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

Partial Reconfiguration debug tools

Hello everyone,

I am trying to include Signal Tap debugging to a PR project and I am facing difficulties.

The project is a led-blinking one, based on the AN845 tutorial, targetting Arria 10 SX on a custom board.

The design is fine, I can PR-program the board ok.

However, whatever the revision, when I try to run Signal Tap, I get "Program the device to continue" error.

I use the same USB-JTAG link for programming and debugging, so I do not think it the issue.

The thing is: I am using Quartus Pro 20.3 for the design, but I have to work in the lab with another PC, which runs Quartus lite 18.0.

I have noticed that in "JTAG Chain Configuration" window of Signal Tap (Lite) 18.0 I am missing the "Bride index" entry, compared to (Pro) 20.3. Does that mean that Signal Tap debugging of PR designs is only available for Pro version ?

Any hint is welcome.

5 Replies

  • sstrell's avatar
    sstrell
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    4 years ago

    First of all, where is the Signal Tap instance located, in the static region or in a PR region? If it's in the static region, there shouldn't be an issue, so I'm assuming it's in a PR region. That being said, you can download a more recent version of the Programmer from the Download Center that allows you to choose the bridge index, which might be what you need to do.

    I'm presuming that if Signal Tap is in a PR region that you have added the debug host and agent bridge IP appropriately to the PR region and the static region.

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

      Yes I am trying to tap signals from the PR region only. To do so, I have instantiated the agent and host IP pair in the static and PR regions (I followed AN845).

      About the Quartus version I use for debugging: you are right it is quite old. However, I have Quartus lite 20.1.1 installed on the remote workstation and its Signal Tap window does not show the "Bridge Index" entry either (even if I explicitly open the PR revision's .stp file). Hence my question about the Pro vs Lite versions.

      I can still try and install it on the lab's PC (I have to update at some point anyway): maybe a working JTAG chain is needed for the entry to appear.

      In any case, thank you for answering.

  • sstrell's avatar
    sstrell
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    4 years ago

    I missed that you were trying to do this in Lite. No version of Lite supports PR, so there’s your problem. As I said, you can download the Pro Programmer from the Download Center without having to install full Quartus. It lets you open your .stp file and work with Signal Tap like a full installation.

  • paveetirrasrie_Altera's avatar
    paveetirrasrie_Altera
    Icon for Frequent Contributor rankFrequent Contributor
    4 years ago

    Hi Mathias,


    As sstrell said, Partial reconfiguration doesn't support in Lite version.

    We do not receive any response from you to the previous answer that have provided. This thread will be transitioned to community support.

    If you have a new question, feel free to open a new thread to get the support from Intel experts.

    Otherwise, the community users will continue to help you on this thread.

    Thank you.


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

    Sorry for the late answer, it takes some time to have Quartus installed on the lab's PC.

    I will report here once it is installed and working.

    Thank you