Server Utility

The Server Utility allows MPI and MPX applications running on remote computers to control local motion controller cards by connecting via a TCP/IP connection.

Arguments

-?	Help.
-control #	Controller number (default = 0).
-server #	Not applicable. Only used by client applications.
-port #	TCP/IP port on the host computer (default = 3300).
-trace #	Bit mask to specify trace information outputs.
-listen #	Listen for connections on the specified TCP/IP port.
-inetd #	Call by inet daemon out of inetd.conf.
-purge #	Delay time (milliseconds) to wait for a keyboard press.
-noConsole #	Read input from stdin instead of keyboard

Optional Arguments for Simulation Server

The Simulation Server utility is a add-on feature to server.exe that allows client applications to run without controller hardware. Simulation Server is only available with MPI 04.00.03 and above. For more information about obtaining Simulation Server or MPI 04.00.03, contact a sales representative at 1-540-633-3400 or orders@kollmorgen.com.

-simulate	Runs simulation.
-simulationFile #	Specifies file for controller simulation.
-simulationOption #	Specifies firmware option for simulation. Note: only use this option if you are not using a .sim file generated by VM3.
-simulationVersion	Displays the simulation build version.
-simulateNetwork #	Create a simulated SynqNet network based on specified file, default objects allocated based on network.
-simulateMotor #	Specifies the file which defines simulated motor response, e.g. inertia for motors etc.

Usage

At the command line, type one of the following options:
ex: C:\mei\XMP\bin\>server -control 1

server [-control #] [-listen # (3300)]

Where

-control n	Specifies that controller n in the machine is to be used. NOTE: Controller 0 is the first controller in a machine.
-listen portId	Listens for connections on TCP/IP port *portId*.

Examples

C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -control 1
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -listen 3000
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -control 1 -listen 3000

For Simulation

C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -simulate
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -simulateNetwork SimNetwork.txt
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.00.03\Win32\>server -simulateMotor SimMotor.txt

Running Multiple Servers

Multiple servers can be run by specifing different port numbers. See the example below:

C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.04.00\Win32\>server -port 3300
C:Program Files\MEI\MDK\04.04.00\Win64\>server -port 3301

Client/Server Limitations

Connection limitation

Server.exe launches two threads for each client connection. Each thread requires 2 MB of memory. For the eXMP-Series controller with 128 MB RAM, server.exe allows for 8 client connections. If server.exe cannot launch a thread, it will display a "Fatal Error" and cause the client to fail with a "Connection Closed" error. The other connections will continue to operate until server.exe is exited.

Limitation on using multiple client threads
(Affects MPI versions 04.00.xx & 04.01.xx. Fixed in MPI 04.02.00 release.)

The Server architecture is not compatible with multiple client-side threads. All client-side threads share the same server connection to the same server thread. The result is that locks are not honored on the server since it is the same server thread acquiring and releasing locks. This has been fixed in MPI 04.02.xx.

Troubleshooting

If the server.exe fails, it will display error messages. When using headless controllers (ex: eXMP-SynqNet), pipe the server.exe output to a file, which will allow you to retrieve the error messages at a later time.

For additional help, refer to Using SynqNet over Client-Server.