Pleora Technologies iPort User manual

iPORT™
Quick Start Guide
Pleora Technologies Inc.
359 Terry Fox Drive
Suite 230
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
K2K 2E7
www.pleora.com

High-performance imaging data and video over Ethernet

Ver 2.2
The products are not intended for use in life support appliances, devices, or systems where
malfunction of these products can reasonably be expected to result in personal injury.
Pleora Technologies Inc. (Pleora) customers using or selling these products for use in such
applications do so at their own risk and agree to indemnify Pleora for any damages
resulting from such improper use or sale.
© 2006 Pleora Technologies Inc. All information provided in this manual is believed to be
accurate and reliable. No responsibility is assumed by Pleora for its use. Pleora reserves
the right to make changes to this information without notice. Redistribution of this manual
in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited without obtaining prior permission from
Pleora.

Contents
Getting Started
About your iPORT Development Kit ................ 5
Setting up your iPORT IP Engine..................... 9
Installation
Installing your software................................... 15
Cabling your camera to your PC.................... 17
Installing drivers.............................................. 25
Acquiring Images
Connecting to your iPORT IP Engine............. 37
Connecting to your camera ............................ 43
Developing Software
Controlling other machines with the PLC ..... 57
Using the SDK.................................................. 75
Technical support............................................ 77

Getting Started

5
About your iPORT
Development Kit
Thank you for buying an iPORT Development Kit!
This Quick Start Guide explains how to set up your iPORT
IP Engine and acquire your first images. It gives you a
solid understanding of the introductory concepts, but also
lets you set up your system right away, if you prefer. It is
intended as a supplement to the documentation included
on your iPORT Software CD.
NOTE! Want to set up your system right away? See
“Setting up your iPORT IP Engine” on page 9.
The workflow diagram above shows how the Quick Start
Guide is structured and suggests how you might use the
iPORT IP Engine for the first time.
As you become familiar with the basics of the iPORT
Development Kit, you can begin developing your own
programs that harness the remarkable power of the iPORT
IP Engine.

6 About your iPORT Development Kit
What your iPORT IP Engine offers
With the iPORT IP Engine, you get:
• Fully customizable operation at off-the-shelf cost;
• High-performance in a compact, energy-efficient
package;
• Extremely low CPU usage in the PC, even at the full
1 Gb/s transfer rate;
• A low-complexity, scalable, networkable system;
• The ability to locate your image processor great
distances from your camera;
• A full-featured SDK with sample applications for
creating your own programs quickly and easily;
• Versatile controls for triggering and reacting to
external machines with hard realtime latencies, even
using non-realtime operating systems;
• The proven reliability of Pleora’s GigE connectivity.
What’s included
Pleora offers a wide range of iPORT IP Engines to meet a
variety of needs. Thus, your iPORT IP Engine may differ
from the one pictured.

7
A standard iPORT Development Kit includes:
• 1 iPORT IP Engine;
• 1 iPORT IP Engine power supply;
• 1 iPORT Software CD that contains the software
development kit (SDK), drivers, software, and
complete documentation (including this guide);
• Connectivity for copper or fiber optic cables (see
below).
Copper connectivity includes:
• 1 Cat5 cable;
• 1 Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Network Card (RJ-45).
Fiber-optic connectivity includes:
• 1 fiber-optic cable;
• 1 Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Network Card (fiber-optic);
• 2 SFP transceivers.

8 About your iPORT Development Kit

9
Setting up your iPORT IP
Engine
Pleora’s family of iPORT IP Engines let you connect your
camera to your PC with a variety of physical configura-
tions and drivers to best suit your needs. For best perfor-
mance, follow the procedure described in “Recommended
setup”, below. This procedure gets you configured
quickly, with a minimal amount of reading.
If you wish to know all your options first, see “Generic
setup” on page 10.
Recommended setup
For the best performance, we recommend that you install
your Intel PRO/1000 network interface card (NIC) in your
PC as a second NIC. The Intel PRO/1000 NIC provides a
dedicated connection to your iPORT IP Engine. This con-
figuration gives you the highest bandwidth and lowest

10 Setting up your iPORT IP Engine
CPU usage while still offering corporate network connec-
tivity through your existing NIC.
The Intel PRO/1000 NIC will use the iPORT High-
Performance IP Device Driver.
To install the iPORT IP Engine in the
recommended configuration:
1. Install software. See “Installing your software” on
page 15.
2. Install your Intel PRO/1000 card as a second NIC in
your PC. Don’t install any drivers yet. Connect your
iPORT IP Engine in the recommended configuration.
See “Cabling your network” on page 22.
3. Install the iPORT High-Performance IP Device
Driver. See “Installing the iPORT High-Performance
IP Device Driver” on page 30.
4. Connect to your iPORT IP Engine with the Coyote
image capture application. See “Connecting to your
iPORT IP Engine” on page 39.
5. Connect to your camera. In this stage, you’ll detect
your camera, connect to it, configure the camera, and
begin acquiring images. See “Connecting to your
camera” on page 43.
Generic setup
If you’d like to understand all your options before
configuring your system, follow the instructions below. In
this procedure, you’ll learn about the performance impli-
cations of selecting various physical configurations and
device drivers.
This procedure still lets you follow the recommended
setup, but gives you more information about your options
before you choose.
To install the iPORT IP Engine:
1. Install software. See “Installing your software” on
page 15.
2. Connect your iPORT IP Engine in the configuration
of your choice. For directions and options, see
“Cabling your camera to your PC” on page 17.

11
3. Choose and install the driver(s). For directions and
options, see “Installing drivers” on page 25.
4. Connect to your iPORT IP Engine with the Coyote
image capture application. See “Connecting to your
iPORT IP Engine” on page 37.
5. Connect to your camera. In this stage, you’ll detect
your camera, connect to it, configure the camera, and
begin acquiring images. See “Connecting to your
camera” on page 43.

12 Setting up your iPORT IP Engine

Installation

15
Installing your software
To interface with your camera, your PC requires iPORT
software and DirectX 9.0 software.
iPORT software
Your iPORT Software CD contains the software
development kit, Coyote image capture application,
drivers, a driver installation tool, sample source code, and
all the related documentation (including this guide).
To install your iPORT software:
• Insert your iPORT Software CD in your PC’s CD
drive and follow the installation software’s instruc-
tions.
Your iPORT software is now installed. Proceed to
“DirectX 9.0 software”, below.
NOTE! To learn about the documentation, get software
upgrades, and more, see “Technical support” on
page 77.

16 Installing your software
DirectX 9.0 software
For best image display performance, your system must
support DirectX 9.0 or better.
To confirm your system uses and supports
DirectX 9.0:
1. From the Windows Start menu, select Start > Run.
The Run dialog appears.
2. Type dxdiag and click OK.
The DirectX Diagnostic Tool appears.
3. Let the tool complete its diagnosis.
4. In the System Information pane, confirm the
DirectX Version is DirectX 9.0 or higher. (This step
confirms you have the DirectX software.)
5. Select the Display tab.
6. In the Drivers pane, confirm the DDI Version is 9.0
or higher. (This step confirms your video card actually
supports DirectX 9.0.)
If your system doesn’t use DirectX 9.0 or better, install
DirectX 9.0. If your video card doesn’t support DirectX
9.0, your CPU usage may be considerably higher than
expected; consider upgrading your video card.