October 2008

Lattice Listens

Q: How can ORCAstra software help streamline my design process? How do I get started?  

A: ORCAstra is a PC-based graphical user interface that is now integrated into the ispLEVER 7.1 design tool with Service Pack 1. ORCAstra can be used to enable configurations for the LatticeSC/M and LatticeECP2/M FPGA families. 

ORCAstra allows you to easily configure the operational mode of an FPGA by programming control bits in the on-chip registers without having to re-compile or make changes to your board. You can set or reset control bits in the FPGA registers, read  FPGA registers, save and re-use configurations, and create macros to cycle through multiple configurations automatically. This allows you to quickly perform design validations that maximize signal quality and performance. ORCAstra also allows you to display system status information in real time. 

ORCAstra Design Software GUI

To use ORCAstra:

• Make sure ispLEVER 7.1 SP1 software is installed on you computer. 
• Connect the ispDOWNLOAD USB cable from the USB port of your computer to the JTAG pins of the FPGA. 
• Next you will need to add an ORCAstra HDL (Verilog/VHDL) interface to your FPGA design. Interfaces are available in IPexpress for supported devices.
  To access those interfaces:
  1. Invoke IPexpress, and select ORCAstra under Module/Architecture_Modules/IO.
  2. Enter the appropriate information and follow the steps to generate the interface.
  3. You will need to have an HDL module that contains and calls the ORCAstra interface HDL. There is a template file created by IPexpress, <project_name>.readme, that can be used to create the necessary HDL file. One port of the interface attaches to the JTAG port of the device; the other port attaches to the internal bus of the device. For the LatticeSC/M families, the internal bus is the hard-wired system bus; for all other device families, the internal bus is the soft SCI bus. 
• After adding the module to the project, synthesize the design using the Synplify tool, then generate the bitstream and download it to the FPGA. 
• You are now ready to run ORCAstra. ORCAstra can be invoked from within the ispLEVER 7.1 SP1 Project Navigator by selecting Tools->ORCAstra, by selecting the ORCAstra icon from the tool bar, or by invoking ORCAstra from the command line. 

To Learn More

For further information about ORCAstra features and usage, select "Help" from the Help menu within ORCAstra.