Remote Power Reset - Make the Most of Your Embedded System Test Environment
In the development of embedded systems remote power reset is an often time the actual target hardware is unavailable or too expensive for a continuous development, evil boards to employees. An example of this would be the PowerPC 405 or 440 families of maps produced by AMCC. A typical day involves developer coding, compiling, loading the target table, run tests, view logs, and repeat the cycle. It’s incredible, but what if the development team is bigger and there is no budget for each developer has his own advice? The answers are here in this article.
Start with a remote power reset powerful server and installed on the Windows server (at the time of writing, were used Server 2003). Purchase and install a Terminal Server license for an appropriate amount of users on the team. This is the easy part, now on specialized equipment.
Typically, these panels should be evil two connection methods: serial boot load configuration and an Ethernet interface for most everything else. How is this possible, a single server, which typically has only one serial port and an Ethernet port? The solution is simple, but complex. To solve the problem of network connection, purchase a USB Ethernet adapter. This is connected directly to a USB port and voila, two NICs, not to mention that to buy a remote power reset server with two network cards. Now, buy a switch or router configuration between a private LAN cards evil on the host machine (Windows Server). The number of ports the switch depends on the number of cards evil is in this environment.
And then buy a serial port (RS-232) of expansion which corresponds to the number of tables used. If you use both ports (for example, a startup configuration and one for output control of the test), then double the number of ports of the valve. There are several options here. The method used was to install an internal card, but you can choose an external solution.
Finally, the most complicated step. Evil boards remote power reset must be able to reset (power cycle) remotely. Once again, there is more than one way to skin a cat, so choose the method that suits you best. We went to buy a path to exit the card and cables of any government, so you can make the on / off and reset. Even the power strips connected network that you get the IP address of your browser and each outlet can be recycled. This approach may be easier to install and maintain, but do your research and make an informed decision.
It all sounds like a lot of shopping, but we will break the cost savings at the end to convince skeptics. Now that we bought everything, start to connect together. First connect the serial cable, one by one and create a Hyper Terminal session for each that you (select the appropriate COM port … it may require some experimentation to find the right). Keep these sessions remote power reset in a folder where all users can access. Probably the best location is C: / Documents and Settings / All Users / Desktop, then it will be shown on the desktop of each. We will use these later when the team log and the need to seek advice for testing. Connect a standard Ethernet port on the host machine to the external network and the second Ethernet (USB) to switch to launch the private LAN. Then, connect each board to the switch via Ethernet.
At this point, in order to attempt a portrait of the brevity of this article, I will leave the details of how to configure the PIBS boot loader configuration, no IP addresses and other configuration steps to advance ugly details.
So now the host remote power reset computer is connected to all evil boards through a private LAN switch directly to serial cables. The last steps are to set up users by including it in the working group of remote users and inform them of the process. Define a rule that users must “reclaim” a council for the test by logging hyper linked to the card terminal to use. If another user tries to open the hyper terminal session even (or rather, try to connect to the same COM port), you receive a message that is in use, letting the user know to choose the other table.
Finally we come to the analysis of cost savings. First, real estate, often at a premium and be able to return all equipment in a corner near the power grid and is very valuable.
Second, developers can use the card of 20% of days since most of the time is between the development and compilation of the code, then the proportion of the panels allows greater use and Commissions minus the total must be purchased.
Lying on some boards to take the laboratory intends developers are stuck in the terminals in the laboratory, but not so remote desktop approach. Who have direct access to their desks, there is no need to get up and go to the lab. Cards remote recovery capabilities will not even need to see the importance of records, may have an entirely different site, provided they can reach across the network.
From the perspective of configuration management, cannot say enough about the consolidation of all the work to a server that can be managed, rather than the desktop many developers uncontrolled, which makes maintenance of the environment operation much easier.
This is not where it ends, but it’s where we stop. In other articles, we will show how to build this environment with continuous integration tools like Hudson. The issue here is that it can be considered highly specialized and not easily found on the Internet, even to Google.
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