Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Debug Tools

ID 683552
Date 9/24/2018
Public
Document Table of Contents

1.2.1.1. Overhead Logic

Any debugging tool that requires a JTAG connection requires SLD infrastructure logic for communication with the JTAG interface and arbitration between instantiated debugging modules. This overhead logic uses around 200 logic elements (LEs), a small fraction of the resources available in any of the supported devices. All available debugging modules in your design share the overhead logic. Both the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer and the LAI use a JTAG connection.

For Signal Tap Logic Analyzer

The Signal Tap Logic Analyzer requires both logic and memory resources. The number of logic resources used depends on the number of signals tapped and the complexity of the trigger logic. However, the amount of logic resources that the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer uses is typically a small percentage of most designs.

A baseline configuration consisting of the SLD arbitration logic and a single node with basic triggering logic contains approximately 300 to 400 Logic Elements (LEs). Each additional node you add to the baseline configuration adds about 11 LEs. Compared with logic resources, memory resources are a more important factor to consider for your design. Memory usage can be significant and depends on how you configure your Signal Tap Logic Analyzer instance to capture data and the sample depth that your design requires for debugging. For the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer, there is the added benefit of requiring no external equipment, as all of the triggering logic and storage is on the chip.

For Signal Probe

The resource usage of Signal Probe is minimal. Because Signal Probe does not require a JTAG connection, logic and memory resources are not necessary. Signal Probe only requires resources to route internal signals to a debugging test point.

For Logic Analyzer Interface

The LAI requires a small amount of logic to implement the multiplexing function between the signals under test, in addition to the SLD infrastructure logic. Because no data samples are stored on the chip, the LAI uses no memory resources.