Managing the Firmware
How to manage the firmware upgrades and the installation of firmware variants
The heart of a Coaxlink card is a RAM-based FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that implements several functions including the PCI Express end point.
Considering that a PCI Express end point must be ready within 150 milliseconds of the power-up time, the FPGA content, hereafter named "firmware", must be loaded quickly after having applied power to the card. Therefore, the firmware is stored into a non-volatile flash EEPROM allowing a fast start-up of the FPGA.
The Coaxlink Driver will never modify the content the FPGA during operation. Any modification of the FPGA content requires a two-step operation:
- Step 1: The new firmware is written into the Flash EEPROM of the card using a "firmware manager" tool.
- Step 2: The new firmware is activated by cycling the system power.