Re-Configuring the FPGA with Another Applet

LightBridge 2 ACL offers 8 partitions for applets. Each partition may contain one applet. On partition 0, the SAFE configuration is stored.

You can configure the FPGA with any of the applets that are available on partitions 1 to 7 of LightBridge 2 ACL without re-flashing the board.

Which Applets are Available?

To see which applets are flashed onto LightBridge 2 ACL:

  1. Start the tool microDiagnostics (e.g., directly out of the installation directory [runtime installation directory]/bin/microDiagnostics.exe).

In the microDiagnostics program window that opens:

  1. Select the LightBridge 2 ACL device you want to configure.
  2. Click the button Manage Firmware/Applet(s).

In the lower part of the program window, the applet(s) currently flashed on LightBridge 2 ACL are listed:

List of applets available on LightBridge 2 ACL

Applet not Available?

 

If the applet you want to use for configuring the FPGA is not available on partitions 1 - 7, you need to flash this applet onto LightBridge 2 ACL. Refer to Flashing.

   

The applets are marked as follows:

Symbol

Meaning

This is the currently active applet, i.e., the applet the frame grabber is configured with at the moment.
The frame grabber will be configured with this applet at system start (boot partition). 1
This applet is available in the file system (in the same version). No newer version available in the file system.
This applet is not available in the file system (or in another version than the one that is flashed on the frame grabber).
This is the Safe Configuration. It's a fall back option. In case a problem occurs with the active configuration (i.e., during flashing) , the frame grabber uses this configuration. The Safe Configuration is always stored on partition 0.

 

If you want to configure the FPGA on LightBridge 2 ACL with another applet than the one market with (the currently active applet), proceed as follows: 

  1. Right-click into the line listing the applet you want to use for FPGA configuration.
  2. From the context menu, select Activate Now.

Crash Protection Feature

 

If you encounter problems during FPGA configuration, refer to Crash Protection.

   

 

Possible Effects of Activating a Partition

 

Activating a partition (i.e., reconfiguring the FPGA with another applet) on LightBridge 2 ACL board will result in the following system behavior if the Siso Generic Service (gs) is used to manage camera connections: 

  • The Siso Generic Service (gs) is re-started for all frame grabber boards in the host PC that use the service. Depending on the number of boards installed in the host, this may take some time.
  • The camera connections on all frame grabbers connected to the host PC are reset. The cameras need to be re-discovered.
  • During restart of the Siso Generic Service (gs) , all GUI applications (microDisplay/microDisplay X, microDiagnostics, GenICam Explorer) will appear as "Not Responding".

   

If your host PC supports live reconfiguration2 of the FPGA (see chipset lists below), you get one of the following messages (A, B or C):

A) Please restart all applications using the board.

You need to restart the applications: 

  1. Close all applications of the Silicon Software runtime environment (microDisplay/microDisplay X, microDiagnostics, GenICam Explorer).

After re-opening the runtime programs, the programs will provide access to the applet you just defined to be the active one. You can continue with configuring the applet via microDisplay X (see Basic Steps) or via SDK.

PCs supporting Live Reconfiguration, Behavior A

 

High-end mainboards with server level chipset support this behavior. The following chipsets are known to support FPGA live configuration without reboot in some mainboards:

  • Intel® X58 Express
  • Intel® X79 Express
  • Intel® Z87 (Z99)

We do not guarantee behaviour A with the aforementioned chipsets.

   

B) You should reboot your computer for the changes to be completed.

Reboot your host PC for PCI performance:After selecting the new applet to be the active one, the PCI speed is reduced3. To get the full PCI bandwidth4when using this applet, you need to reboot your host PC.

  1. Reboot your host PC to get the full PCI bandwidth.

After re-boot, you get the full bandwidth on the PCI interface. The runtime programs will provide access to the applet. You can continue with configuring this applet via microDisplay X (see Basic Steps) or via SDK.

PCs supporting Live Reconfiguration, Behavior B

 

High-end mainboards with server level chipset support this behavior. The following chipsets are known to support FPGA live configuration without reboot in some mainboards:

  • Intel® X58 Express
  • Intel® X79 Express
  • Intel® Z87 (Z99)

We do not guarantee behaviour B with the aforementioned chipsets.

   

C) You must reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Reboot host PC:

To configure the applet on the active partition, you need to reboot your host PC.

  1. Reboot your host PC.

After re-boot, the runtime programs will provide access to the applet on the active partition. You can continue with configuring this applet via microDisplay X (see Basic Steps) or via SDK.

 

PCs Requiring Reboot, Behavior C

 

The following chipsets are known to require a reboot after FPGA configuration:

  • Intel® C220
  • Intel® H87
   

Setting the Boot Partition

The boot partition contains the applet that is used for frame grabber configuration at system start. To select which partition is used as boot partition, proceed as follows:

  1. Open microDiagnostics.
  2. Klick the Manage Firmware/Applet(s) button or from menu Tools, select menu item Manage Applets.
  3. Right-click into the line listing the applet you want to use for FPGA configuration.
  4. From the context menu, select Set as Boot Partition.