This document guides users through the process of migrating an existing embedded system that uses the Altera® Nios® II Classic embedded processor to the Nios II Gen2 processor. This document discusses all the necessary hardware and software changes to use the Nios II Gen2 processor, as well as optional changes that can be made to further enhance system performance and functionality.

The Nios II embedded processor family and development kits have been adopted by many engineering teams worldwide in part because of their ease of use both in development and implementation of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) designs. The Nios II processor represents the next revolutionary step in embedded design. Nios II Gen2 processor cores are a binary compatible update to the Nios II Classic processor architecture. These new cores offer several new features over the existing cores with minor effort to port over from a Nios II Classic project. Upgrading a system from the Nios II Classic processor requires minor system changes that are covered in this document. These steps include replacing the Nios II Classic processor with a Nios II Gen2 processor in Qsys manually or by using a script.