commonATCA package

The common ATCA driver is an API that intermediates ATCACommon EPICS module and CPSW. It abstracts common ATCA registers and provides get and set functions to control them using CPSW. It also makes transparent all the peculiarities of CPSW.

Introduction

The common ATCA package is responsible for the following:

• Connect to CPSW package and establish communication with the registers of the firmware common structure and are
  • DaqMux 0 and 1 configurations : Sends waveforms to software for visualization. Waveform source is configurable.
  • JESD Top (AMC) 0 and 1 : protocol communicating with ADC/DACs on the AMC cards
  • Waveform engine: An intermediate component between DaqMux (oscilloscope) and the software
  • bitstream build information
  • Temperature information
  • timing cross bar
• Provide API class, once instantiated using static function, the user is permitted to control the registers and create and read streams

Package file structure

The files in the package are as follows

• atcaCommon.h: Contains definition of a base class IATCACommonFw class. 
• atcaCommon.cc: Contains the implementation of new class CATCACommonFwAdapt that implements class IATCACommonFw. This class uses CPSW to establish communication with the DaqMuxes, waveform engines, ADC interfaces (JESD), and firmware information, and provides API functions to write/read to/from the registers.
• crossbarControlYaml.hh: Defines class CrossbarControlYaml. This class uses CPSW to establish communication with the crossbar in hardware. It provides API functions to read and write to crossbar configurations.
• crossbarControlYaml.cc: implements CrossbarControlYaml class

Operation

The common ATCA package uses the common platform software package (establishes connections with hardware based on protocols and addresses described in YAML files). The API assumes that the CPSW YAML files were already read and parsed successfully. The API requires a path the denote where all the registers will reside. 

The YAMLs necessary for the correct operation of the common ATCA API are shown as follows

• AppTop.yaml
• AxiSysMonUltraScale.yaml
• AppCore.yaml
• AmcCarrierBsi.yaml
• DaqMuxV2.yaml
• AppTopJesd.yaml
• AmcCarrierCore.yaml
• AxiVersion.yaml
• JesdRx.yaml
• AmcCarrierBsa.yaml
• BsaWaveformEngine.yaml
• AxiStreamDmaRingWrite.yaml
• 000TopLevel.yaml

Some of these YAMLs call one another, so the YAMLs that actually contain the registers are just some of them. The paths that are required for the registers are as follows

• AmcCarrierCore/AxiVersion

• AmcCarrierCore/AxiSysMonUltraScale

• AmcCarrierCore/AmcCarrierBsi

• AppTop/AppTopJesd(0/[0])

• AppTop/AppTopJesd(1/[1])

• AppTop/DaqMuxV2[0]

• AppTop/DaqMuxV2[1]

• AmcCarrierCore/AmcCarrierBsa/BsaWaveformEngine[0]/WaveformEngineBuffers

• AmcCarrierCore/AmcCarrierBsa/BsaWaveformEngine[1]/WaveformEngineBuffers

All the registers and streams that will be accessed are in the previously mentioned paths. A summary of the used registers are as follows:

atca Common API class (atcaCommon.cc/hh)

This class is responsible for DaqMux 0 and 1 configurations, JESD Top (AMC) 0 and 1, Waveform engine, Build information, and temperature information. 

API Instantiation (necessary for module developer)

The static function if the parent class ATCACommonFw allows the instantiation of API class. It seems to return an instantiation of the child class as follows:

ATCACommonFw IATCACommonFw::create(Path p)
{
    return IEntryAdapt::check_interface<ATCACommonFwAdapt, DevImpl>(p);
}

The code to instantiate the API is as follows

atcaCommon = IATCACommonFw::create(p_atcaCommon);

Stream instantiation (necessary for module developer)

The stream can be created using the createStream method in the API. Streams can be instantiated separately by calling the CPSW stream creation function directly as follows

    try {
        _stream[0] = IStream::create(p_root->findByName(stream0));
    } 
    catch (InvalidArgError &e) {
        // Don't print error if the stream name is empty, as the user didn't
        // want to create this channel anyway.
    }
    catch (CPSWError &e) {
        fprintf(stderr, "CPSW Error: %s, file: %s, line: %d\n", e.getInfo().c_str(), __FILE__, __LINE__);
    }

YAML string mapping

CrossbarControlYaml API class (crossbarControlYaml.ccc/hh)

This class is responsible for configuring the timing cross bar. The timing cross bar is nothing more than four multiplexers configuring four outputs. The four outputs and the four inputs are as follows:

• 0: NC TPG timing
• 1: Mini TPG
• 2: Back plane
• 3: SC TPG timing

The UML diagram is shown as follows.

The functions available are simply to instantiate a crossbar, and to configure and read current configuration. 

Exception handling

The package does not throw any exceptions. Nonetheless, CPSW throws CPSWError errors and the package propagates these exceptions. In these contexts the package prints to stderr. Upper layers should catch exceptions of type CPSWError.

ATCACommon EPICS module

The ATCACommon module integrates the common ATCA API with EPICS, and therefore allowing the control of the different components in EPICS.

Introduction

The ATCACommon module is responsible for the following:

• Provides EPICS asynDrivers and IOC shell commands to Instantiates the commonATCA package structures and use them to communication with the registers of the firmware common structure
  • Provides an ASYN driver with PVs to communicate to all ATCA Common registers, namely: DaqMux 0 and 1 registers, JESD Top (AMC) 0 and 1 registers, Waveform engine registers, firmware build information registers, temperature  registers
  • Provides an ASYN driver with PVs to manage streams and talk straight to CPSW skipping the API
  • Provide IOC shell commands, Asyn driver and PVs to configure timing cross bar

Module file structure

The files in the package are as follows

• ATCACommon.h: Contains the ASYN driver class definition
• ATCACommon.cc: Contains the method definitions of ATCACommon asyn driver that instantiates PVs to read status and control registers of DaqMux 0 and 1, JESD Top (AMC) 0 and 1, Waveform engine, firmware build information and ADC temperatures
• crossbarControl.hh: Defines two classes: CrossbarControlAsynDriver and CrossbarControlDriver
• crossbarControl.cpp: contains the methods of both classes and the ICO shell command to instantiate the asyn driver
• debugStream.h: contains the DebugStreamAsynDriver class definition and several APIs to allow upper layer software to register callbacks with stream data reception
• debugStream.cpp: contains the meothods of DebugStreamAsynDriver class, and the stream related API function instantiations
• atcaCommon.db: database file containing general information PVs
• daqMux.db: database file containing daqMux general control and status PVs
• daqMuxChn.db: database file containing daqMux channel specific control and status PVs
• jesdCount.db: database file containing Jesd PVs 
• ATCACommon.substitutions: Instantiation of upper mentioned db files once or several times with different macro values
• crossbarAlarn.db: database file containing crossbar alarm
• crossbarControl.db: database file containing crossbar input select PV
• crossbarCtrl.substitutions: instantiation of crossbarAlarm and crossbarControl database files once or several times

Operation

TBD

CrossbarControlDriver and CrossbarControlAsynDriver classes (crossbarControl.h/cpp)

The CrossbarControlDriver instantiates the commonATCA API classCrossbarControlYaml. It also provides 2 methods: report and control . It is not clear why this class was not implemented in the commonATCA API or even if it is necessary at all. The CrossbarControlAsynDriver class on the other hand inherits from AsynDriver, and calls the CrossbarControlDriver with the proper parameters.