http://www.sgi.com/tech/relnotes/6_0rel/hippi.html (Silicon Surf Promotional CD, 01/1995)
hippi Release Notes
hippi Release Notes
1 Introduction
2 Installation Information
3 Additional Information
- 1 -
1. Introduction
These release notes describe IRIS HIPPI release 2.0. IRIS
HIPPI is a network interface controller (board and software)
providing High-speed Parallel Processing Interface (HIPPI)
connectivity for Silicon Graphicsr CHALLENGE and Onyx
servers and supercomputers.
Note: Packaged with this software is a separate sheet that
contains the Software License Agreement. This
software is provided to you solely under the terms
and conditions of the Software License Agreement.
Please take a few moments to review the Agreement.
IRIS HIPPI can be installed onto the following platforms:
CHALLENGE L, CHALLENGE XL, Onyx Deskside, and Onyx
Rackmount. Each IRIS HIPPI board provides a destination
(reception) channel and a source (transmit) channel. The
IRIS HIPPI board interfaces to the operating system through
the IBus. The IRIS HIPPI product requires one FCI connection
on any FMezz board, and one VMEbus slot. Multiple IRIS
HIPPI boards can be installed; the exact number depends on
the platform.
IRIS HIPPI is designed for installation by authorized
service personnel only.
This document contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Installation Information
3. Additional Information
1.1 Release_Identification_Information
Following is the release identification information for IRIS
HIPPI:
Hardware IRIS HIPPI
Option
Product
Software IRIS HIPPI
Option
Product
Version 2.0
- 2 -
Product Codes CC8-HIPPI-2.0
SC8-HIPPI-2.0 (software and manuals
only)
1.2 Operating_System_Software_Requirements
Before installing IRIS HIPPI, verify that the operating
system (eoe1) is compatible. The versions command, as shown
below, can be used to determine the release. This IRIS
HIPPI release requires the minimum operating system release
shown in the example below:
% versions eoe1
I eoe1 date Execution Only Environment 1, 6.0
1.3 Hardware_Requirements
IRIS HIPPI software runs on any of the supported platforms
listed at the beginning of this chapter. However, the IRIS
HIPPI board has power requirements that must be supplied by
the system's VMEBus. See the "Cautions" section of Chapter
3 of these release notes, and Table A-2 of the IRIS HIPPI
Installation Instructions for complete details.
For the IRIS HIPPI software to operate, the IRIS HIPPI
hardware must be installed and connected to another HIPPI
system, to a HIPPI switch, or to itself (using any loopback
connection).
1.4 Obtaining_HIPPI_Cables
HIPPI cables are not shipped with IRIS HIPPI; however, they
are absolutely necessary for the IRIS HIPPI product to
function, and the short length cables are very useful for
troubleshooting. Each customer site is responsible for
having the necessary cables for the installation. Each IRIS
HIPPI installation requires two standard HIPPI cables that
are long enough to reach the switch or other HIPPI endpoint
with which the SGI system will be connected.
HIPPI cables can be purchased in a variety of lengths (for
example, 5, 10, and 25 meters). Some vendors carry a 6-inch
female-to-female cable that can be used to join two standard
HIPPI cables into one loopback cable. Silicon Graphics is
currently using the vendors listed below.
Company: Vertex
Location: San Jose, CA, USA
Telephone: 408-441-1234
- 3 -
Fax number: 408-441-7890
Contact: Sonny Cabico
Company: Input Output Systems Corporation
Location: Mountain View, CA, USA
Telephone: 800-HIPPI98 or 415-962-1687
Fax number: 415-962-1469
Contact: Russell Saunders
Company: Network Systems
Telephone: 612-424-4888
Fax number: 612-424-2853
Contact: Michele Rogers 408-452-8400
1.5 Online_Release_Notes
After you install the online documentation for a product
(the relnotes subsystem), you can view the release notes on
your screen.
If you have a graphics system, select ``Release Notes'' from
the Tools submenu of the ToolChest. This displays the
grelnotes(1) graphical browser for the online release notes.
Refer to the grelnotes(1) man page for information on
options to this command.
If you have a nongraphics system, you can use the relnotes
command. Refer to the relnotes(1) man page for accessing the
online release notes.
1.6 Product_Release_Limitations
IRIS HIPPI does not support loading the miniroot over the
HIPPI connection; Silicon Graphics computers cannot be
booted over HIPPI. This limitation does not affect loading
the miniroot over an Ethernet network. A system can boot
(load the miniroot) over its Ethernet network, and,
thereafter, function with both Ethernet and HIPPI network
connections.
Note: There are special configuration requirements for
booting over the network. See Section 2.3,
``Configuring a Diskless Station.''
- 4 -
1.7 Product_Support
Silicon Graphics, Inc., provides a comprehensive product
support and maintenance program for its products. If you
are in the United States of America or Canada and would like
support for your Silicon Graphics-supported products,
contact the Technical Assistance Center at
1-800-800-4SGI.
If you are outside the U.S.A. or Canada, contact the Silicon
Graphics subsidiary or authorized distributor in your
country.
- 1 -
2. Installation_Information
This chapter provides information about installing IRIS
HIPPI software. The information listed here is product-
specific; for general information about installing software,
refer to the IRIS Software Installation Guide.
The IRIS HIPPI product consists of a hardware component and
a software component. The hardware component is an IRIS
HIPPI board, FCI mezzanine board, and associated cabling;
the software is on the CD-ROM. To install the IRIS HIPPI
product, follow the procedures in the overview below. The
procedures must be followed in the order they are listed.
1. Install the software, using the instructions in this
document in Section 2.2, ``Installing IRIS HIPPI
Software.''
2. Configure the software, using the instructions in
chapter 2, ``Configuring IRIS HIPPI'' of the IRIS
HIPPI Administrator's Guide.
Note: Do not configure IRIS HIPPI as the primary IP
network interface. HIPPI as a primary IP
network connection is not supported in this
release.
3. Have an authorized field service engineer install the
hardware using the field service IRIS HIPPI
Installation Instructions.
4. Verify the HIPPI connection, using the instructions in
the section ``Verifying the HIPPI Subsystem,'' in
chapter 3 of the IRIS HIPPI Administrator's Guide.
2.1 General_Installation_Information
This section contains general information about the IRIS
HIPPI software. This information is useful during
installation and configuration.
2.1.1 HIPPI_Network_Interface_Names During development,
each controller board that supports the IP network stack is
given a network interface name. The HIPPI network interface
name is as specified below:
hip# The first IRIS HIPPI board found during startup is
assigned the hip0 interface from the
/etc/config/netif.options file. The second board
is assigned hip1, and so on. The system searches
for IRIS HIPPI boards attached to IO4 board adapter
- 2 -
slots in the following order:
1. on main IO4 board, adapter 5 (bottom slot),
then 6 (top)
2. on second IO4 board
adapter 2 (bottom slot)
adapter 5 (bottom slot)
adapter 3 (top slot)
adapter 6 (top slot)
3. on third IO4 board
same order as for second IO4 board
4. on fourth IO4 board
same order as for second IO4 board
2.1.2 IRIS_HIPPI_Subsystems Following is a description of
the IRIS HIPPI subsystems:
hippi.sw.eoe IRIS HIPPI software: driver,
utilities, and miscellaneous
files.
hippi.sw.dev Files required for developing
upper-layer applications with
the IRIS HIPPI API.
hippi.man.eoe Manual pages for IRIS HIPPI
utilities. There are man pages
for hippi(7M), if_hip(7M),
hipcntl(1M), hiptest(1M), and
hipmap(1M).
hippi.man.relnotes These release notes.
2.1.3 IRIS_HIPPI_Subsystem_Disk_Space_Requirements This
section lists the IRIS HIPPI subsystems and their sizes.
All subsystems, except dev, are installed when you use the
install hippi and go commands of inst. To install the dev
subsystem, use step and go.
Note: The listed subsystem sizes are approximate. Refer to
the IRIS Software Installation Guide for information
on determining exact sizes.
Subsystem Name Subsystem Size
(512-byte blocks)
hippi.sw.eoe 250
hippi.sw.dev 12
hippi.man.eoe 55
- 3 -
hippi.man.relnotes 32
2.1.4 Installation_Method All of the subsystems for IRIS
HIPPI can be installed using the IRIX installation method.
You do not need to use the miniroot, although you may do so,
if convenient as part of an operating system upgrade.
Note: The IRIS HIPPI driver will not function until four
additional steps are completed: (1) the IRIS HIPPI
software is configured, (2) the board is installed,
(3) the operating system is rebuilt, by restarting
the system or using the autoconfig command, and (4)
the system is rebooted.
2.1.5 Configuration_Files The files listed below are used
by IRIS HIPPI software. Some of these files must be editted
during initial installation and configuration; editting of
others is optional and may be done at any time for
customization of the environment.
/usr/var/sysgen/hippi.sm:
File for configuring the IRIS HIPPI driver before it is
built into the operating system. This file can be editted to
include/exclude IP network support.
/usr/var/sysgen/master.d/if_hip:
File for configuring the IP support in the IRIS HIPPI
driver. This file can be editted to enable/disable a number
of if_hip driver features.
/etc/init.d/network.hippi:
Script that starts hip# network interfaces. This script is
called from within the standard /etc/init.d/network script.
This file should not be editted.
/usr/etc/hippi.imap:
File used to load into memory the IPaddress-to-IField lookup
table. This file is loaded each time a hip# network
interface is started, or the hipmap command is invoked.
When an IP network interface is desired, this file must be
editted so that it contains the mappings of local and remote
IP hostnames to HIPPI I-fields.
2.2 Installing_IRIS_HIPPI_Software
This section describes how to install IRIS HIPPI software.
2.2.1 Prerequisites Your system must be running IRIX
release 6.0. To verify the release your system is currently
running, use the command below:
- 4 -
% versions eoe1
I eoe1 date Execution Only Environment 1, 6.0
2.2.2 Preparing_for_Installation
1. Determine the installation method.
There are four methods for installing the IRIS HIPPI
software: from a local peripheral device, from a
remote peripheral device, from a remote Ethernet boot
server (distribution directory), from a local
distribution directory. These methods are summarized
and explained in Chapter 4 of the IRIS Software
Installation Guide, where Table 4-1 provides an
excellent overview.
Notes: ``Local'' refers to connecting the CD-ROM (or
tape) player directly to the target system (the
system onto which you are installing software).
``Remote'' refers to loading the software over
the target system's Ethernet network connection
using a CD-ROM (or tape) device connected to a
different Ethernet station.
In order to install IRIS HIPPI software from a
remote distribution directory, your system must
be physically connected to the Ethernet and it
must have a functioning Ethernet connection.
2. Locate the following items:
- For installation from a peripheral device, locate
the CD-ROM disk containing IRIS HIPPI software.
If you specially ordered another medium (for
example, tape), locate that item.
- For installation from a peripheral device, locate
a device to play (read) the CD-ROM or tape. This
device is not shipped with the IRIS HIPPI
product; it belongs to your site.
- For installation from a distribution directory,
determine the host name of the Ethernet station
and the path to the directory.
3. Set up the installation hardware.
- If you are using a local device, follow the
instructions in your system's owner's guide to
connect the peripheral device.
- 5 -
- If you are using a remote device, follow the
remote workstation or server's instructions for
attaching peripheral devices.
- For installation from a distribution directory,
verify that the IRIS HIPPI software has been
loaded onto the station. A section of the IRIS
Software Installation Guide provides instructions
on preparing distribution directories.
2.2.3 Installing_the_Software Use the IRIX installation
method to install the IRIS HIPPI software. Step-by-step
instructions are provided below.
Notes: More detailed explanations about the IRIX
installation method are located in the IRIS Software
Installation Guide. Section 4.7.6 may be especially
useful.
If you are not sure how to use inst, Chapter 5 in the
IRIS Software Installation Guide provides details.
1. In a shell window, become superuser:
% su
Password: thepassword
#
2. Invoke the inst utility with the command below:
# inst
{the inst menu appears}
Inst>
3. When the inst prompt appears (Inst>), use the from
command to indicate the location of IRIS HIPPI
software. Table 10-3 in the IRIS Software
Installation Guide summarizes the entries for this
command.
The command below can be used when the location is a
local CD-ROM:
Inst> from /CDROM/dist
4. When you are ready to install the software, use the
command below to prepare for installation:
Inst> install hippi
5. Then use the command below to install the software:
Inst> go
6. When the installation completes successfully, quit:
Inst> quit
- 6 -
7. Follow the steps in chapter 2, ``Configuring IRIS
HIPPI'' of the IRIS HIPPI Administrator's Guide to
configure this software.
2.3 Configuring_a_Diskless_Station
A diskless IRIS HIPPI station must be configured in accord
with the guidelines in this section.
1. The station must have either two network interfaces
(an Ethernet from which to boot and a HIPPI) or a
local CD-ROM player from which to boot and a HIPPI
interface. The remaining text and guidelines apply
only to stations that boot over an Ethernet.
A diskless workstation (client) must boot (from its
server) over its primary Ethernet connection, hence,
the diskless HIPPI station must have both Ethernet and
HIPPI connections. Use the command below to display
the station's network interfaces, then verify that one
of the IP addresses in the display is for the Ethernet
local area network attached to the et0 interface:
% /usr/etc/netstat -in
2. The netaddr value in NVRAM must be an Ethernet IP
address.
The station's PROM must use the Ethernet connection
for booting over the network. To verify that the
system's PROM can access the Ethernet network, use the
commands below. The values for netaddr and inet must
match.
% /etc/nvram netaddr
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
% /usr/etc/ifconfig et0
. . .
inet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx . . .
3. Ethernet must be configured as the primary network
interface.
Once the PROM has loaded the miniroot (bootstrap
kernel) from the boot server, control is passed to the
miniroot. At this point, the diskless client is known
to the boot server by the IP address in the NVRAM. If
this address were to change at this point, the server
would become confused and the boot process would not
complete. The best and easiest way to prevent this
from happening is to configure Ethernet (and build the
miniroot with Ethernet) as the primary network
interface.
- 7 -
To verify that Ethernet is configured as the primary
network interface and HIPPI is another, use the
commands below:
# /bin/grep if1name /etc/config/netif.options
# /bin/grep hip /etc/config/netif.options
The next kernel build (for example, autoconfig) will
create an operating system in which Ethernet is the
primary interface.
Note: Once the miniroot is in control, the booting
procedure is completed using NFSr over the network
interface that the station's route daemon indicates
is the shortest path to the boot server.
- 1 -
3. Additional_Information
This chapter describes known problems in the current
release.
3.1 Known_Limitations
This release of the IRIS HIPPI software has the following
limitations.
o The IRIS HIPPI driver does not support IP broadcast
addresses. This means that the HIPPI network interfaces
(hip0, hip1, etc.) do not support BOOTP, NIS, RIP,
timed, gated, OSPF, and the multicast version of NTP
(which all use broadcast addresses as part of their
normal operation).
o The IRIS HIPPI driver cannot function as the primary
interface on a system operating with the IP suite of
network protocols.
o This release of IRIS HIPPI does not support the Raw
Network Family. Applications that use the Snoop or
Drain protocols cannot run over the if_hip driver.
o The IRIS HIPPI API does not provide a way to set the
D2_Offset value in the FP header.
o The IRIS HIPPI API does not provide a way to set the
P-bit to zero and in the same packet include a D1_Area.
That is, when a D1_Area is included, it always contains
D1 data.
o When the IRIS HIPPI API is used to make the first burst
short, the software does not pad out the last burst to
full size. It is the responsibility of the application
to do so, and include the padding as part of the D2
data set.
o The IRIS HIPPI destination software does not pass the
I-field (CCI) to the host.
3.2 Cautions
The IRIS HIPPI board uses more power than many VMEBus
boards. On average, the IRIS HIPPI board uses 75 watts.
When configuring systems with IRIS HIPPI, take care to
verify that the total VMEBus power requirements do not
exceed the power available on that system. More detailed
information about the power requirements are provided in
Table A-2 in the IRIS HIPPI Installation Instructions. This
- 2 -
is not an issue for most configurations; however, for
CHALLENGE L systems with 2 IRIS HIPPIs and many peripherals,
plan carefully. Especially check the 12 volt usage.
3.3 Documentation_Problems
At 12 volts, the IRIS HIPPI board uses a maximum of 1.5
amps, not 2 amps as stated on pages 2-4, 2-15, 2-28, 2-38,
and in Table A-2 of the IRIS HIPPI Installation
Instructions.