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Arria V GX Starter Kit - Quartus II DKE? One year license?

Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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Hi guys, 

 

I want to start using higher density FPGAs for academic research. Currently I am looking at the Arria V GX Starter Kit. Especially since it is able half the price of the Kintex-7 evaluation kit on the Xilinx platforms. 

 

The one concern I have about this dev kit is the device support for it on Quartus II. The FPGA used is not supported in the Web Edition, but I've noticed there's a one year Full Quartus II license and a DKE version of some sort (maybe device-locked to this FPGA, like the one Xilinx offers for the Kintex-7 dev kit). 

 

My question: If I buy the Arria V GX Starter Kit, will I be able to use it for over a year? In other words, if the one year license expires, am I no longer able to design/compile/program for this board? If so, I may have to rethink my options. 

 

Thanks, 

- Henry
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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Quartus will still work after that one year period (it will nagg you each time you start it, until you ask it to stop). What you won't be able to do is to upgrade Quartus, you will just be stuck with the version you installed (or the latest version available for download before your license expired). 

The situation could be different for IP module licenses but I don't know if that kit includes any IP license.
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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So Quartus will continue to work, but will it still support the Arria V GX (and out of curiosity, is it device-locked to the Arria V GX specifically or could I design/compile/program other devices?) 

 

Also, would the license be moveable to another computer should something go wrong (HDD failure, etc.)?
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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It will still support the Arria V GX after that period, you just won't be able to update it to a more recent version. 

 

I've always used Quartus with a subscription license so I can't be sure, but I think you should be able to compile for all the devices you want. The "real" subscription license is locked to a computer, but I don't know exactly how it works with a kit license. If you have those kind of concerns before committing your money to an expensive kit, I recommend that you ask those questions directly to your FAE or local distributor. You'll get an official answer and they are usually very helpful.
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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Hi,  

I have some problem. 

 

I purchased Arria V Starter Kit last year and the licence has expired on December 31 2013. 

 

As I understand, once my license expires, I won't be able to upgrade my Quartus, but Quartus still works and support my Device (5VGXBB3H4F35C5NES) 

 

I downloaded Quartus 13.1 last year when it was released and installed it before the license expired. Everything was great.  

 

Now, after some time not using it, when I reopen 

 

I have 3 issues: 

 

1) My quartus doesn't work any more. It always roll back to Web licence and I can't compile for my Arria V starter kit anymore. 

 

2) Yesterday I tried to download a new license from self-service center. The expired date moved to 3rd June and I was able to compile for my Arria V device. However, the Arria V ES is not in the device list, i have to specify the device using text editor and modifying .qsf file.  

 

3) After one day, i open my quartus again and it again asks for license. Why is it so? 

 

 

Please help and Thank you 

 

Jeff
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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I would advise ton contact your FAE or local distributor if you have problems with your license, they should be able to help you. 

Are you sure the 13.1 version you downloaded was a subscription edition, not the web edition? 

IIRC when the license expires, Quartus opens a window at startup with different choices. One of them is to continue using the expired license.
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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--- Quote Start ---  

I would advise ton contact your FAE or local distributor if you have problems with your license, they should be able to help you. 

Are you sure the 13.1 version you downloaded was a subscription edition, not the web edition? 

IIRC when the license expires, Quartus opens a window at startup with different choices. One of them is to continue using the expired license. 

--- Quote End ---  

 

 

Hi, 

Thank you for your reply.  

There's no such options of "continue to use the expired license".  

I've checked and It's full edition.  

It worked fine with my 1-year license granted when I purchased the development kit.  

 

Now it just stops working, contacting the support but no news so far.  

https://www.alteraforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8976  

Best regards,  

Jeff
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
409 Views

 

--- Quote Start ---  

Hi, 

Thank you for your reply.  

There's no such options of "continue to use the expired license".  

I've checked and It's full edition.  

It worked fine with my 1-year license granted when I purchased the development kit.  

 

Now it just stops working, contacting the support but no news so far.  

https://www.alteraforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8976  

Best regards,  

Jeff 

--- Quote End ---  

 

 

Oh God,  

I've got the reply from support  

 

Dear Jeff, 

 

Thanks for using Altera My Support, you may find the answer as in below: 

 

Q: "Now, my quartus doesn't work anymore. It always roll back to Web licence and I can't compile for my Arria V starter kit anymore." 

 

Answer: I will need to see your license in this case, as license have two type of expiration date. One is the maintenance expire and license expire. For Arria V Starter Kit, we only provide one year license which is not perpetual, which mean it will have license expire. Once the license expire, you would not able to use it. 

 

My development kit is useless now :-s ... it's like renting for 1 year :-s ... something wrong right !!!!
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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From the userguide of the kit: 

 

"Purchasing this kit entitles you to a one-year license for the Development Kit Edition 

(DKE) of the Quartus II software. 

After the year, your DKE license will no longer be valid and you will not be permitted 

to use this version of the Quartus II software. To continue using the Quartus II 

software, you should download the free Quartus II Web edition or purchase a 

subscription to Quartus II software" 

 

The web edition doesn't support Arria V :( ...  

Is this "RULE" of perpetual and non-perpetual license new or old? I never heard of it ... only know about the maintenance expiration, once expired, no more upgrading and new devices support ...  

 

I wonder why they do such thing, why not device lock like X? 

 

(Sorry to put lots of complaint :D)  

 

But guys, do look out for license when buying development kits.
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
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Hmmm that's really weird, it's not what I remembered about the Startix kits I played with, but it was years ago. A real bad move from Altera. 

One of the solutions I could think about is to install a virtual machine on your computer, disable the clock auto updating and set it's date to one year in the past. But it really sucks to have to use those kind of solutions just to be able to use the kit you bought, especially when it's so expensive.
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
409 Views

 

--- Quote Start ---  

Hmmm that's really weird, it's not what I remembered about the Startix kits I played with, but it was years ago. A real bad move from Altera. 

One of the solutions I could think about is to install a virtual machine on your computer, disable the clock auto updating and set it's date to one year in the past. But it really sucks to have to use those kind of solutions just to be able to use the kit you bought, especially when it's so expensive. 

--- Quote End ---  

 

 

Yeah, that sucks. I don't mind using device-locked license or board-lock whatever ... just to run my board. but they say "no we don't have it, you got to buy full license"...
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