Product category: Stand-Alone Instruments
News Release from: Tektronix | Subject: FPGAView
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 16 October 2006

Logic analysers debug
FPGAs in real time

The FPGAView software package for Tektronix TLA Series logic analysers enables real-time debugging of Xilinx FPGAs

Tektronix and First Silicon Solutions (FS2) have announced the FPGAView software package for Tektronix TLA Series logic analysers that enables real-time debugging of Xilinx FPGAs. Using the FPGAView software, design engineers can quickly and easily measure signals inside their Xilinx FPGA design and select which group of internal signals to probe without having to recompile their design.

'Our collaboration with Tektronix enables customers to increase productivity and reduce debugging time when designing with Xilinx FPGAs', said Rick Leatherman, Vice President and General Manager of FS2.

'By leveraging our debug intellectual property, probing technology and PC software expertise, we provide a tool for designers to quickly and easily measure signals without time-consuming synthesis, place, and route cycles'.

'This translates into real savings of both time and money'.

The FPGAView software package is installed onto a Tektronix logic analyser.

It includes a utility to automatically generate a block of logic that is configured in the FPGA - the logic analyser (LA) core.

The LA core handles the signal definitions and external connects mapped to the logic analyser pins.

The software allows for a large set of internal signals to be mapped to a small number of output pins via a user-configurable multiplexer.

With the Tektronix logic analyser connected to the FPGA pins and a standard JTAG port, FPGAView software controls which internal FPGA signals are mapped to the output pins, enabling real-time display and debug.

The software also eliminates the need to manually enter and map signal names into the logic analyser.

Designers will find the combination of FS2's FPGAView software, Xilinx logic analyser interface feature, and the Tektronix logic analyser, easier to use and less intrusive than other debug methodologies.

'With the ever increasing pressure to rapidly develop new products, designers are looking for easier, more productive means of debugging internal nodes of an FPGA', said David Bennett, Vice President, Logic analyser Product Line, Tektronix.

'Available for Tektronix logic analysers, this new debug solution from FS2 for Xilinx not only gives design teams the ability to view the internal operation of their FPGA design but also allows them to correlate these signals with other signals on their board'.

'As FPGA designs grow more complex and pressures to reduce design cycles increase, the ability to rapidly debug FPGAs becomes even more crucial, driving the demand for solutions such as FPGAView', said Mark Aaldering, Vice President of the Embedded Processing and IP Divisions at Xilinx.

'Designers can take advantage of the advanced capabilities within Tektronix logic analysers and the automated debugging process of FPGAView to quickly and easily complete their designs and meet their go-to-market goals'.

FPGAView software is available for all Tektronix TLA Series logic analysers, including the new TLA5000B Series which offers increased record lengths and enhanced usability.

It requires the Platform Cable USB programming cable from Xilinx and also Xilinx FPGA design tools.

This eliminates the need to manually enter signal names into the logic analyser.

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