P-Tile Avalon® Streaming Intel® FPGA IP for PCI Express* User Guide

ID 683059
Date 4/04/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

7.2.1. Overview

The P-Tile Debug Toolkit (DTK) is a System Console-based tool for P-Tile that provides real-time control, monitoring and debugging of the PCIe links at the Physical Layer.

The P-Tile Debug Toolkit allows you to:

  • View protocol and link status of the PCIe links.
  • View PLL and per-channel status of the PCIe links.
  • View the channel analog settings.
  • View the receiver eye and measure the eye height and width for each channel.
  • Indicate the presence of a re-timer connected between the link partners.
Note: The current version of Quartus® Prime supports enabling the Debug Toolkit for both Endpoint mode and Root Port mode, and with the Linux and Windows operating systems only.

The following figure provides an overview of the P-Tile Debug Toolkit in the P-Tile Avalon® -ST IP for PCI Express.

Figure 71. Overview of the P-Tile Debug Toolkit

When you enable the P-Tile Debug Toolkit, the intel_pcie_ptile_ast module of the generated IP includes the Debug Toolkit modules and related logic as shown in the figure above.

Drive the Debug Toolkit from a System Console. The System Console connects to the Debug Toolkit via an Native PHY Debug Master Endpoint (NPDME). Make this connection via an Intel FPGA Download Cable.

A multiplexer is implemented to allow dynamic switching between the user AVMM reconfiguration interface and the System Console-based Debug Toolkit, when the Debug Toolkit is enabled. This allows you to switch between the user logic driving the reconfiguration interface and the Debug Toolkit, as both access the same set of registers within the Hard IP. The user AVMM reconfiguration interface has the default access (the default is when toolkit_mode = 0). Upon launching the Debug Toolkit (DTK) from System Console, toolkit_mode is automatically set to 1 for DTK access. While the DTK is open in System Console, user logic will not be able to drive the signals on the user AVMM interface as the multiplexer is set to toolkit_mode = 1. Upon exiting (closing) the Debug Toolkit window in System Console, toolkit_mode is automatically set to 0 for user access.

The Debug Toolkit can be launched successfully only if pending read/write transactions on the reconfiguration interface are completed (indicated by the deassertion of the reconfig_waitrequest signal).

Note: Upon being launched from System Console, the Debug Toolkit will first check if any of the waitrequest signals from the Hard IP is asserted (meaning there is an ongoing request from the user). The System Console message window will show an error message to let the user know there is an ongoing request and the Debug Toolkit cannot be launched.
The PHY reconfiguration interface clock (xcvr_reconfig_clk) is used to clock the following interfaces:
  • The NPDME module
  • PHY reconfiguration interface (xcvr_reconfig)
  • Hard IP reconfiguration interface (hip_reconfig)

Provide a clock source (50 MHz - 125 MHz, 100 MHz recommended clock frequency) to drive the xcvr_reconfig_clk clock. Use the output of the Reset Release Intel FPGA IP to drive the ninit_done, which provides the reset signal to the NPDME module.

When you run a dynamically-generated design example on the Intel Development Kit, make sure that clock and reset signals are connected to their respective sources and appropriate pin assignments are made. Here are some sample .qsf assignments for the Debug Toolkit if you are using the Stratix® 10 DX FPGA Development Kit:
  • set_location_assignment PIN_C23 -to xcvr_reconfig_clk_clk

When the Debug Toolkit and the Hard IP Reconfiguration interface are enabled in the dynamically-generated design example, check that the hip_reconfig_clk clock is connected to its respective clock source and the pin assignment is made properly.