Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs: User Guide

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ID 784383
Date 12/04/2023
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. About This Document 2. Intel® Simics® Simulator and Virtual Platforms 3. Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs Device Portfolio 4. Installing the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs 5. Getting Started with Intel® Simics® Simulator 6. Debugging Target Software 7. Networking with the Simulated Target System 8. Intel® Simics® Scripting 9. Software Debug Examples with Intel® Simics® Simulator 10. Document Revision History for Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel FPGAs User Guide A. Intel® Simics® Simulator Command Reference
1. About This Document x
1.1. Documentation Conventions for Examples 1.2. Terminology 1.3. List of Acronyms
2. Intel® Simics® Simulator and Virtual Platforms x
2.1. Device Model and Virtual Platforms 2.2. Intel® Simics® Simulator 2.3. Intel® Simics® Simulator Architecture
2.2. Intel® Simics® Simulator x
2.2.1. Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel FPGAs Capabilities
4. Installing the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs x
4.1. Installing the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs on Linux* Systems 4.2. Installing the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs on Microsoft Windows* Systems 4.3. Installing Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Intel® FPGAs 4.4. Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs Support
5. Getting Started with Intel® Simics® Simulator x
5.1. Simulation Set Up 5.2. Starting the Simulation 5.3. Intel® Simics® Simulator Command-Line Interface (CLI) 5.4. Hardware Inspection 5.5. Intel® Simics® Simulator Timing
5.1. Simulation Set Up x
5.1.1. Initializing an Intel® Simics® Project and Deploying a Virtual Platform 5.1.2. Understanding Target Scripts
5.2. Starting the Simulation x
5.2.1. Starting a Simulation from a Command Prompt 5.2.2. Starting a Simulation with Ashling* RiscFree* IDE
5.3. Intel® Simics® Simulator Command-Line Interface (CLI) x
5.3.1. Version of the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel FPGAs Software 5.3.2. Simulation Run Control from CLI 5.3.3. Intel® Simics® Simulator Command Scope 5.3.4. Intel® Simics® Simulator CLI Variables and Operations 5.3.5. Intel® Simics® Simulator CLI Command Completion and Command History 5.3.6. Intel® Simics® Command-Line Interface Help 5.3.7. Capture of CLI Session to a File 5.3.8. Intel® Simics® Simulator File Location and Intel® Simics® Search Path
5.4. Hardware Inspection x
5.4.1. Listing Objects in the Target System 5.4.2. Processor (CPU) Inspection 5.4.3. Device Inspection 5.4.4. Memory Mapping and Memory Inspection 5.4.5. Logging
5.4.2. Processor (CPU) Inspection x
5.4.2.1. Listing Processors 5.4.2.2. Inspect Processor Registers
5.4.3. Device Inspection x
5.4.3.1. Retrieve List of Devices 5.4.3.2. Inspecting Device Registers
5.4.4. Memory Mapping and Memory Inspection x
5.4.4.1. Memory Mapping Inspection 5.4.4.2. Memory Inspection
5.4.5. Logging x
5.4.5.1. Breakpoints on CLI Log Messages
5.5. Intel® Simics® Simulator Timing x
5.5.1. CPU Frequency 5.5.2. CPU Cycles and Steps 5.5.3. Events 5.5.4. Enable Real Time
6. Debugging Target Software x
6.1. Intel® Simics® Debugger and Debug Context 6.2. Capturing Serial Console Output 6.3. Breakpoints 6.4. Debugging Target Software with Symbol Files 6.5. Debugging Target Software with Ashling* RiscFree* Debugger 6.6. Capturing CPU Instruction Execution Trace
6.3. Breakpoints x
6.3.1. Memory Breakpoints 6.3.2. Temporal Breakpoints 6.3.3. CPU Control Register Breakpoints 6.3.4. Hardware Access Breakpoints 6.3.5. CPU Register Breakpoints 6.3.6. Tracing Breakpoints 6.3.7. Text Console Activity Breakpoints
6.4. Debugging Target Software with Symbol Files x
6.4.1. Loading Symbol Files in a Simulation
6.5. Debugging Target Software with Ashling* RiscFree* Debugger x
6.5.1. Remote Debugging with RiscFree* IDE
6.5.1. Remote Debugging with RiscFree* IDE x
6.5.1.1. Remote Debugging With Intel® Simics® Simulation and RiscFree* IDE on the Same System 6.5.1.2. Remote Debugging With Intel® Simics® Simulation and RiscFree* IDE on Different Systems 6.5.1.3. Remote Access to the Target System Serial Console
7. Networking with the Simulated Target System x
7.1. Network Simulation and Service Node 7.2. Connectivity Between Host PC and Target System
7.2. Connectivity Between Host PC and Target System x
7.2.1. Port Forwarding 7.2.2. Transferring Files Between Host PC and Target System 7.2.3. Accessing Target System from Host PC Through HTTP 7.2.4. Networking Commands Reference Table
7.2.1. Port Forwarding x
7.2.1.1. Incoming Port Forwarding 7.2.1.2. Outgoing Port Forwarding
7.2.1.1. Incoming Port Forwarding x
7.2.1.1.1. Example of an SSH Connection with Incoming Port Forwarding
7.2.1.2. Outgoing Port Forwarding x
7.2.1.2.1. Example of SSH Connection With Outgoing Port Forwarding 7.2.1.2.2. Example of SSH Connection via NAPT
7.2.2. Transferring Files Between Host PC and Target System x
7.2.2.1. Transferring Files with SCP service 7.2.2.2. Transferring Files with TFTP service
7.2.2.1. Transferring Files with SCP service x
7.2.2.1.1. Transferring Files With SCP Service via Forwarding Ports 7.2.2.1.2. Transferring Files with SCP from Target System to Host PC via NAPT
7.2.2.2. Transferring Files with TFTP service x
7.2.2.2.1. TFTP Using Forwarding Port 7.2.2.2.2. TFTP via NAPT 7.2.2.2.3. TFTP Using TFTP Server in Intel® Simics® Service Node
8. Intel® Simics® Scripting x
8.1. Scripts in CLI
8.1. Scripts in CLI x
8.1.1. Variables 8.1.2. Command Return Values 8.1.3. Control Flow Commands 8.1.4. Local Variables 8.1.5. Integer Conversion 8.1.6. Accessing Configuration Parameters 8.1.7. Error Handling in Scripts 8.1.8. Script Branches
8.1.8. Script Branches x
8.1.8.1. Script Branches Commands 8.1.8.2. Variables in Script Branches 8.1.8.3. Branch Synchronization 8.1.8.4. Canceling Script Branches 8.1.8.5. Script Branches Restrictions
9. Software Debug Examples with Intel® Simics® Simulator x
9.1. Debugging Linux* User-Mode Application
9.1. Debugging Linux* User-Mode Application x
9.1.1. Debugging a Linux Application with GDB 9.1.2. Debugging a Linux Application with RiscFree* IDE
9.1.1. Debugging a Linux Application with GDB x
9.1.1.1. Debugging with GDB Debug from Host PC Using Forwarding Ports 9.1.1.2. Debugging with GDB from Host PC with Intel® Simics® Simulator GDB Server
1. About This Document
2. Intel® Simics® Simulator and Virtual Platforms
3. Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs Device Portfolio
4. Installing the Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs
5. Getting Started with Intel® Simics® Simulator
6. Debugging Target Software
7. Networking with the Simulated Target System
8. Intel® Simics® Scripting
9. Software Debug Examples with Intel® Simics® Simulator
10. Document Revision History for Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel FPGAs User Guide
A. Intel® Simics® Simulator Command Reference

5.3.6. Intel® Simics® Command-Line Interface Help

Intel® Simics® simulator includes an extensive help system available from the Intel® Simics® simulator command-line interface (CLI) using the help command. When you issue the help command on the Intel® Simics® CLI, you get the following output: 
# Intel Simics simulator CLI 

simics> help
The help command shows information on any topic, like a command, a class, 
an object, an interface, a hap, a module, an attribute or a function or 
type from the Intel Simics API.
 
To get more information about the help command, type help help.
 
Type help category to list the commands for a specific category. Here is a list
of command categories:
 
  ARM specific commands              eth-cable-link-endpoint commands
  Altera STC Tools                   eth-hub-link commands
  Breakpoints                        eth-hub-link-endpoint commands
  CD-ROM                             eth-link-snoop-endpoint commands
  Changing Simulated State           eth-switch-link commands
  Command Line Interface             eth-switch-link-endpoint commands
  Components                         eth-switch-link-snoop-endpoint commands
  Configuration                      ethernet_cable commands
:
:
This output shows some instructions on how to use the Intel® Simics® simulator help system. The first hint provided is actually about how to use the help command by typing the help help command, which provides the following output: 
# Intel Simics simulator CLI  

simics>  help help
Command help
 
   Alias
      h, man
 
   Synopsis
      help ["topic"]
 
   Description
      Prints help information on topic. topic can be a command, a class, an
      object, an interface, a module, a hap, an attribute or a function or
      type from the 
               Intel® 
               Simics®
             API. Here are some usage examples of the help
      command:
 
 
      simics> help ptime
      [... ptime command documentation ...]
:

You can use h or man as alternatives to the help command.

The following example show how to get help for a specific topic with the help "<topic>" command: 
# Intel Simics simulator CLI 

simics> help "arm-cortex-a53 commands"
Commands available in the "arm-cortex-a53 commands" category:
 
<arm-cortex-a53>.info     print information about the object
<arm-cortex-a53>.status   print status of the object
 
simics> system.board.fpga.hps.core[0].info 
Information about system.board.fpga.hps.core[0] [class arm-cortex-a53]
===========================================================
 
     Execution mode : Normal
    Clock frequency : 80 MHz
                CPI : 1.00
    Physical memory : system.board.fpga.hps.cpu_mem[0]
               Cell : system.board.fpga.cell
To search the CLI help, use the help-search "<search_string>" command. This command searches the Intel® Simics® simulator help for the provided search string. For example: 
# Intel Simics simulator CLI 

simics> help-search "a53"
The text 'a53' appears in the documentation
for the following items:
 
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.aprof-views
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.info
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.pregs-simd
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.print-page-table
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.print-tlb
Command        <arm-cortex-a53>.status
Command        create-sm-hps-comp
Command        new-sm-hps-comp
Class          arm-cortex-a53
Class          sm_hps_comp

To view a list of CLI commands, use the list-commands [options] command. You can refine the list of commands using the following options:

Argument Description
-plain Return command names without their descriptions.
substr="string" Finds commands that contain the specified string.
object="object" Find commands that apply to the specified object.
class="class" Find commands that apply to the specified class.

If you do not specify any options, the list-commands command returns a table of the CLI commands available and a brief description of them. 

# Intel Simics simulator CLI 

simics> list-commands substr = "break" class="arm-cortex-a53" -plain
Command
                     
<conf_object>.break-hap                         
<conf_object>.unbreak-hap                       
<cycle>.bp-break-cycle                          
<cycle>.bp-break-time                           
<cycle>.cycle-break                             
<cycle>.cycle-break-absolute                    
:
:
To view help on Intel® Simics® APIs, use the api-help "<search_string>" command. 
# Intel Simics simulator CLI  

simics> api-help "step"
The following API keywords contain the substring "step":
 
SIM_break_step                step_event_cb_t
SIM_event_cancel_step         step_event_instrumentation_interface_t
SIM_event_find_next_step      step_handle_t
SIM_event_post_step           step_info_interface_t
SIM_step_count                step_interface_t
VT_revexec_steps              struct debug_step_interface
VT_skipto_step                struct step_cycle_ratio_interface
VT_step_stamp                 struct step_event_instrumentation_interface
debug_step_interface_t        struct step_info_interface
pc_step_t                     struct step_instrumentation
step_cycle_ratio_interface_t  struct step_interface
step_cycle_ratio_t  

          
simics> api-help "SIM_break_step"
Help on API keyword "SIM_break_step":
 
NAME
 
SIM_break_step  set a step breakpoint
 
SYNOPSIS
 
void
SIM_break_step(conf_object_t *NOTNULL obj, int64 steps);
 
DESCRIPTION
 
Sets a step breakpoint on a processor. The steps argument is the number of
instructions until the break occurs.
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