Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing

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ID 683472
Date 7/08/2024
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing 2. Determining System Requirements 3. Downloading Intel® FPGA Software 4. Installing Intel FPGA Software 5. Licensing Intel® FPGA Software 6. Next Steps After Installing and Licensing the Software A. Intel FPGA Software Installation and Licensing Archives B. Document Revision History for Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing x
1.1. Quartus® Prime Design Suite Overview 1.2. Intel® FPGA Software Download Center 1.3. Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center 1.4. Before You Begin
1.4. Before You Begin x
1.4.1. Navigate Content Through Tasks 1.4.2. Prerequisites 1.4.3. Acronyms
2. Determining System Requirements x
2.1. Reviewing the Quartus® Prime Software Release Notes 2.2. Determining Hardware Requirements 2.3. Determining Software Requirements
2.2. Determining Hardware Requirements x
2.2.1. Disk Space Requirements 2.2.2. Cable and Port Requirements
2.3. Determining Software Requirements x
2.3.1. Operating System Requirements 2.3.2. Intel® High Level Synthesis Compiler Software Requirements 2.3.3. Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition Software Requirements 2.3.4. Other Intel FPGA Software Requirements 2.3.5. Third-Party Software Requirements
3. Downloading Intel® FPGA Software x
3.1. Software Available in the FPGA Software Download Center 3.2. Downloading Design-Specific Software Components 3.3. Determining the Download Type 3.4. Downloading Other Intel® FPGA Software
3.3. Determining the Download Type x
3.3.1. Downloading Software Using the Quartus® Prime Installer 3.3.2. Downloading Software Packages Manually
3.3.1. Downloading Software Using the Quartus® Prime Installer x
3.3.1.1. Accessing the Quartus® Prime Installer 3.3.1.2. Getting Started With the Quartus® Prime Installer GUI 3.3.1.3. Modifying the Installer Settings 3.3.1.4. Using CLI Commands
3.3.2. Downloading Software Packages Manually x
3.3.2.1. Downloading Software and Device Support Files 3.3.2.2. Downloading Copyleft Licensed Software
4. Installing Intel FPGA Software x
4.1. Installing Intel® FPGA Software Through Quartus® Prime Installer 4.2. Installing the Intel® FPGA Software Manually 4.3. Using the Same Installation Files on Multiple Systems 4.4. Managing Multiple Versions and Copies of Intel FPGA Software 4.5. Setting Quartus® Prime Environment Variables 4.6. Starting the Quartus® Prime Software 4.7. Updating Intel FPGA Software 4.8. Installing and Uninstalling a Software Patch 4.9. Uninstalling Intel FPGA Software 4.10. Troubleshooting Installation Issues
4.2. Installing the Intel® FPGA Software Manually x
4.2.1. Selecting the Installation Path 4.2.2. Installing Intel FPGA Software at the Command Prompt 4.2.3. Installing from .tar Files 4.2.4. Installing Device Support to Existing Installation 4.2.5. Installing Programming Cable Drivers 4.2.6. Installing and Configuring a JTAG Server
4.2.2. Installing Intel FPGA Software at the Command Prompt x
4.2.2.1. Command-Line Options
4.2.5. Installing Programming Cable Drivers x
4.2.5.1. Installing Drivers on RHEL 8/Ubuntu 18 and Above Versions
4.2.6. Installing and Configuring a JTAG Server x
4.2.6.1. Installing and Configuring jtagserver on Windows 4.2.6.2. Installing and Configuring a Local JTAG Server (jtagd) on Linux
4.9. Uninstalling Intel FPGA Software x
4.9.1. Uninstalling on Windows* 4.9.2. Uninstalling on Linux
5. Licensing Intel® FPGA Software x
5.1. Summary of Intel FPGA Software Licenses Required 5.2. Evaluating the Quartus® Prime Software 5.3. Acquiring Free, No-Cost Licenses 5.4. Licensing Intel® FPGA Software Walkthrough 5.5. Getting Hardware Information for License 5.6. Using the Intel FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center 5.7. About Intel® FPGA Software License Files 5.8. Checking the IP License Status 5.9. Configuring the License Manager Server 5.10. Troubleshooting License File Issues
5.1. Summary of Intel FPGA Software Licenses Required x
5.1.1. Quartus® Prime Software License 5.1.2. Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition Software License Generating the License Setting Up the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition Software License Renewing the License 5.1.3. Intellectual Property (IP) Cores Licenses 5.1.4. Siemens EDA* AXI Verification IP Suite License (Intel FPGA Edition)
5.3. Acquiring Free, No-Cost Licenses x
5.3.1. Refreshing License Server Token Automatically
5.4. Licensing Intel® FPGA Software Walkthrough x
5.4.1. Obtaining Necessary Hardware Information 5.4.2. Requesting a License File from the Intel FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center 5.4.3. Setting up a Fixed License 5.4.4. Setting up a License in a Network License Server
5.4.4. Setting up a License in a Network License Server x
5.4.4.1. Setting up a License File in the License Server 5.4.4.2. Launching the Licensing Server 5.4.4.3. Specifying a Network License Server in the Quartus® Prime Software
5.5. Getting Hardware Information for License x
5.5.1. Identifying Host's NIC ID 5.5.2. Identifying the UNIX Host ID 5.5.3. Locating Your Hard-Disk Serial Number 5.5.4. Identifying the USB Software Guard ID
5.5.1. Identifying Host's NIC ID x
5.5.1.1. Finding the NIC ID for Windows 5.5.1.2. Finding the NIC ID on Linux 5.5.1.3. Finding the NIC ID in the Quartus® Prime Software 5.5.1.4. Finding the NIC ID on Windows* Using FLEXlm Utilities
5.5.3. Locating Your Hard-Disk Serial Number x
5.5.3.1. Finding the Hard-disk Serial Number on a Windows* PC 5.5.3.2. Finding the Hard-disk Serial Number if the Quartus® Prime Software is Installed on Your Computer
5.6. Using the Intel FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center x
5.6.1. Using the License Assistant 5.6.2. Getting a License File with Your New Purchase 5.6.3. Viewing Licenses 5.6.4. Filtering Your Licenses 5.6.5. Viewing and Generating a Legacy License 5.6.6. Viewing Licenses or License Files Associated to a Computer 5.6.7. Regenerating a License File 5.6.8. Generating a Temporary Checkout License 5.6.9. Generating a Companion License 5.6.10. Renewing Your License 5.6.11. Managing a Computer Profile 5.6.12. Rehosting a License on a Different Computer 5.6.13. Rehosting All Licenses from Current Computer to a Different Computer 5.6.14. Rehosting Multiple/Partial Licenses from Current Computer to a Different Computer 5.6.15. Sharing a License with Another User 5.6.16. Adding Delegate Administrators to Your Licenses and Computers 5.6.17. Splitting Seats on Your License and Generating Licenses 5.6.18. Merging or Adding Seats on Your License and Generating License 5.6.19. Adding Floating Seats 5.6.20. Signing Up for an Evaluation or No-Cost License 5.6.21. Signing Up For an Employee License
5.7. About Intel® FPGA Software License Files x
5.7.1. License File Components 5.7.2. Using a FLEXlm Options File 5.7.3. License.dat Example Files 5.7.4. Syntax of license.dat License File
5.7.1. License File Components x
5.7.1.1. License File Header 5.7.1.2. SERVER, VENDOR, and USE_SERVER Lines 5.7.1.3. FEATURE and INCREMENT Lines
5.7.3. License.dat Example Files x
5.7.3.1. Fixed PC Software Guard License Example 5.7.3.2. Floating Network License Example
5.9. Configuring the License Manager Server x
5.9.1. Installing the FLEXlm License Manager Server Software on Another License Server 5.9.2. Upgrading the FLEXlm License Manager Server Software 5.9.3. (Windows Only) Starting and Stopping the License Server 5.9.4. (Windows Only) Starting the License Server Automatically 5.9.5. Rereading an Existing License File on a License Server
6. Next Steps After Installing and Licensing the Software x
6.1. Additional Resources 6.2. Training
Answers to Top FAQs
1. Introduction to Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing
2. Determining System Requirements
3. Downloading Intel® FPGA Software
4. Installing Intel FPGA Software
5. Licensing Intel® FPGA Software
6. Next Steps After Installing and Licensing the Software
A. Intel FPGA Software Installation and Licensing Archives
B. Document Revision History for Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing

5.1.2. Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition Software License

Both Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition require a valid software license. This license expires 12 months after the date of purchase. If you are looking for instructions to download and install Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition, then follow the instructions provided in "Downloading Individual Executable Files" section to obtain the software and "Installing Intel FPGA Software at the Command Prompt" section to install.

Generating the License

The Quartus® Prime software requires a paid license (fixed or floating license subscription). A paid subscription provides access to the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software, Quartus® Prime Standard Edition, and the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition with one year of maintenance support. Once you have bought the subscription from one of the distributors, your order gets processed, and license entitlements are set up and managed in the Intel® FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (SSLC), where you can generate a license.dat file. This file enables you to use the software or IP product licensed, all previous versions, and all versions released within one year of the purchase date.

Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition license is free and you can directly obtain it from the Quartus® Prime GUI or Intel® FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (SSLC).

If you do not have access to SSLC, you must first complete registering to SSLC and create an account by visiting Register for Intel® FPGA Self Service Licensing Center (SSLC).

Note:
  • The Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software does not support companion licenses. You must purchase additional licenses if you want to run the software on other computers.
  • The Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software license does not support Remote Desktop access with node-locked, uncounted licenses.

Follow these steps to generate the license:

  1. Go to the Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center (SSLC).
  2. Select the Sign up for Evaluation or Free Licenses option on the menu bar.
  3. In the list of products displayed, select the desired option:
    • For Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition license, select the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition(License: SW-QUESTA) option.
    • For Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition license, select Quartus® Prime Software 90-Day Evaluation (Standard and Pro Editions) (License: EVALUATION-LIC) option.
  4. Under the # of Seats column, enter the number of seats you require.
  5. Read the license terms of use.
  6. Select the "I have read and agree to the terms of use of this license as listed below" check box.
  7. Click Get License. A dialog box displays asking you to which computer should the license be assigned. You can use one of the following options:
    • Option 1: Click Create a New Computer if you want to assign the license to a new computer. You must provide information about the required hardware and license type. For information about the license type, refer to Intel® FPGA Software License Types. For information about how to extract information about your computer hardware, refer to Hardware Information Required When You Request a License.
    • Option 2: Click Assign an Existing Computer and search for the computer name/NIC ID that you have created previously in your My Intel® account. To view your list of computers, use of the following options:
      • Visit the License Assistant and select Regenerate License by Primary Computer > View all computers and select
      • On the SSLC menu bar, click Computers and License Files and select the desired option.
  8. Click Generate. You receive an email with the license attached to your registered email address.
  9. Save the license.dat file on your computer (for example, ~/intelFPGA_pro/LR-xxxxxx_License.dat).
Note: Before using Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition software, you must set an environment variable to point to the location of the license.

Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition licenses appear as a FEATURE line inside the Quartus® Prime license.dat file.

Setting Up the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition Software License

After you receive and save the license.dat file on your computer, follow these instructions:

Note: The Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software license does not support Remote Desktop access with node-locked, uncounted licenses.

On Windows System

  1. Go to This PC, right-click, and select Properties.
  2. Click Advanced System Setting.
  3. In the Advanced tab, select Environment Variable.
  4. Under System variables, create a new variable with the name as LM_LICENSE_FILE and value as <license.dat file path>.
  5. Click OK and restart the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software.
Alternatively, open a command prompt and run the following command to set up the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable: 
setx LM_LICENSE_FILE <path_to_license_file>;%LM_LICENSE_FILE%

For example: setx LM_LICENSE_FILE C:\intelFPGA\license.dat;%LM_LICENSE_FILE%

You can also set up the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software license using the Siemens EDA license daemon mgcld, which you can find in the <Questa - Intel FPGA Edition system directory>\ directory. Before starting the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software, set the MGLS_LICENSE_FILE environment variable to the location and file name of the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition license file. For example: 
MGLS_LICENSE_FILE (<Questa installation directory>/licenses/eda/license.dat)
or with the <port>@<hostname> notation, where <port> is the license port number and <hostname> is the license server’s host name. For example, 1900@my_lic_server.

On Linux System

Run one of the following commands in a command prompt window: 
export LM_LICENSE_FILE=<path to license>:$LM_LICENSE_FILE
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE "<path_to_license_file>"
You can also set up the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software license using the Siemens EDA license daemon mgcld, which you can find in the <Questa - Intel FPGA Edition installation directory>/ directory. Before starting the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition software, set the MGLS_LICENSE_FILE environment variable to the location and file name of the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Edition license file. For example: 
MGLS_LICENSE_FILE (<Questa installation directory>/licenses/eda/license.dat)
or with the <port>@<hostname> notation, where <port> is the license port number and <hostname> is the license server’s host name. For example, 1900@my_lic_server.

Renewing the License

The software license expires 12 months after the date of purchase. To renew an expired license file, revisit the SSLC. You can renew a license only for the version that you purchased.

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