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jorva's avatar
jorva
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4 years ago

Is it possible to archive snapshots?

Hello, I would like to be able to archive Quartus Pro's intermediate results in a similar manner that Vivado does with design checkpoints (.dcp). The snapshot seemed to be a similar tool but, on f...
jorva's avatar
jorva
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4 years ago

Hello @sstrell,

(Project menu -> Export Design) doesn't exist in the version I'm using either (QPro 20.2).

I believe your second suggestion is what I'm looking for and I tried it through scripting (in the Quartus tcl console):

load_package design
design::export_partition root_partition -snapshot synthesized -file ip.qdb
Error:0x1a3be630
Error:    while executing
Error:"design::export_partition root_partition -snapshot synthesized -file post_synth.qdb"

However, I haven't tested yet with the qsf assignments:

set_instance_assignment -name EXPORT_PARTITION_SNAPSHOT_SYNTHESIZED post_synth.qdb -to | -entity top_fpga_ddr4
set_instance_assignment -name EXPORT_PARTITION_SNAPSHOT_FINAL post_fit.qdb -to | -entity top_fpga_ddr4

This requires a re-run of the implementation I guess? That takes some time...

jorva's avatar
jorva
Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
4 years ago

Just saw the following explanation for the error:

Error(18895): The TCL command design::export_partition from the design package is not supported while running on the Quartus Graphical User Interface

The idea is to do it using scripting anyways so I'll try that.

  • jorva's avatar
    jorva
    Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
    4 years ago

    An update: The qdb files are effectively generated using the commands

    design::export_partition root_partition -snapshot synthesized -file post_synth.qdb
design::export_partition root_partition -snapshot final -file post_fit.qdb

    However, I don't see how I can import this qdb. When I assign it to the root_partition of the archived project, analysis & elaboration gives the following error:

    Error(19829): ../../../../quartus/post_fit.qdb cannot be assigned. The ../../../../quartus/post_fit.qdb file is missing Partial Reconfiguration or Reserved Core subpartitions and assigned to the root partition. In order to assign a QDB file to the root partition, it must be created from a design using Partial Reconfiguration or Reserved Core subpartitions. To correct this error, ensure that the creation and assignment of the QDB is correct.

    To restate my original objectives. I would like to :

    1) retain a reasonably sized database of a completed implementation which, at a later date, can be reopened (without re-running the implementation) to be further analyzed (timings, placement, etc).

    2) analyze an intermediate snapshot while the (scripted) implementation is not yet complete.

    Maybe the snapshot is not the ideal method to go about this? As a comparison, Vivado allows this with the design checkpoints.