VME in CMS

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1 Introduction
2 VME64x in CMS
3 VMEBridges
    3.1 CAEN
        3.1.1 Technical Info
        3.1.2 Status
        3.1.3 Software
        3.1.4 Firmware
        3.1.5 Measurements
    3.2 SBS

3.1.4 Firmware

Here is the firmware currently used in CMS for the CAEN VME bridges. Note that the firmware for the VME Module are the same for the V1718 and the V2718.

In case you have a system which still runs the CONET 1 protocol on the fiber, be sure that you follow the steps in the CAEN Application Note for CONET 1 to CONET 2 migration.

A mini utility in order to read out the firmware versions from your optical bridge module can be downloaded here: caen-miniutils.tgz. Look into the code and change it to fit your needs. Also contained is a mini program using the HAL, in order to read out the display of the VMEController via the a3818. This is useful for debugging. The tgz file contain sources, a compile scritp and executables compiled on an SLC6 XDAQ12 machine.

Optical Bridge V2718

General Remark:
In the CMS production system in point 5 we use only the a3818 boards running CONET 2 to our VME bridges in the VME crate. It is important that you use the latest firmware versions listed on this page, since they contain important fixes of bugs which various of our collaborators have found in previous versions of the firmware.

  • VME Board
    V2718_Conet2_rev2.14_1.5.zip : This archieve contains the firmware for the main VME board and the optical add-on board a2719. It is the firmware in the a2719 which handles the CONET protocol. Here are the Release Notes of these two firmware files contained in the archive.
  • PCI(e) card
    • a2818pcb_rev0.8.rbf is the firmware for the PCI card of the optical link. This is an old firmware which runs the CONET 1 protocol. In CMS this firmware was largely in use during Run1. We did not upgrade to CONET 2 since we had no problem with CONET 1 in our system.
    • a2818pcb_Rev1.0.rbf is the latest firmware for the PCI card of the optical link running the CONET 2 protocol running the CONET 2 protocol only.
    • a3818int_rev_0.5.bin is the firmware for the new PCIe card (a3818) with 4 optical links (Used in CMS from LS1 onwards). This firmware only runs the CONET 2 protocol! Here you can download the Release Notes for this firmware. Be sure to have read the manual of the a3818 before upgrading the firmware. There are four different "pages" for four different firmware versions on the board. The switches on the top of the board define which firmware is loaded at power-up.

USB Bridge V1718

The firmware for the USB version of the VME adapter card is the same as the one for the optical version V2718 (see release notes and documentation of CAEN).

Important notes

A new version of the firmware is not necessarily compatible with an old version of the software.

When you upgrade the firmware of your board(s) be sure to do the upgrade with the software (= driver + library) which you have currently installed. If the firmware upgrade requires a software upgrade the software upgrade MUST BE done AFTER the firmware upgrade.

The firmware upgrade utility you can find in the installation directory of the cms online executives:
/opt/xdaq/bin/CAENVMEUpgrade

Modules with old Controller-firmware

If your module is equiped with a very old firmware (for example rev. 05 for the V1718vub firmware) and in addition for some reason your standard firmware has been corrupted during a firmware update, you could encounter problems to recover, due to a firmware bug. The following recipe allows you to recover the standard firmware of the module:

  • install a software on your computer which is compatible with the backup-firmware version of your controller. (Versions 1.1 and 1.2 should do)
  • Power the module up while having the jumper on the 'backup' position.
  • While the module is powered change the jumper to the 'standard' position.
  • Now do your firmware upgrade of the standard version.
  • Power cycle the module and verify that the new standard firmware is working correctly. If this is the case you might also want to upgrade the backup firmware of your module.
last changed: 2014-12-05 comments to: Christoph Schwick