AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines

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ID 773196
Date 5/22/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Overview 2. Architecture Comparison 3. Processor Core Upgrade Paths 4. Design Flow Comparison 5. Processor Core Comparison 6. Feature Comparison 7. Assembly Language Comparison 8. Document Revision History for the AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines
2. Architecture Comparison x
2.1. Features Comparison 2.2. Ecosystem Comparison 2.3. Software Optimization
4. Design Flow Comparison x
4.1. Differences in the Design Flow 4.2. Design Upgrade from Nios® II Processor to Nios® V Processor
4.2. Design Upgrade from Nios® II Processor to Nios® V Processor x
4.2.1. Quartus® Prime Standard Edition 4.2.2. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition
4.2.1. Quartus® Prime Standard Edition x
4.2.1.1. Hardware Component 4.2.1.2. Software Component
4.2.2. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition x
4.2.2.1. Hardware Component 4.2.2.2. Software Component
5. Processor Core Comparison x
5.1. Upgrading Nios® II/e Processor to Nios® V/c Processor 5.2. Upgrading Nios® II Processor to Nios® V/m Processor 5.3. Upgrading Nios® II/f Processor to Nios® V/g Processor
5.1. Upgrading Nios® II/e Processor to Nios® V/c Processor x
5.1.1. Hardware Perspective 5.1.2. Software Perspective
5.1.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.1.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.1.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.1.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.1.2. Software Perspective x
5.1.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.1.2.2. IDE Build Flow
5.2. Upgrading Nios® II Processor to Nios® V/m Processor x
5.2.1. Hardware Perspective 5.2.2. Software Perspective
5.2.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.2.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.2.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.2.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.2.2. Software Perspective x
5.2.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.2.2.2. IDE Build Flow
5.3. Upgrading Nios® II/f Processor to Nios® V/g Processor x
5.3.1. Hardware Perspective 5.3.2. Software Perspective
5.3.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.3.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.3.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.3.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.3.2. Software Perspective x
5.3.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.3.2.2. IDE Build Flow
6. Feature Comparison x
6.1. Timer 6.2. Interrupt 6.3. Shadow Register 6.4. Ethernet Stack 6.5. Bootloader 6.6. Data and Instruction Cache 6.7. Tightly Coupled Memory 6.8. Custom Instructions 6.9. Error Correction Code 6.10. Altera HAL Settings 6.11. Micrium MicroC/OS-II BSP Settings 6.12. Software Packages
7. Assembly Language Comparison x
7.1. Arithmetic and Logic Operations 7.2. Data Handling and Memory Operations 7.3. Control Flow Operations 7.4. Miscellaneous Operations
1. Overview
2. Architecture Comparison
3. Processor Core Upgrade Paths
4. Design Flow Comparison
5. Processor Core Comparison
6. Feature Comparison
7. Assembly Language Comparison
8. Document Revision History for the AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines

2.1. Features Comparison

Table 1.  Core Architecture Comparison to Nios® II/e Processor
Feature Core Architecture Comparison
Nios® V/c Processor Non-pipelined Nios® V/m Processor Nios® II/e Processor
32-bit General Purpose Register (GPR) Yes Yes Yes
Pipelined Architecture​ — — —
Debug Module — Yes Yes
M Extn (Mul/Div)​ — ​ — ​ —
Custom Instructions​ — ​ — Yes
Cache Support​ — ​​ — ​​ —
Tightly Coupled Memory (TCM) — ​​ — ​​ —
Branch Prediction​ — — —
On-Chip Trace​ — — —

Error Correction Code (ECC)

 Yes Yes —

32-bit Floating Point Unit (FPU)

— — —

Memory Protection Unit (MPU)

 — — —

Memory Management Unit (MMU)

 — — —
Internal Timer — ​ Yes —
Machine Mode​ Yes Yes Yes​
User Mode​ — — —
Supervisor Mode​ — — —
Interrupt Controller — Yes Yes
Exception Handling — Yes Yes
Altera HAL​ Yes Yes Yes
uC-OS/II​ — Yes Yes
Zephyr​ — Yes —
FreeRTOS​ — Yes —
Embedded Linux​ — — —
Table 2.  Core Architecture Comparison to Nios® II/f Processor
Feature Core Architecture Comparison
Nios® V/m Processor Nios® V/g Processor Nios® II/f Processor
32-bit General Purpose Register (GPR) Yes Yes Yes
Pipelined Architecture​ Yes Yes Yes
Debug Module Yes Yes Yes
M Extn (Mul/Div)​ ​ — Yes Yes
Custom Instructions​ ​ — Yes Yes
Cache Support​ ​​ — Yes Yes
Tightly Coupled Memory (TCM) ​​ — Yes Yes
Branch Prediction​ — Yes Yes
On-Chip Trace​ — — Yes
Error Correction Code (ECC) Yes Yes Yes
32-bit Floating Point Unit (FPU) — Yes (F Extn) Yes (FPH1 or FPH2)
Memory Protection Unit (MPU) — — Yes
Memory Management Unit (MMU) — — Yes
Internal Timer ​ Yes ​ Yes —
Machine Mode​ Yes Yes​ Yes
User Mode​ — — —
Supervisor Mode​ — — Yes​
Interrupt Controller Yes Yes Yes
Exception Handling Yes Yes Yes
Intel HAL​ Yes Yes Yes
uC-OS/II​ Yes Yes Yes
Zephyr​ Yes Yes —
FreeRTOS​ Yes Yes —
Embedded Linux​ — — Yes
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