Node Identification

The SynqNet Node identification data is stored in addressable memory locations in the node hardware. Nodes typically contain an FPGA to manage the SynqNet network interface and I/O. Nodes may also have other processors. For example, a SynqNet multi-drive may have an FPGA, a serial EEPROM, a DSP for each drive, and associated dynamic/flash memory.

The application and controller software need adequate identification information to properly initialize, configure, and communicate with a node. The Node ID information is split into hardware and FPGA ID information. All node hardware and FPGA ID information must be pre-programmed at the manufacturer.

Hardware Identification Data

Data Type	Description	Size	EEPROM Address	Node Address	Assigned By
Product	Identifies the node type for a particular Manufacturer	16 bits	0x00	0x000C0400	Vendor
Manufacturer	Identifies the node vendor	16 bits	0x01	0x000C0404	MEI
Unique ID LSW	Unique Identifier (possibly derived from serial number)	16 bits	0x02	0x000C0408	Vendor
Unique ID MSW	Unique Identifier (possibly derived from serial number)	16 bits	0x03	0x000C040C	Vendor
Boot Device	FPGA type of Boot Image (must be zero if no boot image)	16 bits	0x04	0x000C0410	Vendor
Boot Vendor	FPGA supplier of Boot Image (must be zero if no boot image)	16 bits	0x05	0x000C0414	Vendor
Option LSW	Identifies a variant of a particular Product (must be zero if not defined)	16 bits	0x06	0x000C0418	Vendor
Option MSW	Identifies a variant of a particular Product (must be zero if not defined)	16 bits	0x07	0x000C041C	Vendor
Version	Defines the revision for the node identification data format.	16 bits	0x08	0x000C0420	MEI
Reserved	Reserved for MEI (must be zero if not defined)	16 bits	0x06-0x0F	0x000C0424 to 0x000C047C	MEI
Reserved	Reserved for User (must be zero if not defined)	16 bits	0x10-0x1F	0x000C05C0 to 0x000C05FC	User

The Manufacturer, Product, and Option fields identify the hardware to the SynqNet controller software. From this set of values, the software can determine the hardware features, configuration, and initialization parameters to operate the node on a SynqNet network.

The Unique ID, provides a mechanism for applications to track a particular node. Application code can use the Unique ID to distinguish between identical node types to correct improper addressing. Application code can also use the Manufacturer, Product, Option and Unique ID fields to uniquely identify ANY node. This makes it possible to maintain a database about a node's operation history within one or multiple machines.

The Version defines the version for the node identification data format. Its purpose is to give the software a mechanism to determine changes in the data format. This field is split into two 8 bit fields. The upper 8 bits represent the major revision and the lower 8 bits represent the minor revision.

FPGA Identification Data

Data Type

Description

Size

Address

Assigned By

Vendor / Device

Code which identifies the FPGA supplier and device type

32 bits

0x00010000

Lower–Device
Upper–Vendor

MEI

Version

FPGA Version Number and MAC Version Number

32 bits

0x00010004

Lower–FPGA
Upper–MAC

MEI

Vendor-Specific Node Information

For application purposes, a node's vendor-specific model number and serial number can be read via the MPI library from the addresses:

Data Type	Description	Size	EEPROM Address	Node Address	Assigned By
Model Number	Name of Model - converted to a string by software. One byte per character, null terminated.	32 bytes	0x20 to 0x2F	0x000C0480 to 0x000C04BC	Vendor
Serial Number	Model Tracking Number - converted to a string by software. One byte per character, null terminated.	32 bytes	0x30 to 0x3F	0x000C04C0 to 0x000C04FC	Vendor

If the node vendor has additional information or requires a different format for the vendor specific information, then the MEI software can support a custom format for the particular node type.

Previous | Next