Installing and Licensing IP Cores
The Altera IP Library provides many useful IP core functions for your production use without purchasing
an additional license. Some Altera MegaCore IP functions require that you purchase a separate license for
production use. However, the OpenCore
®
feature allows evaluation of any Altera IP core in simulation
and compilation in the Quartus II software. After you are satisfied with functionality and perfformance,
visit the Self Service Licensing Center to obtain a license number for any Altera product.
Figure 3-1: IP Core Installation Path
acds
quartus -
Contains the Quartus II software
ip -
Contains the Altera IP Library and third-party IP cores
altera -
Contains the Altera IP Library source code
<IP core name>
- Contains the IP core source files
Note: The default IP installation directory on Windows is
<drive>:\altera\
<version number>
; on Linux it is
<home directory>
/altera/
<version number>
.
Related Information
•
Altera Licensing Site
•
Altera Software Installation and Licensing Manual
Upgrading IP Cores
IP core variants generated with a previous version of the Quartus II software may require upgrading
before use in the current version of the Quartus II software. Click Project > Upgrade IP Components to
identify and upgrade outdated IP core variants.
Icons in the Upgrade IP Components dialog box indicate when IP upgrade is required, optional, or
unsupported for IP cores in your design. This dialog box may open automatically when you open a
project containing upgradeable IP variations. You must upgrade IP cores that require upgrade before you
can compile the IP variation in the current version of the Quartus II software.
The upgrade process preserves the original IP variation file in the project directory as
<my_variant>
_
BAK.qsys
for IP targeting Arria 10 and later devices, and as
<my_variant>
_BAK.v
,
.sv
, or
.vhd
for legacy IP
targeting 28nm devices and greater.
Note: Upgrading IP cores for Arria 10 and later devices may append a unique identifier to the original IP
core entity name(s), without similarly modifying the IP instance name. There is no requirement to
update these entity references in any supporting Quartus II file; such as the Quartus II Settings File
(
.qsf
), Synopsys Design Constraints File (
.sdc
), or SignalTap File (
.stp
), if these files contain instance
names. The Quartus II software reads only the instance name and ignores the entity name in paths
that specify both names. Use only instance names in assignments.
3-2
Installing and Licensing IP Cores
UG-01142
2015.05.04
Altera Corporation
Getting Started
Send Feedback