Intel® FPGA Software Installation and Licensing

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ID 683472
Date 9/30/2024
Public
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 and Memory 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. Viewing IP Core License Data 5.10. Configuring the License Manager Server 5.11. 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 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
Method 1: At the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software Launch Method 2: License Setup Screen in the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software GUI Method 3: Auto-Fetching During Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Compilation Process 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
5.10. Configuring the License Manager Server x
5.10.1. Installing the FLEXlm License Manager Server Software on Another License Server 5.10.2. Upgrading the FLEXlm License Manager Server Software 5.10.3. (Windows Only) Starting and Stopping the License Server 5.10.4. (Windows Only) Starting the License Server Automatically 5.10.5. 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

5.3. Acquiring Free, No-Cost Licenses

Earlier, you had to log into the Intel® FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center (SSLC), submit an online request, download the free license, and attach it to Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software manually. With this no-cost licensing flow, you can now acquire eligible no-cost product licenses directly through the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software GUI without going through the Intel® SSLC and registration process. The license is save on your target system.

The no-cost licensing flow supports the following use cases:

  • Access eligible no-cost products only through fresh Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software installations.
  • Access eligible no-cost products as additional devices or IPs with other licenses installed.

The no-cost licensing flow uses libcurl and web API calls to obtain one the licenses using the product ID and host ID (network card Mac address).

You can obtain the free, no-cost license in the following ways:

For Methods 1 and 2, if the license acquisition is successful, the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software launches in the licensed mode. If the license acquisition fails, you might see either the timeout or the token expiry error messages. Acknowledging the error launches the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software without the no-cost license.

Figure 6. Timeout Error

Depending on your network configurations, you may need to set up the proxy server's address and port number via the Tools > Options > Internet Connectivity page. You must use only HTTP protocol, using which the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software connects to the proxy server to reach the license server endpoint using HTTPS protocol.

Figure 7. Token Expired error

When the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software connects to the license server to acquire the no-cost license, it checks with the server if the token used to connect with the license server is still valid. If the token has expired, Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software cannot connect to the license server to acquire any licenses. You can then acquire the licenses manually via the Intel FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center (SSLC) or install the latest Quartus software. For additional information about this token, refer to Refreshing License Server Token Automatically.

Method 1: At the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software Launch

Launching the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software without a license prompts you with the License Setup Required dialog.

Figure 8. License Setup Required Dialog

To obtain licenses for Agilex™ 5 E-Series FPGA and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition from this dialog and set up the license, perform these steps:

  1. Select the desired licenses.
  2. Click Acquire.
  3. If you selected Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition, after acquiring the license, set the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.
    • On Linux: Set LM_LICENSE_FILE to <home directory>/.altera.quartus/quartus2_lic.dat.
    • On Windows: Set LM_LICENSE_FILE to <home directory>/quartus2_lic.dat.
  4. Click OK. Upon successful acquisition, the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software launches in the licensed mode.

Method 2: License Setup Screen in the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software GUI

From within the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software GUI, navigate to Tools > License Setup.

Figure 9. License Setup Options Dialog

To obtain licenses for Agilex™ 5 E-Series FPGA and Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition from this dialog:

  1. Click the Get no-cost licenses button. The No-cost License Acquisitions dialog appears.
    Figure 10. No-cost License Acquisitions Dialog
  2. Select the desired licenses.
  3. Click OK to proceed with the license acquisition. During acquisition, a progress bar displays at the bottom of the screen.
  4. After acquiring the Questa*-Intel® FPGA Starter Edition, set the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.
    • On Linux: Set LM_LICENSE_FILE to <home directory>/.altera.quartus/quartus2_lic.dat.
    • On Windows: Set LM_LICENSE_FILE to <home directory>/quartus2_lic.dat.

Method 3: Auto-Fetching During Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Compilation Process

The Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software can now obtain no-cost licenses for the following IPs automatically during the compilation at the Synthesis stage:

  • Nios® V/m Microcontroller Intel® FPGA IP
  • Nios® V/g General Purpose Processor Intel® FPGA IP
  • Nios® V/c Compact Microcontroller Intel® FPGA IP
  • MIPI CSI 2 Intel® FPGA IP
  • AXI Multichannel DMA Intel® FPGA IP for PCI Express*

This means that although you can manually fetch their no-cost licenses from SSLC manually, the Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software now has the capability to verify these IPs for licenses during compilation and automatically fetch them from SSLC if they are missing.

Note: On Linux, if you auto-fetched the licenses on one system and later switched to a new system, the auto-fetching does not work on the new system. To make auto-fetching work on the new system, you must delete the cached license file available at <home>/.altera.quartus/quartus2_lic.dat.

If the auto-fetching is successful, the Quartus Message pane displays the following message when compiling your design: 

Info(<message_ID>): Successfully acquired license for <IP_name (ID)>.

If the auto-fetching is unsuccessful, the Quartus Message pane displays the following warning: 

Warning(24850): Failed to acquire license for <IP_name (ID)>. 
Error when acquiring <IP_name>: Cannot locate server. [28]Timeout was reached.
Go to Tools > Options > Internet Connectivity and verify the proxy settings.
You can also request a no-cost license manually from the Intel FPGA Self-Service Licensing Center at 
https://licensing.intel.com/psg/s/.

Section Content
Refreshing License Server Token Automatically

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