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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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17 years ago

SignalTap II and Linux Installation issues

Hi,

I am wondering if someone had had any issues while using SignalTap II in unsupported Linux installation. I am using Quartus II 8.0 (SP1) installation on CentOS5.2 with USBBlaster download cable. I have a custom board passed on tome, so I really know little about the board.

Everything works perfectly: analysis, compilation etc. The programmer even detects devices in the JTAG chain and gives "successfully programmed" messages if I program the devices. Unfortunately there is no LED on the board which can tell me if the devices have been programmed.

So, I tried using SignalTap in my design: added nodes, set trigger conditions, enabled SignalTap in my project and compiled the project. I downloaded the .sof file to the device using the Programmer, opened SignalTap II window and tried capturing the data. However it gave me error saying that the "instance not found" (in the Instance Manager window), "JTAG communication error" (in the Signal Tap II window) and "Download the correct SRAM Object File" in the message console. However I downloaded the correct .sof file several times later on, it still gives the same errors.

What could be wrong here? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Kumar Vijay Mishra.

6 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    17 years ago

    Hi All,

    I discovered that the SignalTap issues that I was encountering had nothing to do with the Linux installation (I checked the same on Windows installation and errors were same) or the cable (same results with BBII or USBBlaster cables). There was some other problem with the JTAG chain. Just thought of sharing this info.

    Kumar Vijay Mishra.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    I've the same problem. Did tou find a solution ?

    --- Quote End ---

    I did find a solution to my problem. But it was specific to the board I was using. I don't think there is a problem with Signal Tap II installation on Linux as such, so more application-specific debugging is required.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    I am running Kubuntu 9.10 and using Quartus 9.1SP1. I too can compile the design, and the USB Blaster is working fine as a programmer, scanning the JTAG chain and even programming the device **in the signaltap screen**

    However the instant I try to run an analysis with signaltap I get an immediate JTAG communication failure.

    I think that there is something not quite right with the signaltap interface on Linux. Does anyone from Altera monitor the forums? I am willing to act as a guinea pig in order to help get this working, and am very familiar with Linux internals (I write device drivers for a living).

    -A.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    16 years ago

    I also had this problem with ubuntu 8.04. The FPGA can be programed but Signaltap doesn't work that give me messages "instance not found" and "jtag communication error". It does work perfectly under windows. So I guess might be the problem of the linux driver of usb blaster.

    This is almost the only issue I had working in the linux environment.

    Anyone can help? Thanks a lot!
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    15 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Anyone can help? Thanks a lot!

    --- Quote End ---

    There is a small and a larger nagging issue here. First the small issue, where you need to give normal non-root users access to your USB blaster: 

    sudo mount -t usbfs -o,remount,devmode=0666 usbfs /proc/bus/usb
    We've found this with many non-official instructions on the web. Didn't spot this yet in official Altera docs. Creating the udev rule as shown in the Altera doc might also a bit error sensitive. Strangely they do not make much effort in a proper installation tool for this.

    The larger issue is that some users find their JTAG daemon process to get stuck. The GUI shows an "invalid data" error. Kill the jtag daemon with 

    killall jtagd
    and restart the GUI to workaround this.

    I've filed this JTAG daemon bug some months ago. First using a non officially supported Linux, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, then using an officially supported one CentOS 5.5. (problem remains) It's quite hard to get this problem cleared with Altera support. They've put my support case to Closed/Pending, whitout even attempting to reproduce. I imagine, the least one can expect from support.