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

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ID 784383
Date 4/01/2024
Public
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 Ending The Simulation in 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

5.2.2. Starting a Simulation with Ashling* RiscFree* IDE

Before starting the simulation, ensure that you have completed the following tasks:

  • Installed Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs.
  • Installed Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Intel® FPGAs.
  • Created an Intel® Simics® project directory and deployed a virtual platform.

Perform the following steps to start running an Intel® Simics® simulation with the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Intel® FPGAs:

  1. Create a RiscFree* IDE workspace directory. Intel® recommends using a separate workspace for each of your Intel® Simics® projects. In this example, the workspace is created at the same level as the Intel® Simics® project already created.
    /home/simicsUser/SimicsInstallDir$ mkdir myRiscFreeWS
  2. From your Intel® Simics® project directory, start the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Intel® FPGAs with the ./simics-riscfree command. This example command assumes project directory called projectRiscFree:
    /home/simicsUser/SimicsInstallDir/projectRiscFree$ ./simics-riscfree

    Before launching the RiscFree* IDE, a setup window pops up requesting you to select the workspace that the RiscFree* IDE must use. In this example, the workspace directory is the myRiscFreeWS directory created earlier.

  3. Use the Browse button to browse the file system for your project directory and click Launch to launch RiscFree* IDE.
    Figure 5. Launching the RiscFree* IDE

    You can always switch workspaces in the RiscFree* IDE using the File > Switch Workspace menu:

    When RiscFree* IDE is launched, a new RiscFree* project is created under the current Intel® Simics® project directory (with some metadata also written in the workspace directory indicated). The assigned project name is the name of the Intel® Simics® project directory. You can also view the project with the Project Explorer view, which is the default view. Under this project, you are shown the full content of the Intel® Simics® project directory.

    If the Project Explorer view is not displayed, switch to this view (or any other view) from the Window > Show View menu:

    In the above figure, you can see the content of the project directory, which in this case is called projectRiscFreee.

  4. In the Project Explorer view, start the simulation by selecting the target script to run by clicking the Down arrow button to the right of the Run button. From the pop-up menu, select Run As > Intel® Simics® Session.

    When you start the simulation, a new Run Configuration is created called projectRiscFree - uboot-linux_sdcard.simics.

    You can view and edit this configuration from the Run > Run Configurations menu item. The new run configuration is under the Intel® Simics® Session category.

    For future simulations, you can start a new simulation using existing run configurations directly from the Run button.

    Note:
    • RiscFree* IDE presents some compatibility issues with target script extensions that are different than .simics. In this case, launching the Intel® Simics® simulation fails when it is started as Run or Debug session. Hence, Intel recommends using only target scripts with .simics extensions.
    • RiscFree* IDE has some known issues when launching an Intel® Simics® simulation and the execution of the target script prints several messages on the Intel® Simics® console. Intel recommends suppressing Intel® Simics® console print messages to a minimum.
    • In general, Intel recommends verifying the target script when running the simulation using the simics command from the terminal before running the simulation with RiscFree* IDE because some error messages might stay hidden during the execution making it difficult to determine the reason why the simulation failed to launch.

    When the Intel® Simics® session starts, you might be prompted to switch to the Debug perspectives. Click Switch to change perspectives.

    The Debug perspective contains several views that allows you to interact with the RiscFree* debugger during a target software debug session. Some of the UI elements in the Debug perspective are as follows:
    • Processor status view: This view shows the state of each CPUs (running/suspended). It also shows the current program counter value in each one of the processors and the stack frame.
    • Disassembly view: Shows the assembler code that the selected processor in the Processor status window is being executed. This shows the address and the instructions.
    • Simulation control buttons: Includes several buttons that allow you to control the advance/pause of the simulation: Resume (play) and Suspend buttons. It also includes some controls that allow you to move in the target software with a finer granularity: Step Over, Step Into, and Step Return buttons.
    • Observability windows: These windows provide additional views of the target software (Variables and Expressions view), the debug session (Breakpoints view), hardware (Registers view that shows CPU registers and Memory view).
    • Intel® Simics® console: You can use the Intel® Simics® console to enter CLI commands to control the simulation flow or support debug activities, among other things.

    You can add other views to the open perspective with the Window > Show View menu.

    When the simulation starts, an additional window, the Serial Console, opens.

  5. Run the simulation by clicking the Resume button. After you click this button, messages display in the Serial Console:

    You can pause the simulation at any time using the Suspend button:

Ending The Simulation in Ashling* RiscFree* IDE

To end your simulation/debug session, enter the quit command in the Intel® Simics® console view. This command disconnects the RiscFree* IDE from that simulation session.

Alternatively, you can stop the debug session by selecting the current project in the Debug window from the Debug perspective and click the Stop button.

After ending your debug session, you can also exit the RiscFree* IDE by selecting File > Exit.

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