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

5.4.5. Logging

The Intel® Simics® models generally output log messages for various kinds of events. The log mechanism in Intel® Simics® simulator offers a very powerful system for configuring which log messages to display based on a log level that can be configured to apply to the complete system or focused on a specific object. Depending on the configuration, the result may generate large volumes of output, and because of this, you must be cautious about the configuration used. Also, there are options that allow us to capture the log into files for later inspection, as well as used in scripts to stop Intel® Simics® simulation or take other actions when a log message appears.

The log-setup command is used to display current logging configuration or change the configuration. There are many arguments that this command can receive and in the following sections, you can review some of them.

When calling the log-setup command without any argument, this displays the overall logging system configuration. The following capture shows an example of calling this command: 

# Intel Simics simulator CLI
 
simics> log-setup
Time stamp      : disabled
Picoseconds     : disabled
Real time       : disabled
Log to console  : enabled
Include group   : disabled
Include level   : disabled
Log file        : (disabled)

The description of these settings is the following:

Parameter Description Enable/Disable
Object If provided, the log setup applies to the object selected. If not provided the setup is done over the full system.
Time stamp If enabled, the log output includes virtual time stamps: the name of the current processor, its current program counter value, and its current cycle count. [-time-stamp]
[-no-time-stamp]

Picoseconds

 If enabled, the log output includes virtual time stamps in picoseconds. [-pico-seconds]
[-no-pico-seconds]
Real time If enabled, the output includes wall clock time stamps. [-real-time]
[-no-real-time]
Log to console If enabled, the output is displayed in the Intel® Simics® simulator CLI. [-console]
[-no-console]
Include group If enabled, the log group is part of the output. [-group]
[-no-group]
Include level If enabled, the log level is part of the output. [-level]
[-no-level]
Log File [logfile]
[-no-log-file]

The format of the log-setup command is the following: 

log-setup [object] [-time-stamp] [-no-time-stamp] [-pico-seconds] 
[-no-pico-seconds] [-real-time] [-no-real-time] [-console] [-no-console]
[-group] [-no-group] [-level] [-no-level] [logfile = filename] [-no-log-file]

The following example shows an example of how this command is being used:

# Intel Simics simulator CLI

simics> log-setup agilex.sdm_mailbox -time-stamp -pico-seconds -real-time -group -level logfile = sdmMB.log
simics> log-setup agilex.sdm_mailbox
Time stamp      : enabled
Picoseconds     : enabled
Real time       : enabled
Log to console  : enabled
Include group   : enabled
Include level   : enabled
Log file        : sdmMB.log
simics> log-level agilex.sdm_mailbox 4
[agilex.sdm_mailbox] Changing log level: 1 -> 4
simics> r
[agilex.hps.l2reset_n_bus error] negative signal level (lower without matching raise)
[agilex.sdm_mailbox info Default_Log_Group 4] {agilex.hps.core[0] 0x0 1} [19:00:11.0658] {5000 ps} SDM BB fuses cache reset
[agilex.hps.timer[0].bank.cntbase0 spec-viol] Write to read-only register cntbase0.cntpct (value written = 0x0000000000000003).
:
:
simics> ls
.cproject     .project    .settings       artifactory
 compiler.mk  doc         modules         sdmMB.log   simics-eclipse
:
:

The above example shows that log-setup command is being called to configure the logging for the agilex.sdm_mailbox device. Here, the command is enabling all the flags and also saving the log file into the sdmMB.log file in the host system file system. Note that after running the simulation some messages are printed in the CLI (because Log to console parameter is enabled by default). The printed messages from the agilex.sdm_mailbox includes all the components that were enabled when calling the log-setup command. The capture also shows that the sdmMB.log file was created as expected.

Something additional to note from the previous capture is the calling of the log-level command. This command is used to get or set the log level of an object or set of objects. The syntax of this command is the following: 

log-level [object] [level] [-all] [-r]

The level argument indicates the new log level requested for the object defined as argument. If the -all parameter is provided, the log level applies globally for all the objects in the system. If -r argument is provided, the log level is applied recursively to all the objects under the object hierarchy.

The log messages to be printed are those which have a log level less than or equal to the ones configured on the object. In the above example, the messages to be printed are messages with log level below or equal to 4.

The log messages also can be classified by type, depending on the nature of the message. The types to be classified are:

Table 5.  Types of Log Messages
Type Description
“info" Use this type for harmless information or debug messages.
“error” Use when an error prevents the simulation from running properly. This type does not have any log-level.
“spec-viol” Use when a target program runs a command that violates the device specification.
“unimpl” Use when a model does not implement a specific functionality, bit, or register.
“critical” Use for signaling serious errors that a model may not be able to resume from. The simulation is stopped.

Similarly, like log levels, you can configure which log types to display on each object. To set this log type to an object, you can use the log-type command with the following syntax: 

log-type [object] [-enable|-disable] ["log-type"] [all] [-r]

If the command is called without parameters, it lists the log type set in all the objects in the system. If the command is called providing only an object, it displays the log type for the object provided. If you want to change the log type for a specific object, you must provide the log type as [log-type] argument. An object can have more than one type, so all the messages that match these types are printed. You can use -enable and -disable flags to add and remove a single log type. If you use all argument, all the log types are applied to the object. The -r flag can be used to apply the log type to object recursively under the object provided.

The following is an example of how you can use the log-type command: 

# Intel Simics simulator CLI

simics> log-type agilex.sdm_mailbox
agilex.sdm_mailbox:
enabled log types: "info" "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
disabled log types: 
agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank:
enabled log types: "info" "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
disabled log types:
:
simics> log-type -r agilex.sdm_mailbox info
agilex.sdm_mailbox:
enabled log types: "info"
disabled log types: "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank:
enabled log types: "info"
disabled log types: "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
:
simics> log-type -r agilex.sdm_mailbox -enable error
agilex.sdm_mailbox:
enabled log types: "info" "error"
disabled log types: "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank:
enabled log types: "info" "error"
disabled log types: "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
:
simics> log-type -r agilex.sdm_mailbox -disable error
agilex.sdm_mailbox:
enabled log types: "info"
disabled log types: "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank:
enabled log types: "info"
disabled log types: "error" "spec-viol" "unimpl" "critical"
simics> log-level agilex.sdm_mailbox 4 -r
[agilex.sdm_mailbox] Changing log level recursively: 1 -> 4
simics> r
[agilex.hps.l2reset_n_bus error] negative signal level (lower without matching raise)
[agilex.sdm_mailbox info] SDM BB fuses cache reset
[agilex.hps.timer[0].bank.cntbase0 spec-viol] Write to read-only register cntbase0.cntpct (value written = 0x0000000000000003).
[agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank.regs info] Write to register regs.FLAGS (addr 0xffa3000c) <- 0x00000103
[agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank.regs info] Write to register regs.URG (addr 0xffa30008) <- 0x00000000
[agilex.sdm_mailbox.bank.regs info] Write to register regs.DOORBELL_TO_HPS (addr 0xffa30480) <- 0x00000000
:
:

The log-level and log-type commands can also be applied directly over the object using the following format: 

<object>.log-level 
<object>.log-type

Section Content
Breakpoints on CLI Log Messages

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