A1: Korat
has many features that make it especially suited for applications with advanced
requirements. Here is a checklist to
help determine if you application needs Korat.
Do you
need…
√
a
power budget for the controller under 10 W?
√
cooling
without fans for quiet and reliable operation?
√
Gigabit
Ethernet over a fiber optic interface?
√
a
hardware encryption accelerator?
√
on-board
crypto memory
√
a
non-multiplexed local bus extension?
√
a high
speed CompactFlash controller
√
support
for more than one PCI card with DMA?
If you
answered “yes” to any of these questions, Korat may be the solution for
you. The more yeses, the more you need
Korat.
Q2: What
does the Board Management Controller (BMC) do on Korat?
A2: The
BMC is connected to the CPU through an I2C bus (on Korat rev. 3) and
monitors:
● input voltage ● input current ● all on-board generated
voltages ● fuses protecting Korat from
failures on external PCI adapters ● standby voltage of redundant
power supply (if implemented)
A Linux
application can periodically access the BMC and collect the data for
performance monitoring and detecting unusual CPU activity.
Q3: How
is the Korat supported by Open Source software?
A3: Open
Source U-boot 2008.10 includes a build option for Korat. Open Source patches for running the Linux
kernel on Korat are available from Ablyx.
Q4: What
happens if a developer is loading data into flash memory, and the boot loader
is accidentally corrupt. Is there any
way to restore the flash, other than using an in-circuit emulator or sending
the board back to Ablyx?
A4:
Yes. Korat boots using two flash
memories: the “upgradeable” flash, which can be erased and written using
U-Boot, and the “permanent” flash, which is not writable in the field. Normally, Korat boots through the loader in
the upgradeable flash, so users can load and use newer or customized versions
of U-Boot. However, if this loader
becomes corrupted, the user can press and hold the reset button until the Korat
generates a tone (about 10 seconds).
When the reset button is then released, Korat will run a copy of U-Boot
stored in the permanent flash. While
this permanent U-Boot may not be the latest version, it contains all the
functions necessary to download firmware (e.g., over Ethernet via tftp) and
restore the upgradeable flash.
