Experience with Concurrent CPU

Murrough Landon - 1 March 2001

http://www.hep.ph.qmw.ac.uk/~landon/talks

QMW Configuration

• Concurrent Technologies VP PSE/P34: 850MHz, 256Mb (cost about $\pounds$2500 + VAT, delivery 6 weeks)
• Linux RedHat 6.2 plus installation workarounds and graphics fix (from Concurrent via Jürgen)

Software

• Both Hannappel and VMELinux.org drivers work...
• ...need reconfiguration and reboot to swap between them
• Both now incorporated into HDMC:
  http://www.hep.ph.qmw.ac.uk/$\sim$landon/l1soft/vme
• Hannappel allows memory mapped access, but bus errors are not reported
• VMELinux reports bus errors but doesnt implement memory mapped access. Only one process at a time :-(
• I think CERN use Hannappel driver on their VMICs?
• Concurrent intend to provide their own driver...
• ...at the moment they provide a patched version of the VMELinux driver to permit hardware byte swapping

To do...

• Test hardware byte swapping; network booting
• Order 3 more for UK