts/qts_qii53025.pdf. Unfortunately, Altera did not post it as a work-around on page 15 of www dot altera dot com/literature/rn/archives/rn_qts_110sp1.pdf, where they list this as an issue for low latency phy megafunctions with 10 Gps data paths. I had this same error for a XAUI PHY. My guess is that Altera builds their interoperability fixes with various simulation tools into their .tcl setup files for those tools. It is wise to try to use them to try and resolve these issues.
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