Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Partial Reconfiguration

ID 683834
Date 7/31/2023
Public

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2.6.9.2. Generating PR Bitstream Files

For Intel® Stratix® 10 and Intel Agilex® 7 designs, the Assembler generates a configuration .rbf automatically at the end of compilation. For Intel® Arria® 10 and Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX designs, use any of the following methods to process the PR bitstreams and generate the Raw Binary File (.rbf) file for reconfiguration.

Generating PR Bitstreams During Compilation

Follow these steps to generate the .rbf file during compilation for Intel® Arria® 10 and Intel® Cyclone® 10 GX designs:

  1. Add the following assignments to the revision .qsf to automatically generate the required PR bitstreams following compilation:
    set_global_assignment -name GENERATE_PR_RBF_FILE ON
    set_global_assignment -name ON_CHIP_BITSTREAM_DECOMPRESSION OFF
  2. To compile the revision and generate the .rbf, click Processing > Start Compilation.

Generating PR Bitstreams with Programming File Generator

Follow these steps to generate the .rbf for PR programming with the Programming File Generator:

  1. Click File > Programming File Generator. The Programming File Generator appears.
  2. Specify the target Device family and the Configuration mode for partial reconfiguration.
  3. On the Output File tab, specify the Output directory, file name, and enable the Raw Binary File for Partial Reconfiguration (.rbf) file type.
  4. To add the input .pmsf file to convert, click the Input Files tab, click Add Bitstream, and specify the .pmsf that you generated in the Assembler.
    Figure 19. Adding Bitstream File
  5. On the Input Files tab, select the bitstream .pmsf file and click Properties. Specify any of the following options for the .rbf:
    • Enable compression—generates compressed PR bitstream files to reduce file size.
    • Enable encryption—generates encrypted independent bitstreams for base image and PR image. You can encrypt the PR image even if your base image has no encryption. The PR image can have a separate encryption key file (.ekp). You can also specify other Security settings.
    • If you turn on Enable encryption, you must also acknowledge the Design Security Feature Disclaimer by checking the box.
      Figure 20.  Design Security Feature Disclaimer
  6. Click OK.
  7. In Programming File Generator, click Generate. The PR bitstream files generate according to your specifications.

Generating PR Bitstreams with Convert Programming Files Dialog Box

Follow these steps to generate the .rbf with the Convert Programming Files dialog box:

  1. Click File > Convert Programming Files. The Convert Programming Files dialog box appears.
  2. Specify the output file name and Programming file type as Raw Binary File for Partial Reconfiguration (.rbf).
  3. To add the input .pmsf file to convert, click Add File.
  4. Select the newly added .pmsf file, and click Properties.
  5. Enable or disable any of the following options and click OK:
    • Compression—enables compression on PR bitstream.
    • Enhanced compression—enables enhanced compression on PR bitstream.
    • Generate encrypted bitstream—generates encrypted independent bitstreams for base image and PR image. You can encrypt the PR image even if your base image has no encryption. The PR image can have a separate encryption key file (.ekp). If you enable Generate encrypted bitstream, enable or disable the Enable volatile security key, Use encryption lock file, and Generate key programming file options.
  6. Click Generate. The PR bitstream files generate according to your specifications.
Figure 21. PMSF File Properties Bitstream Encryption