2. Using the Board-Aware Flow in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software
This application note demonstrates using the Intel® Quartus® Prime software board-aware flow. You can use the board-aware flow to accelerate the process of appropriately configuring, connecting, and validating IP for a target board.
What is the Intel® Quartus® Prime Software Board-Aware Flow?
The board-aware flow simplifies the application of appropriate parameters and pin assignments for the instantiated IP in your project, thereby reducing the chance of configuration errors. You can also save your preferred and verified board and IP configurations for reuse in other projects that target the same IP or board.
In the board-aware flow, you can optionally start your project from a pre-verified design example and target a specific Intel FPGA development board, rather than just a specific device. You can then create IP presets targeting the specific board. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Platform Designer system integration tool is also board-aware, allowing you to automatically set pin assignments and export appropriate system interfaces for the target board.
The complete process of configuring, connecting, and validating IP for a target board is typically implemented by multiple developers performing specialized tasks. For example:
- An IP designer that creates board presets for specific IP.
- A system designer that combines individual IP components into a system.
- A board designer that creates the XML board files defining the target board.
Figure 1. Board-Aware Flow Typical Tasks and Roles
The board-aware flow helps to ensure the proper hand-off, consistency, and reuse of configuration options across multiple projects, developers, and boards.
This application note guides you through the following steps in the board-aware flow: