Actel SmartDesign MSS Running the MSS Configurator User Guide

SmartDesign MSS
Running the MSS
Configurator in Your
Software Tool Chain

Introduction

The SmartDesign MSS Configurator can be invoked independently of the Libero tool chain. This can be useful if you’re responsible for the embedded code development for the SmartFusion device and you are more comfortable in your existing Software tool chain.
Any FPGA fabric development will need to be done within the Libero® IDE tool suite. Using the MSS Configurator in standalone mode will only enable you to configure the SmartFusion Microcontroller Subsystem (MSS) and not the FPGA fabric.
In this document we will explain how to setup the SmartDesign MSS Configurator to run in your software tool chain. We will also explain how to hand off your design between different domain experts on your team.

Integrating SmartDesign MSS Configurator in your Software Tool Chain

SoftConsole
You must use SoftConsole v3.1.0.18 or newer for SmartFusion support.
To add the SmartDesign MSS Configurator as an external tool in SoftConsole:

1. From the Run menu, choose External Tools > Open External Tools Dialog

2. Double-click Program to add a new External Tool configuration

3. Name it SmartDesign MSS Configurator and set the location to the smartdesign.exe in your \Designer\bin folder.

4. Add arguments to set the default parameters and tool info as follows:
   “PROJECT_LOCATION:${project_loc}\hardware_platform”
   “DESIGN_NAME:${project_name}” – Your MSS component will be given this name, if you want another name you can modify this variable
   “STARTED_BY:SoftConsole”
   “FIRMWARE_WORK_DIR:${project_loc}\hardware_platform\firmware” – Firmware will be generated to this location; if you want it elsewhere you can modify this variable.
   The External Tools dialog looks like this after you have set it up:

5. Click the Refresh tab to set your refresh options. Actel recommends refreshing your resources upon completion, and refreshing the entire project (as shown in the figure below ). If you configure SoftConsole to refresh the entire workspace, your generated drivers appear automatically after you generate the MSS.

6. Click Apply to create the new program and add it to the list of available programs. Click Run to test the MSS Configurator.

Keil and IAR
The SmartDesign MSS Configurator can be integrated in any development IDE that supports external tools. Configure your IDE to start the SmartDesign MSS Configurator’s executable and use the parameters below to customize your interface.
“PROJECT_LOCATION:${project_loc}\hardware_platform”
“DESIGN_NAME:${project_name}”
“STARTED_BY:SoftConsole”
“FIRMWARE_WORK_DIR:${project_loc}\hardware_platform\firmware”

Arguments

Command Line
If your tool does not support adding any external tools, then you can invoke the SmartDesign MSS Configurator directly from the command line and pass these values as arguments, for example:
smartdesign.exe “PROJECT_LOCATION:C:/Project” “DESIGN_NAME:MyMSS”
“STARTED_BY:Keil” “FIRMWARE_WORK_DIR:C:/Project/firmware”

Programming your MSS Configuration

After generating the SmartDesign MSS Configurator, you will be able to program your MSS configuration onto the SmartFusion device. The SmartDesign MSS Configurator produces these files for programming:

• EFC: MSS configuration that is programmed into ENVM. Generated by MSS Configurator to

  \component\work\\MSS_ENVM_0\MSS_ENVM_0.efc

• UFC: eFROM configuration that is programmed into eFROM ( only exported if you’ve configured eFROM ). Generated by MSS Configurator EFROM to

  \component\work\\MSS_UFROM_0\MSS_UFROM_0.ufc

These files can be imported into FlashPro:

1. Open FlashPro and create a FlashPro project.
2. Click Create to create a new PDB. Select the Device and Package for your SmartFusion device (as shown in the figure below).
3. Specify your Embedded Flash memory and FlashROM content. Point to the EFC file for the EFM and the UFC file for the FlashROM (as shown in the figure below).
4. Save the PDB. You can now program your device.

Passing your MSS Configuration to the FPGA Engineer

If you want to extend your SmartFusion MSS with additional soft peripherals or custom logic in the fabric, then you must do that within the Libero IDE tool.
Your MSS configuration can be passed to an FPGA engineer to complete the fabric portion of the design.
The files that need to be handed off are located at: