Re:pncconf - feature requests

5i25 is likely to be a bit of a special case, as the pin behaviour is different depending on the installed firmware (which is not PC-side downloadable like it is on the other cards)

Well actually the 5I25 firmware is PC side downloadable but not from
linux (yet) and currently requires a system power cycle to load the FPGA
with the (new) firmware in the EEPROM

Because loading new 5I25 firmware re-writes the EEPROM on the 5I25,
which has limited write cycle life, its not appropriate to reload it every EMC
startup like our other FPGA cards, but only when it needs to be changed

I understand the issues with loading the firmware on startup but it looks like there is driver level support for the 5i25 in 2.5 now. I assume that the driver does not try to load the firmware at this time. I will try it out tonight and see how far I get

In PnCConf, you would need to select the correct firmware that you have on your card instead of the firmware to upload. I don't think this would be a major issue and only need documentation. From what I have read, I think the pin behavior is the same as the other HostMot2 based cards after firmware load.

The main issue I see in getting it to work with PnCConf is the different number of pins per port. Is it possible to have the missing pins there as virtual dummy pins with reserved functions? That way the UI could stay the same while allowing the lower pin count.

ZincBoy wrote:

I understand the issues with loading the firmware on startup but it looks like there is driver level support for the 5i25 in 2.5 now. I assume that the driver does not try to load the firmware at this time. I will try it out tonight and see how far I get

I have one plugged in now, and it mainly works.

If the 5i25 has less pins per connector, we probably could have the extra comboboxes not visible.
Do the pins act like other mesa boards? GPIO that can be input, output, or open drain?
Will there be many different types of firmware for it?
Is there a way to machine-read the pins or firmware?
or machine read a firmware ID number? Then pncconf could have a file of the firmwares and check if the programed firmware is one of them.
Is there anything else special about the 5i25?
I'll look at the manual...

Chris M

read the manual...
seems pretty doable with some work.
a HAL pin with a firmware Id would be helpful I think.
Otherwise pncconf has to rely on the user picking the right firmware.
would be nice to have the firmware available with the other hostmot2 firmware too.
Hey Andy what HAL naming scheme does the 5i25 have

Chris M