Do I need USB driver on host for Arria 10 GX dev kit (PCIe)?

[okramer]

The PDF that came with my Arria 10 GX development kit says:

The development board includes integrated USB-Blaster circuitry for FPGA programming. However, for the host computer and board to communicate, you must install the On-Board USB-Blaster II driver on the host computer.

Since the board is on the PCIe, I assumed all host-to-FPGA communication was over that bus. Do I need USB? My dev board doesn't seem to even have a USB port -- at least not visible on the connector panel. What about ethernet? Does the board need it's own ethernet cable to the router?

[AR_A_Intel]

Hi Sir

Welcome to INTEL forum. USB port on the dev kit is used to program FPGA via onboard JTAG connection when user uses dev kit as standalone board without plugging into any PC or server system. If the dev.kit is plug into PC or server system via PCIe slot then there is no need to use the USB port anymore.

[okramer]

Thanks. Is there a document describing installing the Arria-10 PCIe dev kit using the PCIe bus? When I disconnect the USB and run examples/board_test_system/bts.jar (via the script provided), the BTS UI application outputs this to the console:

$ java -Xmx256m -jar bts.jar   Success! Current OS:Linux Nov 05, 2019 10:12:32 AM com.altera.bts.BtsView <init> INFO: Board version: Rev E3, chip version: PRD Nov 05, 2019 10:12:32 AM com.altera.bts.systemconsole.client.ClientApp attachServer INFO: [/home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/quartus/sopc_builder/bin/system-console, --server] Nov 05, 2019 10:12:32 AM com.altera.bts.systemconsole.client.ClientApp attachServer INFO: Here is the standard output of the command:   Nov 05, 2019 10:12:33 AM com.altera.bts.systemconsole.client.ClientApp attachServer INFO: TCP PORT: 39887 Nov 05, 2019 10:12:39 AM com.altera.bts.systemconsole.client.JtagInfo retrieveDeviceList SEVERE: No device detected!

And the UI comes up with the following messages:

When I select the PCIe tab, the console gives a java.lang.NullPointerException.

Clearly I'm missing some configuration setting but I can't find it. I have been referring primarily to this document but can't get passed the board test.

I should mention I'm coming from the software side. Ultimately I want to be using OpenCL SDK.

[Nathan_R_Intel]

Hie,

It seems the PCIe link is not up.

Please ensure you are following the steps described in the user guide on configuring the PCIe configuration (Pg 4-6 onwards).

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/programmable/us/en/pdfs/literature/ug/ug_a10-fpga-prod-devkit.pdf

After configuring the correct PCIe design, you can check in the "System Info" Tab whether the correct PCIe design configuration is loaded. This should enable the PCIe tab to work. If it still does not work, please try re-start the host PC without power cycling the board. This should resolve your issue.

Do let me know if my suggestions fixes your issue.

Regards,

Nathan

[okramer]

Following the instructions in that document, I can make the board visible on PCIe:

$ lspci | grep Altera a1:00.0 Processing accelerators: Altera Corporation Device 2494 (rev 01)

Also, "aocl install $INTELFPGAOCLSDK/board/a10_ref" successfully compiled source and installed. But diagnose gives:

$ aocl diagnose -------------------------------------------------------------------- ICD System Diagnostics --------------------------------------------------------------------   Using the following location for ICD installation: /etc/OpenCL/vendors   Found 4 icd entry at that location: /etc/OpenCL/vendors/Altera.icd /etc/OpenCL/vendors/nvidia.icd /etc/OpenCL/vendors/Intel_FPGA_SSG_Emulator.icd /etc/OpenCL/vendors/intel64.icd   the following OpenCL libraries are referenced in the icd files: libalteracl.so libnvidia-opencl.so.1 libintelocl_emu.so /home/okramer/system_studio_2019/opencl_compilers_and_libraries_18.1.0.013/linux/compiler/lib/intel64_lin/libintelocl.so   checking LD_LIBRARY_PATH for registered libraries: libalteracl.so was registered on the system at /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/host/linux64/lib libnvidia-opencl.so.1 was registered on the system at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu libintelocl_emu.so was registered on the system at /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/host/linux64/lib /home/okramer/system_studio_2019/opencl_compilers_and_libraries_18.1.0.013/linux/compiler/lib/intel64_lin/libintelocl.so was registered on the system.   Using the following location for fcd installations: /opt/Intel/OpenCL/Boards   Found 1 fcd entry at that location: /opt/Intel/OpenCL/Boards/a10_ref.fcd   the following OpenCL libraries are referenced in the fcd files: /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/board/a10_ref/linux64/lib/libaltera_a10_ref_mmd.so   checking LD_LIBRARY_PATH for registered libraries: /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/board/a10_ref/linux64/lib/libaltera_a10_ref_mmd.so was registered on the system.   Number of Platforms = 4 1. Intel(R) FPGA SDK for OpenCL(TM) | Intel(R) Corporation | OpenCL 1.0 Intel(R) FPGA SDK for OpenCL(TM), Version 19.3 2. NVIDIA CUDA | NVIDIA Corporation | OpenCL 1.2 CUDA 10.1.236 3. Intel(R) FPGA Emulation Platform for OpenCL(TM) | Intel(R) Corporation | OpenCL 1.0 Intel(R) FPGA SDK for OpenCL(TM), Version 19.2 4. Intel(R) CPU Runtime for OpenCL(TM) Applications | Intel(R) Corporation | OpenCL 2.1 LINUX -------------------------------------------------------------------- ICD diagnostics PASSED -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- BSP Diagnostics -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning: No devices attached for package: /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/board/a10_ref -------------------------------------------------------------------- Vendor: Intel(R) Corporation   Found no active device installed on the host machine.   Please make sure to: 1. Set the environment variable AOCL_BOARD_PACKAGE_ROOT to the correct board package. 2. Install the driver from the selected board package. 3. Properly install the device in the host machine. 4. Configure the device with a supported OpenCL design. 5. Reboot the machine if the PCI Express link failed.   DIAGNOSTIC_FAILED --------------------------------------------------------------------   Call "aocl diagnose <device-names>" to run diagnose for specified devices Call "aocl diagnose all" to run diagnose for all devices

Specifically, "Warning: No devices attached for package: /home/okramer/intelFPGA_pro/19.3/hld/board/a10_ref" seems like the problem. But I don't know what to do about that. The same issue persisted in this thread. I checked everything that was mentioned in that thread along with other threads referenced, but no luck. The OP said he finally fixed it by moving the board to a different PCI slot. I guess I have to try that (I have a GPU in another slot). Tried that but still get "no device attached" message.

[Nathan_R_Intel]

Now your PCIe link is up as your Windows can detect the device. However, your Windows system environment is pointing towards Quartus Prime Pro 19.3. Can you please install a fresh Quartus Prime Standard. I believe this should fix the issue.

Regards,

Nathan

[okramer]

You mean "Pro" is not a superset of "Standard"? On another post I have on the forum for a related (probably same) problem, they suggested reverting to Quartus v15.1.2. I'm confused. Before I switch to "Standard", can you explain a bit why you think this is the problem?

[Nathan_R_Intel]

Hie,

Quartus Pro is not a super-set of "Standard". If you refer to the Arria 10 Devkit User Guide, it mentions using Quartus Prime Standard in Chapter 2 "Getting Started".

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/programmable/us/en/pdfs/literature/ug/ug_a10-fpga-prod-devkit.pdf

Some of the IP file directory structures and hierarchy are different between Quartus Standard and Pro which could be contributing to the issue you have observed. Hence, that is the reason I requested to try installing Quartus Prime Standard as the BTS UI could be using some files in from Quartus. Since, your windows "System Environment path" points towards Quartus Prime Pro, the BTS UI might not be able to call/read the required Quartus files. Hence, installing a fresh Quartus Prime Standard should change the "System Environment path" to Quartus Prime Standard.

Another way is if you already have a Quartus Prime Standard installed, then you can manually change the System Environment path.

Regards,

Nathan