This chapter gives an overview of the steps necessary for a default installation of Dolphins eXpressWare for VxWorks using the VxWorks Windows Installer (MSI).
Please consult the detailed installation guide for more details, Chapter 4, Initial Installation.
For a typical interconnect topology consisting of some Cluster Nodes, a network administrator can have the machines fully functional in a matter of minutes: 1) power off the machines 2) plug in the adapters 3) plug in the cables 4) power on the PCI Express switch 5) power on the machines and finally 6) install and configure the eXpressWare software.
Installation requirements: The eXpressWare installation requires a 32 or 64 bit Windows system with the required VxWorks target BSPs pre-installed. The installation requires around 5 Megabytes of free storage space.
For details, see Chapter 3, Requirements and Planning for general platform requirements of the Dolphin PCI Express software stack and , Chapter 4, Initial Installation, Section 1, “Installation Overview” for specific requirements for this installation procedure.
Adapter installation: Install the Dolphin PCI Express cable adapters in the Cluster Nodes.
Please note that the TRANSP DIP switch on the PXH810 and PXH830 board needs to be set to OFF to run the Dolphin Software. Please consult the PXH810, PXH820 or PXH830 Adapter users guide available from http://www.dolphinics.com/support/installation-px.html
Cable connection: It is recommended to plug the PCI Express cables before powering up the system and installing the software.
Start software installation: Launch the MSI package.
Please carefully read the licensing terms and install the software only if you accept. Navigate to the pre-installed BSP and install all Dolphin eXpressWare inside the BSP directory.
Building the target kernel: Select the appropriate Dolphin Express components (CDF) and build your new target kernel using WindRiver Workbench. Install the new eXpressWare enabled kernels on all target systems.
Interconnect configuration: After the new kernels has been installed, you need to configure each Cluster Node. Each system must be assigned an unique NodeId. This is done in the script loading the kernel modules.
Verify the installation: After booting the eXpressWare enabled VxWorks kernel on all systems, please run dis_diag on all nodes to verify the installation and connectivity
Please carefully perform the installation test. If you enable your application to use PCI Express without completing this step, you may be required to stop or restart your application to overcome possible installation issues at a later stage. All tests should pass before using the PCI Express cluster for production purposes. At this point, you can safely execute your tests without affecting the system.
Reboot the system: It is recommended to reboot the system to verify the automatic restart of the drivers and to ensure optimal memory allocation for the PCI Express drivers.
Run you application: At this point you can start your SISCI application and it will be able to use PCI Express communication.
The eXpressWare installation comes with several example, demo and benchmark programs that can be executed to determine the actual PCI Express PIO, DMA and Interrupt performance.