ibaFOB-D version history
This info is applicable to ibaFOB-4i-D, ibaFOB-2io-D, ibaFOB-2i-D, ibaFOB-io-D, ibaFOB-4i-Dexp, ibaFOB-2io-Dexp, ibaFOB-2i-Dexp, ibaFOB-io-Dexp, ibaFOB-io-ExpressCard (all hardware versions)
- Note1: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D3 or older, a PC reboot is needed after the update.
- Note2: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D8 or older, Windows could report a bluescreen immediately after the firmware update (see bugfix in D9 below). Note however that the firmware update itself will be successful.
- Siemens S5 floating point conversion bugfix for negative numbers which are an exact power of 2
- Note1: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D3 or older, a PC reboot is needed after the update.
- Note2: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D8 or older, Windows could report a bluescreen immediately after the firmware update (see bugfix in D9 below). Note however that the firmware update itself will be successful.
- Graceful transition into low power mode D3. This avoids detection of a PCIe Correctable Error on certain PC systems (and associated blue screens or system lockups). The issue only occurred on ibaFOB-Dexp board version A2 when transitioning into PCI power management mode D3 (like at the end of a firmware update or system restart/shutdown)
- Microsecond Counter Register (used for synchronization with ibaNet-E links)
- Note1: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D3 or older, a PC reboot is needed after the update.
- Note2: HP Proliant and Dell Precision Rack Servers could report a bluescreen immediately after a firmware update with ibaPDA versions prior to 6.37.3. Note however that the firmware update itself will be successful.
- Bluescreen report on certain PC systems during heavy outgoing Flex traffic or running the card memory test. Fixed. Issue only occurred on PLX based boards. The issue does not occur on ibaFOB-Dexp board version A2 (or newer).
- Suppresion of invalid measurement images during Padu-M/Padu-ICP (5Mbit/s) link initialization
- Note1: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D3 or older, a PC reboot is needed after the update.
- Note2: HP Proliant and Dell Precision Rack Servers could report a bluescreen immediately after a firmware update with ibaPDA versions prior to 6.37.3. Note however that the firmware update itself will be successful.
- Bluescreen report or incorrect measurement data on certain PC systems when a FOB link was configured for an image size of 128*x+4 bytes. Fixed. Only occurred on an ibaFOB-Dexp board version A2.
- Flex network message counters added for debug
- Note: when updating boards with a PCI Express interface from release D3 or older, a PC reboot is needed after the update.
- Configurable element size (4K/2K/1K/512/256) for the RX DMA images, allowing for a longer buffer time with the same amount of memory. Supported by ibaPDA 6.36.4 (or higher)
- More robust decoding of Flex links with errors (avoidance of spikes in the measurement data)
- Support for the new PCB version A2 of the ibaFOB-Dexp boards
- Note: when updating such a new board with an ibaPDA version prior to 6.36 the PC has to be repowered after the update
- Even when using ibaPDA 6.36 a reboot might be needed after loading firmware D5 on such a new board (only when the board became inaccessible after the update)
- Optimized use of available buffer space for Flex network traffic (reduces the number of dropped packets)
- Better DMA arbitration between the links
- Reduced use of FPGA resources
- All boards only support 1 Flex timing class on a link
- The TX Alarm Message is replaced by the TX Default Message
- The RX Default Message is automatically a message filled with zeroes
- The asynchronous Timer Interrupt feature was removed
- Workaround for incorrect PLX handling on some PC platforms blocking the DMA (only required for boards with PCIe interface)
- Note: only the PLX EEPROM is changed, FPGA remains the same. PC reboot needed after the update.
- Support for ibaClock time synchronization on every link
- Support for Multi Station on every link
- Digital output channels (32 Mbit/s modes) can be written per dword (OEM customer request)
- Configuration preset 0xF added for 3.3 Mbit/s OEM applications
- ibaFOB-D boards with a PCI Express interface (ibaFOB-Dexp) are reported as such in the Windows Device Manager (ibaPDA v6.31 or higher). Windows might report that "new hardware" has been found on the next reboot after the update.
- Reduced jitter for 2 Mbit/s, 3.3 Mbit/s and 5.0 Mbit/s output telegrams
- Flex sampling delay adjustment feature (allows perfect alignment of Flex links with different settings)
- Interrupt delay adjustment feature (allows perfect sample alignment of non-FOB-D input sources)
- Interrupts can be cleared without changing the interrupt control bits. This feature is used by ibaPDA to fix a rare "No interrupt detected" error message.
- In rare cases the Flex TCP/IP channel could become blocked (workaround: reload FPGA, replug cable or reset external Flex device). Fixed.
- Default Flex Transmitter settings are cleared (avoids block with "red values" in ibaPDA Link info)
- Support for ibaPDA Multi Station operation
- Main crystal oscillator frequency can be adjusted
- Missing synchronization cable between boards can be detected
- Transport delay differences between fiber optic protocols can be compensated in hardware
- Led blinking remains synchronized across boards/stations
- Fiber optic ADC powerdown mode can be disabled (32 mbit/s link quality could be measured)
- Better handling of corrupt Flex frames (e.g. when fiber optic cable is removed)
- More robust detection of the fiber optic link rate
- Configuration presets added (easy configuration of 32 mbit/s outputs for OEM applications)
- Support for Flex strict Ring Mode checking
- 32 mbit/s receiver supports now up to 28 containers
- FOB-D could hang the PC during DMA when PC was blocking the access to memory for an extended period of time. Fixed.
- Default Flex frame data is filled with zero and invalid flag set.
- Independent timer interrupt completely independent (not used yet).
- Better support to have a faster Flex frame rate than the measurement data rate (Part2).
- Better support to have a faster Flex frame rate than the measurement data rate (not used yet by ibaPDA) (Part1). This could speed up TCP/IP communication and reduce data measurement latency.
- Fiber optic ADC data ignored when ADC is powered down
- Number of Flex TCP/IP receive buffers increased from 2 to 4. This avoids packet drops and the need for TCP retransmissions, resulting in faster communication. This change might also fix some of the communication timeouts seen with versions of ibaPDA prior to 6.26.1.
- Master Clock Generator: "millisecond" signal on the sync flatcable can be disabled by setting bit4 of General Register 0x10 (feature will be used for better link/board alignment in ibaPDA v6.27)
- Major update: support for iba 32 Mbit/s Flex protocol (TCP/IP communication over optical fiber)
- FO message output: output delay by default set to 0us (was 30us)
- FO message output: board clock divider changed: message output on the first clock (makes perfect alignment of output links possible)
- Built with Xilinx ISE13.1(O40) + hotfix AR40892
- Interrupt Counter register added (General Register 0x30[19:12]), can be useful to detect lost interrupts in the driver
- Removed potential jitter (1us) from internal board clock PLL (only used when resampling faster than 1 ms, e.g. 32mbit telegrams)
- Internal fifo for output generation removed (prevents accumulated delay when ibaLogic is missing interrupts)
- Built with Xilinx ISE11.5(L70) & MAP hotfix
Stable release, for the release history of older releases refer to the FOB-D_Releases.txt file
- Build 129: Initial release for boards with a parallel flash (FOB-D)
- Build 159: Initial release for boards with a spi flash (FOB-Dexp)
Notes:
It is not possible to read out the CPLD version which is programmed on a board.
The only difference between the firmware of a PCI board and a PCIe board is the CPLD.
The ibaFOB-io-ExpressCard has no CPLD inside.
- Release B2 and higher will only provide full functionality on boards which have been digitally signed during production by iba AG. This is done to prevent unauthorized cloning of boards.
- Release B5 and higher will only receive 32mbit/s protocols correctly with ibaPDA v6.23beta6 (and higher).