Cyclone II Configuration

Configuration Scheme Overview

Cyclone^® II devices support the following configuration schemes:

• Serial - To Conserve Pins
  • Active Serial (AS)
    • Uses the Cyclone II device to control the configuration process and get the configuration data from a serial configuration (EPCS) device (PDF) .
  • Passive Serial (PS)
    • Uses an external intelligent host such as a PC, an enhanced configuration (EPC) device (PDF) , or a microprocessor to control the configuration process synchronously and supply the configuration data serially to a Cyclone II device.
  • JTAG
    • Configures Cyclone II devices via the IEEE Standard 1149.1 interface. 

How to Configure Cyclone II Devices

• For prototyping or debugging
  • Using Altera Programming Cables
    • The Quartus^® II programmer supports configuring Cyclone II devices directly using PS or JTAG interfaces via Altera^® programming cables.
• In the field
  • Using an EPCS Device (PDF) 
    • The Cyclone II device gets its configuration data from an EPCS device automatically after power up. However, you need to program the EPCS device first.
  • Using an EPC Device (PDF)
    • The EPC device configures the Cyclone II device automatically after power up. However, you need to program the EPC device first.
  • MAX Series Configuration Controller Using Flash Memory (PDF)
    • A MAX^® or MAX II device is used as a flash memory configuration controller to configure Altera FPGAs.
    • Source code (ZIP)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which of the Altera devices support CONFIG_IO instruction?
2. What solutions does Altera offer for soft-error/SEU mitigation?
3. What is a serial configuration (EPCS) device?
4. Can you cascade serial configuration devices?
5. What input file should be used to program an EPCS?
6. How many times can I program and erase the serial configuration devices (EPCS1 and EPCS4)?
7. What is CONFIG_IO?
8. Do I need to make any change to the Raw Binary File (.rbf) when I use JRunner to configure Cyclone devices?
9. How can I create a compressed configuration bitstream to take advantage of my Cyclone FPGA's on-chip decompression feature?
10. The option "Auto-restart configuration after error" is available for AS mode according to the datasheet. However, if you search for this feature in Quartus II version 4.2 SP1 help, it says it only applies to PS mode. Which is correct?