Altera Cyclone Programming device programming

The Altera Cyclone Programming device EPCS1 are shown
to be programmed in the AS mode requiring an own connector.
Since the JTAG was never officially declared outdated,
I'd expect a way to program the cyclone plus the EPCS1 in JTAG
mode. I wasn't able to find it yet though.

Rene
-- 
Ing.Buero R.Tschaggelar - http://www.ibrtses.com
& commercial newsgroups - http://www.talkto.net

The Cyclone device is programmable using only the proprietary mechanism.
It does not support 1149.1 or 1532 based programming.

Rene Tschaggelar wrote:

> The Altera Cyclone Programming device EPCS1 are shown
> to be programmed in the AS mode requiring an own connector.
> Since the JTAG was never officially declared outdated,
> I'd expect a way to program the cyclone plus the EPCS1 in JTAG
> mode. I wasn't able to find it yet though.
>
> Rene

Rene,
The Cyclone FPGA can be configured by JTAG 1149.1. This can be done
through the various download cables, or from a microprocessor. The
microprocessor can do this via Jam (also used for programming CPLDs)
or JRunner (a simpler FPGA-only tool). For more details, please
consult Chapter 13 of the Cyclone Handbook: Configuring Cyclone FPGAs.
http://www.altera.com/literature/hb/cyc/cyc_c51013.pdf

The EPCS Serial Configuration Devices are programmed through a serial
interface. While the device itself does not include JTAG, we have
developed a method of programming it by JTAG by routing the data
through the Cyclone device. In short:
1. The Cyclone FPGA is configured through JTAG. 
2. The EPCS programming data is sent from the PC to the JTAG port of
the Cyclone FPGA. This is done by Jam, so it can come from a PC, or
from a Jam player running on an embedded microprocessor.
3. The logic in the FPGA captures data from the JTAG port of the
Cyclone FPGA, reformats it to conform to the EPCS interface, and
drives it to the EPCS device.

This capability (as a reference design with documentation) is
available in beta form today, and will be included in a future version
of Quartus II software. To get access to the beta version, please
contact your FAE or Regional Support Center.

So, while the EPCS device is not directly connected to the JTAG chain,
the device can be programmed by a JTAG controller by passing the data
through the FPGA.

One final note - Altera also provides a tool called SRunner, which
enables you to program the EPCS device directly from an embedded
microprocessor. This is another solution to the question of how to
program the EPCS device.

Greg Steinke
gregs@altera.com

Neil Glenn Jacobson <neil.jacobson@xilinx.com> wrote in message news:<400702DB.5060104@xilinx.com>...
> The Cyclone device is programmable using only the proprietary mechanism.
> It does not support 1149.1 or 1532 based programming.
> 
> Rene Tschaggelar wrote:
> 
> > The Altera Cyclone Programming device EPCS1 are shown
> > to be programmed in the AS mode requiring an own connector.
> > Since the JTAG was never officially declared outdated,
> > I'd expect a way to program the cyclone plus the EPCS1 in JTAG
> > mode. I wasn't able to find it yet though.
> >
> > Rene

Rene Tschaggelar <none@none.none> wrote in message news:<5677e0dea670f1a44d48a9926c42d73c@news.teranews.com>...
> The Altera Cyclone Programming device EPCS1 are shown
> to be programmed in the AS mode requiring an own connector.
> Since the JTAG was never officially declared outdated,
> I'd expect a way to program the cyclone plus the EPCS1 in JTAG
> mode. I wasn't able to find it yet though.
> 
> Rene


Cyclone FPGAs are programmed using JTAG, or by Altera configuration
prom devices, or by serial interface from a microprocessor or download
cable.  The EPCS1 configuration prom device is programmed using AS
protocol, and does not support JTAG.

- Subroto Datta
Altera Corp.