Attempting to connect the EXOSTIV Probe can sometimes be unsuccessful – and this is reported in the EXOSTIV Dashboard log window.
Here are examples of such messages:
-‘Error : Link quality test failed with 3556718 errors (Error : 0x80030105).’
-‘Error : Slow user clock. Error : Message id : 0x80020701’
-‘Failed to align probe’s upstream link (Error: 0x80020603)’.
-‘Error : Received errors :
Error : Error detected in the protocol decoder or in the Rx buff
Error : Upstream status for link 0:
Error : Data packet received while the receiver buffer is not able to accept data.’

The following list of items should be checked when your EXOSTIV Probe connection attempt is unsuccessful:
– Did you install the USB driver? (Windows only): Exostiv Dashboard for Windows requires a USB driver to be installed: click here for the installation instructions.

– Is there (the right) EXOSTIV IP in your design?: you might have programmed your FPGA with the wrong configuration, that does not contain the generated EXOSTIV IP or not the EXOSTIV IP instance that corresponds to the opened project.

– Was the FPGA implemented successfully?: please check if the FPGA was implemented without timing – or other – errors, whether they are related to EXOSTIV or not. If you used netlist insertion, the EXOSTIV-related constraints are applied automatically and you just need to check the implementation reports. If you used RTL insertion, you need to make sure that you properly applied the constraints provided when you generated the IP.

– Did you properly specified the transceivers parameters?: 90% of the time, EXOSTIV cannot connect because the wrong pins were specified for the transceivers or a wrong transceiver clock frequency. Please double check that you properly specified the transceivers bank and pins, the transceivers clock pins and the transceivers’ clock frequency. If you are using a programmable clock oscillator on the board, please make sure that it is properly programmed at the chosen frequency before attempting to connect EXOSTIV. Please remember to specify the exact clock frequency – 156.25 MHz is not 156 MHz!. Please disable spread spectrum on the transceiver’s clock.

– Check the cable: if the Probe connects and disconnect – and if a link quality error is reported: check if you are using the right cable first. EXOSTIV Probe is delivered with a high quality HDMI cable and you should check the SFP/SFP+ cables specifications to make sure you are using cables with sufficient bandwidth. Please make sure that your cable was not damaged, and if you suspect it is the case, please try with another one.

If everything above is right, then perhaps there is a board design issue. You can try to troubleshoot it by first using a slower clock / data rate for the transceivers and then gradually increase it. If you can’t find the source of the connection problem after this all, submit a support ticket here.