Hello,
I possible should shut up already, but sometimes I just cant :) - ChipScope Pro is a *MUST* have thing ! ! !
I did take some time and prepared special webpage with ChipScope Pro screenshot explaing one situation where it would not been possible to achive the goal (100% working Serial ATA OOB detector with RocketIO) without the use of ChipScope Pro.
Xilinx, anyone who can explain why rocketIO sees a "pseudo-random pattern" (as in the screenshot on the webpage above) I would like to hear it, but so long I see no other options as to look itself (with ChipScope).
There can be many different situations where "things happen" inside FPGA, things that you just need to visualize.
Quating Mike Teseler: "use devices from vendors that supply full timing specs.." - that is not always possible. Not only timing specs can be wrong, also the actual behaviour can be completly unexpected. Also when using first silicon dies of an packaged ASIC macrocell from the vendor who has not tested that silicon run itself, then there can be no proper timing specs at all.
Antti