June 19, 2003

Overview

Version 0.3.0 is a beta release of the Channelization API for DPL3 and LightParser Boards. Not all of the functionality is implemented in this release.

The "Channelization API Reference Manual", "DPL3 Hardware Reference Manual" and "LightParser Hardware Reference Manual" describe details of the currently supported and unsupported features in the API and hardware.

The following changes are introduced in this release:

• Major changes to support both DPL3 and LightParser boards.

• New utility to manage FPGA configurations.

• Changed EEROM data format.

• Component versions for this release.

Note: This release includes new FPGA configurations. Run the dpl_flashup (for DPL3) or dplp_flashup (for LightParser) program to update the FPGAs on the boards.

This release is intended for evaluation purposes and does not represent the intended final production release. Some aspects of the application program interface (API) are subject to change as the software development continues to meet design requirements and usability issues.

Major Changes to Support both DPL3 and LightParser Boards

Both the API and device device driver have undergone several changes to support both the DPL3 and LightParser boards. Dual support is provided at the source-code level and the software build is configured to enable support for one or the other board types at compile time.

The names of all the API functions have changed so as not to be specific to one type of board or the other.

The number of enhancements and bug fixes is too numerous to itemize. In effect, this release constitutes a completely new incarnation of the software.

New Utility to Manage FPGA Configurations

A new "flashup" utility is provided to manage the FPGA configurations stored in Prom and/or flash memory on the boards.

For DPL3 boards, the program is named dpl_flashup. For LightParser boards, the program is named dplp_flashup.

The program compares version information stored in the board's EEROM with the versions of FPGA configuration files currently installed from the software distribution. New configurations, if any, are loaded into the board to update the configurations in hardware.

Changed EEROM Data Format

The EEROM stores information about the board's serialization, population options, current FPGA configurations and other board-specific information requiring non-volatile storage.

The format of how some of this data is stored in the EEROM has changed. Older versions of the software will not be able to read the information from boards with the new format.

No LightParser boards have EEROM data in the old format. But some DPL3 boards may still have EEROM data in the old format. The dpl_eeconv program is provided to convert the EEROM data on these older boards to the new format.

Component Versions for This Release

The Channelization API software release includes several components of software and hardware FPGA configurations. All the components have the same major and minor version numbers. However the update version number of each component may vary depending on the number of changes and iterations each component has gone through between general distribution releases.

The components and their versions for DPL3 and LightParser Software Release 0.3.0 are:

Component:	Version:
API Library and Programs	0.3.0
Solaris Device Driver	0.3.0
Linux Device Driver	0.3.0
DPL3 Main FPGA Configuration (all variations)	0.3.0
DPL3 Expansion FPGA Configuration	0.3.0
LightParser Spartan Configuration	0.3.1
LightParser Virtex Configuration	0.3.0