Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores

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ID 683102
Date 10/04/2021
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores x
1.1. IP Catalog and Parameter Editor 1.2. Installing and Licensing Intel® FPGA IP Cores 1.3. Best Practices for Intel® FPGA IP 1.4. IP General Settings 1.5. Specifying the IP Core Parameters and Options ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition) 1.6. Generating IP Cores ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.7. Modifying an IP Variation 1.8. Upgrading IP Cores 1.9. Simulating Intel® FPGA IP Cores 1.10. Synthesizing IP Cores in Other EDA Tools 1.11. Support for the IEEE 1735 Encryption Standard 1.12. Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores Archives 1.13. Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores Revision History
1.1. IP Catalog and Parameter Editor x
1.1.1. The Parameter Editor
1.2. Installing and Licensing Intel® FPGA IP Cores x
1.2.1. Intel® FPGA IP Evaluation Mode 1.2.2. Checking the IP License Status 1.2.3. Intel FPGA IP Versioning 1.2.4. Adding IP to IP Catalog
1.5. Specifying the IP Core Parameters and Options ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition) x
1.5.1. IP Core Generation Output ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition) 1.5.2. Scripting IP Core Generation
1.6. Generating IP Cores ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) x
1.6.1. IP Core Generation Output ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition)
1.8. Upgrading IP Cores x
1.8.1. Upgrading IP Cores at Command-Line 1.8.2. Migrating IP Cores to a Different Device 1.8.3. Troubleshooting IP or Platform Designer System Upgrade
1.9. Simulating Intel® FPGA IP Cores x
1.9.1. Supported Simulators 1.9.2. Supported Simulation Flows 1.9.3. Generating IP Simulation Files 1.9.4. Scripting IP Simulation 1.9.5. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition)
1.9.4. Scripting IP Simulation x
1.9.4.1. Generating a Combined Simulator Setup Script
1.9.4.1. Generating a Combined Simulator Setup Script x
1.9.4.1.1. Sourcing Aldec ActiveHDL* or Riviera Pro* Simulator Setup Scripts 1.9.4.1.2. Sourcing Cadence Incisive* Simulator Setup Scripts 1.9.4.1.3. Sourcing Cadence Xcelium* Simulator Setup Scripts 1.9.4.1.4. Sourcing ModelSim* or QuestaSim Simulator Setup Scripts 1.9.4.1.5. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* Simulator Setup Scripts 1.9.4.1.6. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* MX Simulator Setup Scripts
1.9.5. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) x
1.9.5.1. Setting Up NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.9.5.2. Generating IP Functional Simulation Models ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition)
1.10. Synthesizing IP Cores in Other EDA Tools x
1.10.1. Instantiating IP Cores in HDL
1.10.1. Instantiating IP Cores in HDL x
1.10.1.1. Accessing HDL Code Templates
1.10.1.1. Accessing HDL Code Templates x
1.10.1.1.1. Example Top-Level Verilog HDL Module 1.10.1.1.2. Example Top-Level VHDL Module
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA IP Cores

1.8. Upgrading IP Cores

Any Intel® FPGA IP variations that you generate from a previous version or different edition of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software, may require upgrade before compilation in the current software edition or version. The Project Navigator displays a banner indicating the IP upgrade status. Click Launch IP Upgrade Tool or Project > Upgrade IP Components to upgrade outdated IP cores.
Figure 11. IP Upgrade Alert in Project Navigator


Icons in the Upgrade IP Components dialog box indicate when IP upgrade is required, optional, or unsupported for an IP variation in the project. Upgrade IP variations that require upgrade before compilation in the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software.

Note: Upgrading IP cores may append a unique identifier to the original IP core entity names, without similarly modifying the IP instance name. There is no requirement to update these entity references in any supporting Intel® Quartus® Prime file, such as the Intel® Quartus® Prime Settings File (.qsf), Synopsys* Design Constraints File (.sdc), or Signal Tap File (.stp), if these files contain instance names. The Intel® Quartus® Prime software reads only the instance name and ignores the entity name in paths that specify both names. Use only instance names in assignments.
Table 5.  IP Core Upgrade Status
IP Core Status Description
IP Upgraded

Indicates that your IP variation uses the latest version of the Intel® FPGA IP core.
IP Component Outdated

Indicates that your IP variation uses an outdated version of the IP core.
IP Upgrade Optional

Indicates that upgrade is optional for this IP variation in the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software. You can upgrade this IP variation to take advantage of the latest development of this IP core. Alternatively, you can retain previous IP core characteristics by declining to upgrade. Refer to the Description for details about IP core version differences. If you do not upgrade the IP, the IP variation synthesis and simulation files are unchanged and you cannot modify parameters until upgrading.
IP Upgrade Required

Indicates that you must upgrade the IP variation before compiling in the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software. Refer to the Description for details about IP core version differences.
IP Upgrade Unsupported

Indicates that upgrade of the IP variation is not supported in the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software due to incompatibility with the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software. The Intel® Quartus® Prime software prompts you to replace the unsupported IP core with a supported equivalent IP core from the IP Catalog. Refer to the Description for details about IP core version differences and links to Release Notes.
IP End of Life

Indicates that Intel designates the IP core as end-of-life status. You may or may not be able to edit the IP core in the parameter editor. Support for this IP core discontinues in future releases of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software.
IP Upgrade Mismatch Warning

Provides warning of non-critical IP core differences in migrating IP to another device family.
IP has incompatible subcores

 Indicates that the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software does not support compilation of your IP variation, because the IP has incompatible subcores.
Compilation of IP Not Supported

Indicates that the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software does not support compilation of your IP variation. This can occur if another edition of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software, such as the Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition, generated this IP. Replace this IP component with a compatible component in the current edition.
Note: Beginning with the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software version 19.1, IP upgrade supports migration of IP released within one year of the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software version, as the following chart defines:
Figure 12.  Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition IP Version Upgrade Paths

Follow these steps to upgrade IP cores:

  1. In the latest version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software, open the Intel® Quartus® Prime project containing an outdated IP core variation. The Upgrade IP Components dialog box automatically displays the status of IP cores in your project, along with instructions for upgrading each core. To access this dialog box manually, click Project > Upgrade IP Components.
  2. To upgrade one or more IP cores that support automatic upgrade, ensure that you turn on the Auto Upgrade option for the IP cores, and click Auto Upgrade. The Status and Version columns update when upgrade is complete. Example designs that any Intel® FPGA IP core provides regenerate automatically whenever you upgrade an IP core.
  3. To manually upgrade an individual IP core, select the IP core and click Upgrade in Editor (or simply double-click the IP core name). The parameter editor opens, allowing you to adjust parameters and regenerate the latest version of the IP core.
    Figure 13. Upgrading IP Cores ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Example)


    Note: Intel® FPGA IP cores older than Intel® Quartus® Prime software version 12.0 do not support upgrade. Intel verifies that the current version of the Intel® Quartus® Prime software compiles the previous two versions of each IP core. The Intel® FPGA IP Core Release Notes reports any verification exceptions for Intel® FPGA IP cores. Intel does not verify compilation for IP cores older than the previous two releases.

Section Content
Upgrading IP Cores at Command-Line
Migrating IP Cores to a Different Device
Troubleshooting IP or Platform Designer System Upgrade

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