Help with Initial Installation and Setup

madhav20

Hello

I have just started using the Kasli FPGA and am in the process of installation and setting it up. I am encountering a few issues and would appreciate it if you could help out. Apologize if the questions are too basic, since I am just a beginner😆. Before I ask questions, I'll briefly explain what I have done so far:

1) I am using Windows 10. I installed artiq using conda as explained in the manual. Since I installed the latest version of artiq using conda and the board was purchased back in November 2018, I decided to reflash the board to ensure that the gateware is compatible with the version of artiq software I am using. I installed the board support package using
" conda install artiq-board-* "

I then reflashed the board using "artiq_flash -V hw". The logs from the command line window can be found in the link [https://docs.google.com/document/d/167ilmqG8B9lwm32EWJhz_EGVnrncc-3luhapBV33gkk/edit?usp=sharing]
I can successfully restart the Kasli using the command "artiq_flash start"

I also checked the UART messages using a serial port connection on PuTTy.exe. The UART messages seen when I restart the Kasli can be found in the link: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AlivQc2mkF-sH0-tDytGditvqfyQGfEPelJ2eG-0278/edit?usp=sharing]. Please open it to see the UART messages. You would get a clearer picture of my current situation.

I have connected the Kasli to a Gigabit Ethernet Switch. Another ethernet cable runs from the switch to my PC, and another one from the switch to the ethernet port on the wall. The UART messages show that "IPv4=192.168.100.202". I can successfully ping this from the cmd window, as shown below:

`C:\Users\13925>ping 192.168.100.202

Pinging 192.168.100.202 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.100.202: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=63
Reply from 192.168.100.202: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=63
Reply from 192.168.100.202: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=63
Reply from 192.168.100.202: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=63

Ping statistics for 192.168.100.202:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Users\13925>ping 192.168.100.202`

This is what I have done so far. I wanted to ask you how to proceed from here onwards. I had the following questions:

1) Looking at the command line logs and UART messages, has my board been successfully reflashed correctly? Are the board and the artiq software I am using compatible now?

2)The UART messages say that there is no startup kernel found, and that there is no idle kernel found. What can I do about this? I tried compiling idle.py from the command line, but it is giving an error that "device_db.py" can't be found. What is the procedure to write the device database file?

3) The manual says I need to change the IP address using "artiq_coremgmt". Can you tell me what is supposed to be my new IP address? I don't what to change my IP address to.

Please advise what next steps need to be taken. My first goal is to successfully try out the led.py example given in the manual.

Thanks a lot for your help in advance.
Cheers,
Madhav Gupta

sb10q

madhav20 1) Looking at the command line logs and UART messages, has my board been successfully reflashed correctly? Are the board and the artiq software I am using compatible now?

Yes but the firmware may not be compatible with the EEM hardware you have. Why did you pick the hw variant?

2)The UART messages say that there is no startup kernel found, and that there is no idle kernel found. What can I do about this?

Nothing should be done unless you need these features.

I tried compiling idle.py from the command line, but it is giving an error that "device_db.py" can't be found. What is the procedure to write the device database file?

Depends on your variant and RTIO channel allocation.

3) The manual says I need to change the IP address using "artiq_coremgmt". Can you tell me what is supposed to be my new IP address? I don't what to change my IP address to.

Ask your network administrator.

madhav20

sb10q

Hello. Thanks for your earlier reply.

My current progress is that I have managed to run the led.py example. I am trying to run the next example rtio.py to see TTL pulse signals on the oscilloscope. The rtio.py program runs successfully on the anaconda command prompt, but haven't been able to see any signal on the oscilloscope so far.

1) You mentioned that the firmware may not be compatible with the EEM hardware (TTL) I have. How can I check if that is the reason why I can't see the TTL signal on the oscilloscope, or if it is some other error.

You had asked why I had picked the hw variant. I had installed the board support package using "conda install artiq-board-*" , and the kasli-hw variant got installed. I didn't choose the variant myself. The path address in my computer for this file is "C:\Users\13925\anaconda3\envs\artiq\Lib\site-packages\artiq\board-support\kasli-hw"

2) Since I managed to run led.py successfully without changing the IP address of the Kasli, I figured there is no compulsory need to change the IP address and I can continue working without changing the IP address. Please tell me if I am mistaken and if I need to change the IP address.

Please guide me on what steps I need to take to observe TTL pulses on the oscilloscope.

Thanks a lot

sb10q

madhav20 Please guide me on what steps I need to take to observe TTL pulses on the oscilloscope.

Flash (or build) a compatible variant (which hw probably is not - you want one that has a DIO board on the same EEM channel as you) and use the corresponding device database.
Or better: get a paid subscription for your system.