Hi Jason, This is regarding the FTDI part. I am using RHEL 5.8. We could not identify the right device/port in /dev/ directory. Do we need to install any drivers?
I tried using the Linux driver they have here: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm However, I am not able to install this driver. I was wondering if this is the right driver and has anyone successfully installed it. In either case, could someone throw more light on how to identify the usb device/serial port associated with this FTDI part on ROACH2 using RHEL? Thanks, Nimish On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 8:11 AM, Nimish Sane <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Jason, > > Thank you so much for this information. I will report here if there > are any issues. Though we have not used KATCP previously, we are > familiarizing ourselves to it and plan to use it in future. This is > inline with the scheme you have described. I will try this out now. > > Thanks, > > Nimish > > On Dec 5, 2012, at 1:36 AM, Jason Manley <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> From our understanding usbboot is still not working and we have to use > mmcboot using SD cards. Is that correct? In either case, where can I find > the instructions and required files? > > > > Yeah, I don't actually think USB's ever going to work right as long as > we stick with this PPC part... it's got issues with USB! Maybe we must look > more closely at alternatives for ROACH3. > > > > But ROACH2 can now boot "soloboot" (boots off an onboard FLASH memory) > and still offer a fully functional tcpborphserver3 interface > out-of-the-box. This way, you don't have to fiddle with NFS booting, or > preparing SD cards and worrying about filesystem corruption if you don't > shutdown properly (soloboot filesystem mounts read only). You can now also > upload your boffile from your control computer through KATCP, so no more > rsyncing to get your bof files up there. > > > > Some notes: > > * You can get a command prompt by plugging a USB cable (type A-B) in > the back and, courtesy of an FTDI part, you should get four serial ports. > One of 'em (2 or 3, IIRC) will get you to the PPC. If you're using KATCP, > you should never need to see a ROACH Linux prompt again. > > * An SSH server is not installed on soloboot. You can get a command > prompt on the network via telnet, but you have to enable the telnet server > (see /etc/rc.local). > > * DHCP is enabled by default, but you can assign a static IP address > using the example in /etc/rc.local if you want. > > > > If you want all the Linux bells and whistles, you can still stick an SD > card in there. You can use the same filesystem as your ROACH-1, but you'll > have to modify it yourself to use a ROACH-2 compatible tcpborphserver. My > suggestion would be to try'n use the soloboot option first (ie as it ships > from digicom). > > > >> I guess I am pretty much confused on how to get started with ROACH2 > boards after sifting through the CASPER wiki, so I would appreciate any > help on how to get started with ROACH2 boards. > > > > You'll be one of the first CASPER users, so I'll be keen to hear how you > get on. If you're familiar with ROACH-1 and are using the KATCP interface, > I think you'll find it reasonably familiar and can probably just start > using it. All your existing KATCP commands should be compatible. If you've > been using your own Linux code on the PPC, then I'm afraid you're mostly on > your own or at the mercy of the rest of the collaboration. While we've left > support for alternative boot options in place on ROACH-2 (which is probably > what you want to do if you want your own Linux filesystem/commands), SKA-SA > will not be providing or supporting additional filesystems moving forward > (mmcboot, usbboot etc). We're moving towards a model using something like > soloboot where ROACH boards start looking like dumb appliances which makes > maintenance much easier. KATCP is the only interface we can be sure will be > supported in future so I'd suggest you aim to use that in your new designs > if you can. > > > > Jason > -- Nimish Sane Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights Newark, NJ 07102-1982 USA Tel: (973) 642 4958 Fax: (973) 596 3617 [email protected]
