Forum Discussion
New ContributorIssue with Simulation Stalling in Intel P-Tile Streaming PCIe Gen4 x8 Example Design
Hi,
I am Wincent, Application Engineer from Altera.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in addressing your Forum queries.
Due to an unexpected back-end issue in our system, your Forum case, did not reach us as intended.
May I know which Questasim version that you are using?
There is an known issue we try to fix for the P-tile simulation tools.
To work around this problem, use Siemens* Questa Sim-64 2022.2. Starting in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Software version 23.3, solve this issue by adding this command " set USER_DEFINED_ELAB_OPTIONS "-voptargs=\"-noprotectopt\" before running simulation in the Siemens* Questa Sim.
Detail you may refer to https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/programmable/articles/000092901.html
Hope that is able to help you to move forward,
Regards,
Wincent_Intel
Regular ContributorHi,
1.In the provided snippet from the Endpoint, the ref_clk0/1 and coreclkout_hip signals appear to be functioning correctly, and the pin_perst_n along with other reset signals asserted as expected during initialization. However, the p0_reset_status_n signal, an output of the PCIe Hard IP core, remains deasserted, and we lack visibility into the internal logic driving this signal. Are there alternative methods to control or debug the behavior of the reset_status signal?
>> Reset_Status_N is active-low signal is held low until pin_perst_n has been deasserted and the PCIe* Hard IP has come out of reset. This signal is synchronous to coreclkout_hip. When port bifurcation is used, there is one such signal for each Avalon® -ST interface. The signals are differentiated by the prefixes pn. This is a per-port signal.
>> May I know if you hit the timing clean ? timing fail could potential cause the signal to be fail.
>> Just double confirm, it is example design generated from the ip catalog right ? Could you please share with me your .ip file ? so that I can try to replicate this on my place.
2.Additionally, what is the typical simulation runtime for the P-Tile example design configured for 4x8 operation with default settings when using Questa 23.4 or other supported versions?
>> If you grab all signal , the simulation time will be around 3-6 hours.
>> if certain signal only, it will be less than 1-2 hours.
Regards,
Wincent
New ContributorHi Wincent,
With the default settings and only the change to Gen 4x8 configuration, it takes around 8 hours to complete without any signals logged.
To debug this further, could we arrange a call to discuss the issue in detail? I can share the .ip file and any other necessary files during the call for better clarity. Please let me know a convenient time, and I’ll make the arrangements.
Regards,
Thanavignesh
- Wincent_Altera
Hi Thana,
Please allow me to have sometime to try out the simulation, update you the time once I have it finish.
Again, I would like to emphasize that simulation time up to hours is expected. Due to large IP configuration.
Regards
Wincent - thanavignesh
Hi Wincent,
Are there any specific system requirements, such as having 100GB of RAM, to achieve faster simulation performance for the P-Tile example design in Questa Sim? - Wincent_Altera
Hi,
With the default settings and only the change to Gen 4x8 configuration, it takes around 8 hours to complete without any signals logged.
>> did you add any signal before ld_debug ?
>> means when the simulation success, there is no any signal triggering ?
>> did you set any trigger condition on your testbench ?
Are there any specific system requirements, such as having 100GB of RAM, to achieve faster simulation performance for the P-Tile example design in Questa Sim?
>> The HIP design is huge, that why it took sometime to run it. P-tile simulation can be expected to run for a couple hours.
>> is there any specific signal you need to monitor ? IF yes , I suggest to try a custom simple design specific for the particular signal. that could make the simulation faster.
>> May I know your current RAM ? we do not have specific requirement for faster simulation performance for P-tile.
>> Could you try to use VCS as the simulator ? which needs less time than the Modelsim/Questasim
Regards,
Wincent - thanavignesh
Hi wincent,
->Were any signals added before ld_debug?
No, signals were added only after ld_debug and before run -all in the waveform window.->When the simulation succeeds, are any signals triggered? Did you set any trigger conditions in the testbench?
No, there are no signals triggered. No, the testbench remains unchanged and is the default one generated with the P-TILe example design BFM model only configured as 4x8.->Is there a specific signal you need to monitor?
No specific signals are being monitored . The goal is to run the simulation faster to integrate and verify our user logic along with the BFM.
->Could VCS be used as an alternative simulator for faster simulation?
Unfortunately, only Aldec and Questa Sim are available, and both exhibit similar simulation times.1.Is there a way to log signals into the .wlf file without adding/logging them to the waveform window? Is there anything that need to change in script?
2.We suspect that the p0_reset_status_n signal is delayed in our environment, as it is asserted only after 100,000 ns. Could you please check in your environment when this signal is asserted for both the Root Port (RP) and Endpoint (EP) and when was the link training initiated ?
Additionally, please attach a snapshot showing the assertion timing.
Note: The P-Tile example design was generated with the configuration modified to Gen 4x8, while all other settings were left unchanged which was generated in Quartus v23.3.Regards
Thanavignesh - Wincent_Altera
Hi,
No specific signals are being monitored . The goal is to run the simulation faster to integrate and verify our user logic along with the BFM.
>> temporary the simulation time up to hours is expected. Due to large IP configuration.
>> I do apology if there is any inconvenience causing to you if have.
>> The best thing I could help is to address this to our design team, hope they can find a way to optimize this better in future release of software.
2.We suspect that the p0_reset_status_n signal is delayed in our environment, as it is asserted only after 100,000 ns. Could you please check in your environment when this signal is asserted for both the Root Port (RP) and Endpoint (EP) and when was the link training initiated ?
>> May I know which device OPN that you are using ?
>> try to run the same so that we have apple to apple comparison.
Regards,Wincent
- thanavignesh
Hi wincent,
Could you clarify the exact simulation time in hours when running in VCS ?
The device we are using is a Stratix 10, specifically 1SD110PJ2F43E2VG. We have also tested on other boards supporting P-Tile, and the results show similar simulation times in quest sim . Could you share your experimental results for comparison in questa sim?
Regards,
Thana Vignesh - Wincent_Altera
Hi Thana,
Sorry for late, I was occupied with some other important agenda.
I am able to run and capture the signal via Questa Sim 2023.4 version based on your device#
I forget to record the time while leaving it run overtime, it shall be less than 6-8 hours
Regards,
Wincent - thanavignesh
Hi Winicent,
After configuring the P-Tile as a Native Endpoint IP and providing all the necessary settings in the GUI, if we program it onto the Stratix 10 board, will the enumeration take place? How can we verify if the enumeration was successful? We are using a Stratix 10 board with Quartus version 20.3. Which signals, such as ninit_done, ref_clk[1:0], and reset, need to be connected for the P-Tile IP? Is there a user guide that explicitly outlines these requirements?
RegardsThanavignesh
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