Aurora PCI-SB StarFabric User manual
PCI-SB StarFabric®
PCI Interface Card™
Installation Guide
Part Number: 15-30009-00, Rev. A
Manual Revision Date: June, 2002
Copyright © 2002, Aurora Technologies, Inc, A Carlo Gavazzi Group Company.
All Rights Reserved.
This publication is protected by Federal Copyright Law, with all rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied, photocopied, reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, translated, transmitted, or transcribed in any form
or by any means manual, electric, electronic, electro-magnetic, mechanical,
optical, or otherwise, in whole or in part without prior written consent from
Aurora Technologies, Inc.
Limitation of Liability
Aurora Technologies, Inc. makes NO WARRANTY, EXPRESSED or IMPLIED,
with respect to this manual, and any related items, its quality, performance,
merchantability, or fitness for any particular use. It is solely the purchaser’s re-
sponsibility to determine its suitability for any particular use. Information
contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
Trademark Credits
The following are trademarks of Aurora Technologies:
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface CardTM
XP-SG SeriesTM
All other registered trademarks and salesmarks are the proprietary property
of their respective owners.
FCC Class A Notice
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment gen-
erates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference
in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his
own expense.
Table of Contents i
Chapter 1. About This Guide
About This Guide....................................................................1-1
Audience..................................................................................1-2
Navigating This Document......................................................1-2
Documentation Conventions...................................................1-3
Regulatory Information...........................................................1-3
Related Documents..................................................................1-4
Comments & Suggestions .......................................................1-4
Chapter 2. About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
Introduction .............................................................................2-1
About the PCI-SB Card...........................................................2-2
Features & Benefits ............................................................2-2
Basic StarFabric Connectivity............................................2-4
Complex Large Scale StarFabric Connectivity ..................2-5
PCI-SB Card in Detail.............................................................2-6
PCI-SB Card Components..................................................2-7
CONTENTS
ii Table of Contents
Contents (continued)
Factory-Default Card Settings........................................... 2-9
Windows, Linux, and Solaris x86 Support........................ 2-10
5.0v Expansion Card Support............................................ 2-10
PCI-SB Card Operating Modes ......................................... 2-11
How StarFabric Technology Works........................................ 2-16
Networking StarFabric Devices......................................... 2-17
Address Routing and Path Routing.................................... 2-18
Sample Applications............................................................... 2-21
Legacy PCI Bridge Expansion........................................... 2-21
High Reliability and PCI Expansion.................................. 2-22
High Availability and Scalability Switching...................... 2-23
Chapter 3. Installing the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
Introduction ............................................................................ 3-1
Before You Begin... ................................................................ 3-2
Check the Shipping Contents............................................. 3-2
Discharge Static Electricity................................................ 3-3
Inspect the PCI-SB card..................................................... 3-4
Steps to Install the PCI-SB Card ............................................ 3-5
Configuring the Card for Root or Leaf Operation ............. 3-6
Shutting Down the Local and Remote Devices ................. 3-8
Installing the PCI-SB Card ................................................ 3-9
Connecting the Cables ....................................................... 3-12
Powering Up the Local and Remote Devices .................... 3-15
Installing Hardware Drivers ............................................... 3-16
Verifying Link Connectivity .............................................. 3-21
For Linux... ........................................................................ 3-21
For Solaris x86................................................................... 3-22
For Windows...................................................................... 3-23
Chapter 4. Troubleshooting
Introduction ............................................................................ 4-1
Determining Operating Status ................................................ 4-2
Troubleshooting the PCI-SB Card.......................................... 4-4
Troubleshooting Procedures .............................................. 4-4
Table of Contents iii
Contents (continued)
Chapter 5. Warranty & Maintenance Information
Warranty on Hardware & Software.........................................5-1
Standard Hardware Warranty Policy ..................................5-1
Standard Software Warranty Policy....................................5-1
Product Registration Form .....................................................5-2
Appendix A . Cable & Port Requirements
Introduction .............................................................................A-1
Cable & Port Pinouts...............................................................A-2
Cables .................................................................................A-2
RJ-45 Pin Layout................................................................A-3
Appendix B . Specifications
Introduction .............................................................................B-1
Hardware, Physical, & Environmental....................................B-2
Hardware ............................................................................B-2
Physical...............................................................................B-3
Environmental ....................................................................B-3
Appendix C . About the PVX Utility
Introduction .............................................................................C-1
About the PVX Utility.............................................................C-2
MS-DOS User Interface .....................................................C-2
Debug from a Command Line............................................C-2
Scan for StarFabric Devices ...............................................C-2
Fabric Primitives Library....................................................C-3
Using the PVX Utility.............................................................C-3
Running the PVX Utility....................................................C-3
Toggling Between User Modes ..........................................C-7
Using the Command Line Debugger..................................C-10
Scanning for StarFabric Devices.......................................C-14
Tiling and Cascading User Interface Windows..................C-17
Glossary ................................................................................................................................G-1
Index ......................................................................................................................................I-1
iv Table of Contents
Contents (continued)
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 1-1
CHAPTER 1 About This Guide
About This Guide
This guide describes Aurora Technologies’ PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface
Card (PCI-SB) for the purpose of installing and operating the card.
After reading this guide, you’ll understand:
•The basic components and controls of the PCI-SB card.
•How to set DIP switches to control the operational behavior of the PCI-SB card.
•How to install the PCI-SB card in a typical environment.
•How to perform troubleshooting procedures for the PCI-SB card.
About This Guide
1-2 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
Audience
This document is intended for system integrators, system engineers, network engi-
neers, or anyone responsible for installing and operating a PCI-SB card.
Navigating This Document
Table 1 shows you where to look for specific information on this product in this
guide.
TABLE 1. How to Navigate This Document
If you want to learn about: Read This Chapter...
The purpose or audience for this guide Chapter 1, “About This Guide.”
Introductory information on the PCI-SB
card Chapter 2, “About the PCI-SB StarFab-
ric® PCI Interface Card.”
Installing the PCI-SB card in your net-
work Chapter 3, “Installing the PCI-SB Star-
Fabric® PCI Interface Card.”
Troubleshooting information Chapter 4, “Troubleshooting.”
Warranty information on this product Chapter 5, “Warranty & Maintenance
Information.”
Terminology used in this book Glossary, “Terms and Definitions.”
Cable and pinout information Appendix A, “Cable & Port Require-
ments.”
Hardware specifications Appendix B, “Specifications.”
The PVX Utility Appendix C, “About the PVX Utility.”
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 1-3
Documentation Conventions
Documentation Conventions
Table 2 describes the symbolic conventions used in this guide.
Regulatory Information
The PCI-SB card meets the following regulatory requirements:
•FCC Class A
•EN55022
•EN55024
TABLE 2. Conventions
Symbol Description
screen display Graphic text that appears on screens, menus and
dialog boxes appears in sans serif font.
User input User input values appear in boldface. These are
characters or commands you type literally.
emphasis Italics are used in the text for emphasis, titles, and
variables.
This caution symbol marks notes about possible
damage to computer equipment or data if a proce-
dure or process isn’t followed according to instruc-
tions.
This warning symbol marks notes about possible
harm to yourself unless you follow special instruc-
tions.
This symbol marks special text passages that con-
tain additional information such as notes you
should know about or tips you should consider
when installing, operating, or maintaining this
product.
About This Guide
1-4 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
Related Documents
Refer to the following documents for more information about StarFabric technol-
ogy or using the Aurora Technologies PCI-SB card in your environment.
•PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card QuickStart™ Guide
•PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Data Sheet
at www.auroratech.com.
•PCI 1.1 and 2.2 Bridge Specification(s)
at www.pcisig.org.
•StarGen StarFabric Protocol Reference Manual
•StarGen StarFabric Programmer’s Manual
at www.stargen.com.
Comments & Suggestions
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 2-1
CHAPTER 2 About the PCI-SB
StarFabric®PCI
Interface Card
Introduction
This chapter describes the components, features, and functionality of the PCI-SB
card, including:
•Basic components and functions of the PCI-SB card.
•Features and benefits of the PCI-SB card.
•Basic concepts of StarFabric Technology.
•Sample applications for the PCI-SB card.
About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
2-2 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
About the PCI-SB Card
The PCI-SB card (see Figure 1) interconnects legacy PCI hardware with StarFab-
ric-enabled devices to design highly-scalable and reliable, next-generation PCI
expansion topologies based on StarFabric® technology.
FIGURE 1. PCI-SB PCI Interface Card
The PCI-SB card installs into any standard PCI slot on a PCI 2.2 compliant mother-
board to provide up to 220 expansion slots in a legacy PCI address routing applica-
tion or Gateway path routing application.
Features & Benefits
The PCI-SB card provides the following features and benefits:
Scalability & Performance
•Dual 2.5 Gbps full-duplex StarFabric serial links with four RJ-45 connectors
•Supports 33/66 MHz PCI buses
•Supports up to 220 PCI expansion slots over a switch fabric
•Automatically detects 32-bit and 64-bit PCI slots
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 2-3
About the PCI-SB Card
High Availability
•Link-by-link Cyclic Redundancy Checking
•Fault detection and isolation
Easy Support & Maintenance
•Standard CAT5 shielded cabling
•Standard RJ-45 interface jacks
About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
2-4 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
Basic StarFabric Connectivity
The PCI-SB card provides the bridge functionality that enables your primary PCI
bus to seamlessly, transparently and simply expand into a StarFabric network, as
shown in Figure 2.
.
FIGURE 2. Using the PCI-SB Card to Add Two StarFabric-enabled
Expansion Devices
This enables a host device with a PCI-SB card installed to connect to many differ-
ent types of StarFabric-enabled devices such as Aurora’s XP-SG Series PCI bus
chassis or other StarFabric-enabled, application-specific devices such as card read-
ers, cash registers, or item scanners.
All components on the remote StarFabric-enabled chassis appear as part of the pri-
mary bus when viewed from the host side of your PCI topology.
Remote StarFabric-enabled expansion units may require clocking and bus arbitra-
tion from an external source.
PCI-SB card
Five Meters Distance
Remote StarFabric Device
Remote StarFabric Device
Primary PCI Bus
You can add up to two StarFabric-enabled
devices to your PCI topology from a single
PCI-SB card on the primary bus, without a
switch.
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 2-5
About the PCI-SB Card
Complex Large Scale StarFabric Connectivity
By deploying a switch fabric within your PCI topology you can implement a total
of 220 expansion slots from a single PCI-SB card configured as a Root bridge on
the primary bus, as shown in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3. Using a Switch Fabric to Add StarFabric-enabled Devices
StarFabric switching also enables more sophisticated expansion topologies such as
path routing with increased classes of service, redundant links, and automatic
failover.
PCI-SB card
The StarFabric supports up to 220
expansion slots from a single PCI-
SB card at the primary bus
Switch Fabric
Primary PCI Bus Remote StarFabric
Device
About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
2-6 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
PCI-SB Card in Detail
The PCI-SB card is a PCI 2.2 short form factor card. It easily installs into any 32-
bit or 64-bit PCI expansion slot on a PCI 2.2 compliant motherboard (see Figure 4).
FIGURE 4. PCI-SB Card in Detail
Status LEDs &
RJ-45 Ports
DIP Switches Status Light
Front View of RJ-45 Ports & Status LEDs
Bus Connectors
SG2010 Chip
150 mm
Tx Tx
8.2 mm Rx Rx
Link 1Link 0
75 mm
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 2-7
PCI-SB Card in Detail
PCI-SB Card Components
PCI-SB card components include:
•SG2010 PCI-to-StarFabric bridge chipset
•Two 2.5 Gbps StarFabric serial links with four RJ-45 jacks
•DIP switches to set operation and test modes
•Status LEDs to indicate port status
•Status Light to indicate card power-up
SG2010 Chipset
The StarGen SG2010 chipset functions at the core of the PCI-SB card to provide
the bridge functionality and capability to convert PCI bus traffic into serial frame
format StarFabric signals for transmission across the switch fabric or directly to
remote StarFabric-enabled bridges.
Dual StarFabric Serial Links
Two pairs of RJ-45 connectors provide the interface for the dual 2.5 Gbps StarFab-
ric serial links. You can aggregate the dual RJ-45 ports for full 5.0 Gbps speed
using path routing for higher bandwidth. Or, you can provide redundant links
between StarFabric-enabled devices to increase reliability. Path routing requires
custom software development using the Fabric Primitives Library included on the
CD-ROM shipped with your PCI-SB card.
Refer to “Networking StarFabric Devices” on page 2-17 for more details on inter-
connecting StarFabric-enabled devices.
DIP Switches
DIP switches control the card’s operational modes. You use these switches to set
the PCI-SB card for Root or Leaf operation as a bridge. See “PCI-SB Card Operat-
ing Modes” on page 2-11 for details on Root and Leaf modes.
Eight LEDs
Two rows of Green LEDs (four lights per row) show the operational status of the
PCI-SB card’s ports based on the four pairs of Low Voltage Digital Signalling
(LVDS) wires in each link. Each LED represents one LVDS pair on each link.
About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
2-8 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
Table 3 shows the operational states for the PCI-SB card’s LEDs.
Status Indicator Light
A Status Indicator light alerts you if the card malfunctions at power-up. When the
PCI-SB card powers up, the status light should turn on briefly before shutting off. If
the light remains on, there is a problem with the card.
Cabling
Standard CAT5 shielded cables support distances up to five meters (about 15 feet)
for room scale topologies and eliminate the need for expensive proprietary cables.
TABLE 3. LEDs Operational States
If LED is: This means...
On (Green) LVDS pair is synchronized with traffic enabled
Flashing LVDS pair is synchronized but traffic is disabled
Off LVDS pair is not synchronized and traffic is disabled
PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide 2-9
PCI-SB Card in Detail
Factory-Default Card Settings
The PCI-SB card is factory-ready to operate as a Root bridge in an address-routed
legacy PCI application, or as a Root bridge in a path routed application.
This means the PCI-SB card is set to provide a bridge interface from the physical or
primary PCI bus in your topology to remote secondary StarFabric-enabled devices,
such as a PICMG expansion chassis or an XP-SG Series expansion chassis, as
shown in Figure 5.
FIGURE 5. Factory Default Operating Mode for the PCI-SB Card
You can connect up to two StarFabric-enabled remote devices from a single Root
bridge. The remote devices should be configured as Leaf bridges. Three or more
remote devices require a StarFabric-enabled switch in the topology and custom
software development using the Fabric Primitives Library (FPL).
You can also configure the PCI-SB as a gateway by disabling the bridge functional-
ity and developing custom software. For more details on gateway functionality,
refer to StarGen user manuals at www.StarGen.com.
See “PCI-SB Card Operating Modes” on page 2-11 for more details on the PCI-SB
card’s operating modes.
PCI-SB card
Five Meters Distance
Primary PCI Bus Remote StarFabric
Device
About the PCI-SB StarFabric® PCI Interface Card
2-10 PCI-SB StarFabric PCI Interface Card Installation Guide
For details on address routing traffic in legacy PCI bridge topologies or path rout-
ing, refer to “Networking StarFabric Devices” on page 2-17.
Windows, Linux, and Solaris x86 Support
The PCI-SB card is currently supported on Microsoft® Windows 98® and 2000®,
Linux®, and Solaris® operating systems.
5.0v Expansion Card Support
The PCI-SB card supports only 5.0v or universal expansion cards in the chassis of
StarFabric-enabled devices. Universal cards run at 5.0v in StarFabric-enabled
devices.
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