FPGA, SoC, And CPLD Boards And Kits
FPGA Evaluation and Development Kits
5892 Discussions

Question about Cyclone V SX PCIE as End Point

Shengquan_Y_Intel
643 Views

Hi,

 

We have the Cyclone V SoCFPGA SX (5CSXFC6D6F31C6N). It has a PCIE slot, and the board can be a PCIE Root Port. However, we want the board to be a PCIE end point. Can we do it? Do we need some bridge to connect to a Host PC?

 

I don't find any PCIE information in document "Cyclone V Hard Processor System Technical Reference Manual".

 

Could you help to confirm if this board can be used a PCIE end point? Is there any document about it (specification, etc) ?

 

Thanks

-Austin

0 Kudos
7 Replies
SengKok_L_Intel
Moderator
491 Views

Hi,

 

The CV SoC board uses the PCIe female connector, so you can't use it as endpoint directly. For endpoint design, this is usually using the Cyclone V development kit that use PCIe Male connector, see link below:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/programmable/products/boards_and_kits/dev-kits/altera/kit-cyclone-v-gt.html

 

You probably can try to search if there is a PCIe Male to Male adaptor that you can use for this case.

 

Regards -SK

0 Kudos
Shengquan_Y_Intel
491 Views

Thanks. So with a PCIe Male to Male adaptor, we can use Cyclone V SX SocFPGA as PCIe end point, right?

 

For https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/programmable/products/boards_and_kits/dev-kits/altera/kit-cyclone-v-gt.html, does it use the same SW as Cyclone V SX board? I don't see it has SD card slot, can we boot Linux from Sd card?

 

Thanks

0 Kudos
SengKok_L_Intel
Moderator
491 Views

The Cyclone V SX SocFPGA is designed for the PCIe root port, so it uses the female connector. To convert the female connector to a male connector, what I understand is to use a Male to Male adaptor, but I haven't had a chance to test it. You might need to double-check with the supplier/dealer before you get one.

 

For the Cyclone V GT development kit, it designs for the PCIe endpoint, so it uses the male connector. There is no SD card slot or boot Linux since this is targeted for the endpoint, not root port.

 

Regards -SK

0 Kudos
Shengquan_Y_Intel
491 Views

Thanks. Understand now for Cyclone V SX.

For Cyclone V GT, you mentioned "There is no SD card slot or boot Linux since this is targeted for the endpoint, not root port.", then my question is How we develop/run SW on Cyclone V GT to enable the PCIE end point function?

0 Kudos
SengKok_L_Intel
Moderator
491 Views

The software driver is running on the host side (root port), where the endpoint is the application, no requirement for the software.

 

Regards -SK

0 Kudos
Shengquan_Y_Intel
491 Views

----------"The software driver is running on the host side (root port)"

I understand this. If Cyclone V GT connects to a PC host, we need a driver on the PC host

 

-----------"where the endpoint is the application, no requirement for the software"

Not clear about this. If we want Cyclone VT GT behaviors like a video adapter (or a network interface card), do we need some software running on Cyclone V GT side? and how?

0 Kudos
SengKok_L_Intel
Moderator
491 Views

This is really depending on your application. For PCIe endpoint alone, this does not require the software driver. The FPGA can implement the Nios processor (soft), you can implement the software over there if necessary.

 

Regards -SK

0 Kudos
Reply