5.1 Release Notes - Installation Instructions

Installation Instructions

Installing the Nios II version 5.1 Development Tools on Windows

To install version 5.1 of the Nios^® II development tools, you must first install the Quartus^® II software version 5.1. You must have administrative privileges to install the Nios II development tools. See the Quartus II Installation & Licensing Guide for Quartus II system requirements and installation procedures.

If you have previous versions of the Nios II development tools installed on your system, Altera recommends that you uninstall the previous version(s) before installing version 5.1.  If you need to retain a previous version on your system, install the Nios II develop tools v5.1 to a different location.

To install the Nios II software on a Windows computer using the Nios II v5.1 CD-ROM, perform the following steps:

1. Insert the Compact Disk into your CD-ROM drive. The Nios II setup program appears automatically.  If the Nios II setup program does not start automatically, browse to the CD-ROM drive in the Windows Explorer, and run the program launcher.exe. at the top level of the CD.
2. Click Install Nios II. The Nios II installer starts and guides you through the installation process.

Installing the Nios II version 5.1 Development Tools on Linux

To install version 5.1 of the Nios II development tools, you must first install the Quartus II software version 5.1. You must have administrative privileges to install the Nios II development tools. See the Quartus II Installation & Licensing Guide for Quartus II system requirements and installation procedures.

To install the Nios II development tools on a Linux workstation using the Nios II v5.1 tar file, type the following commands at a command shell:

tar -xf nios2_5.1_linux.tar
cd nios2_5.1_linux
./install

To install the Nios II development tools on a Linux workstation using the Nios II v5.1 CD-ROM:

1. Insert the Compact Disk into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Type the following commands at a command shell:

cd /mnt/cdrom
./install

If the computer has problems reading the CD-ROM, you might have to mount the CD-ROM manually. Type the following at a command shell:

mount /mnt/cdrom

When installing the Nios development tools on Linux, ensure that the shell has the DISPLAY environment variable pointing to a valid X server. Otherwise, the installer generates the following error:

Updating SOPC Builder components... Exception in thread "main" java.lang.InternalError: Can't connect to X11 window server using ':0.0' as the value of the DISPLAY variable.
at sun.awt.X11GraphicsEnvironment.initDisplay(Native Method)
at sun.awt.X11GraphicsEnvironment.<clinit>(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Class.forName0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.forName(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Font.initializeFont(Unknown Source)
at java.awt.Font.<init>(Unknown Source)
at sopc_wizard.sopc_ui.<clinit>(sopc_ui.java:31)

USB-Blaster on Linux

To use the USB-Blaster^TM on Linux systems you need to set up the permissions by adding the following lines to /etc/hotplug/usb.usermap.

You need to do this before plugging in your USB-Blaster.

#
# Altera USB-Blaster
#
usbblaster 0x03 0x09fb 0x6001 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
usbblaster 0x03 0x09fb 0x6002 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0

Then add the following script as /etc/hotplug/usb/usbblaster

#!/bin/sh
# USB-Blaster hotplug script.
# Allow any user to access the cable
chmod 666 $DEVICE

This will set up your USB-Blaster permissions so that any user can access it. Be sure to set permissions with 'chmod +x /etc/hotplug/usb/usbblaster' to make the script executable.

Using Previously Installed Versions of Nios II

SOPC Builder and the Nios II IDE refer to the most recently installed version of  the components (such as the Nios II processor and peripherals) and their software drivers. To revert back to a prior version of the Nios II development tools, you can reinstall the previous version or modify the following environment variables.

• SOPC_BUILDER_PATH -  Ensure that SOPC_BUILDER_PATH points to the installation directory of the desired Nios II version and no other Nios II versions.
• SOPC_KIT_NIOS2 - Ensure SOPC_KIT_NIOS2 points to the installation directory of the desired Nios II version and no other Nios II versions.
  
  If you have multiple versions of the Quartus II software installed, launch the supported version of Quartus II to ensure that the QUARTUS_ROOTDIR environment variable is updated.

Licensing

You can create, compile and generate time-limited FPGA programming files for Nios II hardware systems without obtaining a license file. You must obtain a license for the Nios II processor core and the Quartus II software to generate non-time-limited FPGA programming files and flash programming files for new Nios II hardware systems. See the getting started material included with the Nios II Development Kit. You do not need a license if you will only develop software using the Nios II Integrated Development Environment (IDE).