Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing

ID 683472
Date 1/31/2023
Public

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5.1.6. Nios® II Embedded Design Suite License

You can evaluate the Nios® II processor without a license by using the Intel® FPGA IP Evaluation Mode, and then purchase a license for the Nios® II processor only after you complete hardware testing and are ready to go to production.

With the Intel® FPGA IP Evaluation Mode feature, you can:

  • Simulate the behavior of a Nios® II processor within your system.
  • Verify the functionality of your design, as well as evaluate its size and speed quickly and easily.
  • Generate time-limited device programming files for designs that include Nios II processors.
  • Program a device and verify your design in hardware.

A license for the Nios® II processor core or the Nios® II development kit allows you to create, compile, and generate non-time-limited FPGA programming files and flash programming files. If you do not have a license, the programming files that you can create are time-limited.

You do not need a license to develop software using only the Nios® II Software Build Tools for Eclipse.

Note:
  • Starting with Nios® II EDS in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition version 19.2 and Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition version 19.1, the Cygwin component in the Windows version of Nios® II EDS has been removed and replaced with WSL.

    Starting with Nios® II EDS version 19.1, the Nios® II EDS requires the Eclipse IDE component to be manually installed.