Managing Network Interfaces

You can add, delete, set properties for, and associate filters with eRTOS network interfaces using the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file accessible from <InstallDrive>\MaxRT\eRTOS\ .

Topics:

Adding, Modifying, and Deleting Interfaces

Before you can manage interfaces, you must first add the eRTOS network interface to the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file. See Configuring eRTOS Components for RtConfig.rtreg syntax. eRTOS SDK also includes templates for different divers to configure NICs.

To add an interface:

  1. Open the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file and add the unique SectionPath surrounded by brackets [].

For example:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX]

where XXX is the name you want to give to this network interface. The name cannot exceed 64 characters and cannot include spaces.

Note: The NL2 starts the network interfaces in the order they appear in the RtConfig.rtreg file.

  1. Create the structure that will host all the NIC properties. Under the newly created section, add the following sub-sections:

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\RxQueues\0]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\RxQueues\1]

    …

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\RxQueues\NB_RX_QUEUES-1]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\TxQueues\0]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\TxQueues\1]

    …

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces \XXX\TxQueues\NB_RX_QUEUES-1]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces \XXX\MsixMessages\0]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces \XXX\MsixMessages\1]

    …

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces \XXX\MsixMessages\NB_MSIX_MESSAGES-1]

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces \XXX\Protocols\TCPIP]

    Note:
    - If you are unsure how many Receive Queues your NIC supports, or if you want to use one Receive Queue only, create the “RxQueues\0” sub-section (do as if NB_RX_QUEUES=1)
    - If you are unsure how many Transmit Queues your NIC supports, or if you want to use one Transmit Queue only, create the “TxQueues\0” sub-section (do as if NB_TX_QUEUES=1).
    - If you are unsure how many MSI-X Messages your NIC supports, or if you don’t want to use MSI-X Multi vector interrupt mode, create the “MsixMessages\0” sub-section (do as if NB_MSIX_MESSAGES=1).

  2. Create the required data items for this NIC.

    1. Add a PciLocation String item under the NIC’s root section to specify the PCI bus Location of the NIC in the form of three semicolon-separated integers.

      For example:

      "PciLocation"="2;0;0"

      You can run the PciScanBus.ertos sample binary to get location information. See the eRTOS SDK Help for information on this sample.

    2. Add a DriverPathname String item under the NIC’s root section to specify the eRTOS Driver to use for this NIC.

      For example:

      "DriverPathname"="RtndIpch.edll"

      See eRTOS Supported NICs for a list of NIC drivers which are available out of the box.

  3. Create the optional data items for this NIC. See Network Link Layer (NL2) Properties and TCP/IP Stack Properties below for the exhaustive list of required and optional data items.

To change interface properties:

To change an interface property, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file and find the interface whose properties you want to view or edit under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX] section.
  2. Edit the properties you want to change. See Network Link Layer (NL2) Properties and TCP/IP Stack Properties below.
  3. You must restart the machine running eRTOS.

To delete an interface:

  1. Open the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file and find the interface you want to delete under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX] section.
  2. Delete the section and all its sub-sections.

Network Link Layer (NL2) Interface Properties

To change NL2-specific interface properties for a specific interface, select the interface you want to edit from the RtConfig.rtreg configuration file. You can find these settings under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX] section.

eRTOS SDK contains the following NIC-specific configuration templates. You can use these templates as a starting point when configuring interface properties.

NL2 interface-level properties

These are the NL2 properties that apply to the whole network interface. They are all represented by data items under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX] section.

Setting Type Recommended value Description

Enable

DWORD 

1

Enable/disable the interface.
PciLocation String -

The PCI bus location of the network interface card for the interface in the form of three semicolon-separated integers.

Note: You can run the PciScanBus.ertos sample binary to get location information.

DriverPathname String - The eRTOS driver for the NIC.
JumboEnabled DWORD 0

Enables Jumbo frames.

  • 1 (Enable Jumbo)

  • 0 (Disable Jumbo)

JumboMaxPacketSize DWORD 

1514

The maximum packet size allowed by the interface, excluding the FCS, in bytes.

Note: This property is ignored if JumboEnabled=0.
AutoNegotiationDisabled DWORD  0

Disables Auto-negotiation.

  • 1 (Disable auto-negotiation)

  • 0 (Enable auto-negotiation)

ForcedFullDuplex DWORD  -

Forced duplex mode, in case AutoNegotiationDisabled=1.

  • 1 (Full-duplex)

  • 0 (Half-duplex)

ForcedSpeedMbps DWORD  - Forced speed, in Mbps, in case AutoNegotiationDisabled=1.
RestrictAdvertisedDuplex DWORD  0

Advertise a subset of the supported duplex modes.

  • 1 (Advertise only the duplex mode selected by AdvertisedFullDuplex)

  • 0 (Advertise all supported duplex modes)

AdvertisedDuplexMode DWORD  -

The single duplex mode to advertise in case RestrictAdvertisedDuplex=1.

  • 1 (Advertise Full-duplex only)

  • 0 (Advertise Half-duplex only)

RestrictAdvertisedSpeed DWORD  0

Advertise a subset of the supported speeds.

  • 1 (Advertise only the speed selected by AdvertisedSpeedMbps)

  • 0 (Advertise all supported speeds)

AdvertisedSpeedMbps DWORD  - The single speed to advertise in case RestrictAdvertisedSpeed=1.
FlowControlSetup DWORD  0

Use non-hardware-default settings for hardware flow control.

  • 1 (Use non-hardware-default settings)

  • 0 (Use hardware-default settings)

FlowControlFrameTransmissionDisabled DWORD  -

Disable the transmission of Flow Control frames.

  • 1 (Prohibit the hardware from transmitting Flow Control frames)

  • 0 (Allow the hardware to transmit Flow Control frames)

FlowControlFrameReceptionDisabled DWORD  -

Disable the processing of received Flow Control frames.

  • 1 (Prohibit the hardware from processing the received Flow Control frames)

  • 0 (Allow the hardware to process the received Flow Control frames)

FlowControlDownshiftEnabled DWORD 

-

Allow the driver to downshift the above FlowControlFrameTransmissionDisabled and FlowControlFrameReceptionDisabled settings depending on the results of auto-negotiation.

  • 1 (Allow downshift)

  • 0 (Disallow downshift)
HardwareTimestampingEnabled DWORD  -

Globally enable the hardware timestamping logic in the NIC.

  • 1 (Enable hardware timestamping)

  • 0 (Disable hardware timestamping)

Note: Hardware timestamping is not supported by all NICs.

IngressTimestampingRule DWORD  -

Determines the type of incoming packets to timestamp, in case HardwareTimestampingEnabled=1.

  • 0 (Timestamp all incoming frames)

  • 1 (Timestamp incoming PTPv1 over UDP event frames)

  • 2 (Timestamp incoming PTPv2 over UDP event frames)

  • 3 (Timestamp incoming PTPv2 over ETH event frames)

  • 4 (Timestamp incoming PTPv2 event frames)

Note: Not all options are supported by all NICs.

IngressTimestampingUdpPort DWORD  319

The UDP port used to recognize UDP event frames.
IngressTimestampingEtherType DWORD  35063 (0x88F7)

The EtherType used to recognize ETH event frames.
InterruptType DWORD 2

The type of interrupt that will be used:

  • 0 (Line-based)

  • 1 (MSI)

  • 2 (MSI-X)

Note: For improved performance, we recommend you use MSI-X when possible.

NonMsixIstIdealProcessor

DWORD

0

The ideal processor for the thread servicing the interface interrupts, in case InterruptType is not equal to 2 (MSI-X). This value must be a valid eRTOS processor.

NonMsixPriority

DWORD

64

The interface's interrupt priority, in case InterruptType is not equal to 2 (MSI-X). This value must be a valid eRTOS priority within the range 1-127.

MsixNonQueueMessageId

DWORD

-

The Message ID to use for non-queue interrupts, in case InterruptType is equal to 2(MSI-X).

NL2 Receive Queue-level properties

These are the NL2 properties that apply to a specific Receive Queue of the network interface. They are all represented by data items under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\RxQueues\N] section, where N is the index of the Receive Queue to configure.

Setting Type Recommended value Description

Enable

DWORD 

1

Enable/disable the Receive Queue.
NbBuffers DWORD 256

The number of NL2 Buffers that the driver must allocate for this Receive Queue at startup.
TimestampingEnabled DWORD -

Allows NL2 applications to request timestamping of incoming frames on this Receive Queue.

  • 0 (don’t allow ingress timestamping on this Receive Queue)

  • 1 (allow ingress timestamping on this Receive Queue)

ManagementThreadIdealProcessor DWORD 0

The processor number on which this Receive Queue’s Management thread will run.

Note: Processor numbers are zero based. Processor 0 is the first processor.
ManagementThreadPriority DWORD 

62

The priority of this Receive Queue’s Management thread. This value must be within the range 0 to 127.

MsixQueueMessageId

DWORD 

-

The Message ID to use for interrupts associated with this Receive Queue, in case InterruptType is equal to 2(MSI-X).

NL2 Transmit Queue-level properties

These are the NL2 properties that apply to a specific Transmit Queue of the network interface. They are all represented by data items under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\TxQueues\N section, where N is the index of the Transmit Queue to configure.

Setting Type Recommended value Description

Enable

DWORD 

1

Enable/disable the Transmit Queue.
NbBuffers DWORD 256

The number of NL2 Buffers the driver must allocate for this Transmit Queue at startup.
TimestampingEnabled DWORD -

Allows NL2 applications to request timestamping of outgoing frames on this Transmit Queue.

  • 0 (don’t allow egress timestamping on this Transmit Queue)

  • 1 (allow egress timestamping on this Transmit Queue)

Note: Most drivers don’t allow egress timestamping on multiple Transmit Queues at the same time.
ManagementThreadIdealProcessor DWORD 0

The processor number on which this Transmit Queue’s Management thread will run.

Note: Processor numbers are zero based. Processor 0 is the first processor.
ManagementThreadPriority DWORD 

62

The priority of this Transmit Queue’s Management thread. This value must be within the range 0 to 127.

MsixQueueMessageId

DWORD 

-

The Message ID to use for interrupts associated with this Transmit Queue, in case InterruptType is equal to 2(MSI-X).

NL2 MSI-X Message-level properties

These are the NL2 properties that apply to a specific MSI-X Message of the network interface. They are all represented by data items under the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\XXX\MsixMessages\N section, where N is the index of the MSI-X Message to configure.

Note: These properties apply only if InterruptType is set to 2(MSI-X).

Setting Type Recommended value Description

Enabled

DWORD 

1

Enable/disable the MSI-X Message.

IstIdealProcessor

 DWORD 0

The ideal processor for the thread servicing this MSI-X interrupt. This value must be a valid eRTOS processor.

Note: Processor numbers are zero based. Processor 0 is the first processor.

IstPriority

 DWORD 64

The interrupt priority for this MSI-X Message. This value must be a valid eRTOS priority within the range 1-127.

TCP/IP Stack Properties

Note: eRTOS does not validate or prevent the configuration of multiple enabled interfaces with the same IP address.

Setting Type Recommended value Description

Enabled

DWORD

1

Enable/disable TCP/IP support for this NIC.
IPAddr String

192.168.100.50

The IPv4 address of the interface in dotted-quad notation.
Netmask String 255.255.255.0

The IPv4 subnet mask of the interface in dotted-quad notation.
Gateway String 0.0.0.0 The gateway for this interface in dotted-quad notation. Value 0.0.0.0 means No Gateway.
IPv6Addr String Auto The IPv6 address. If “Auto”, the interface uses the Link-Local IPv6 address only.
IPv6Prefix DWORD 64 The IPv6 network prefix for IPv6Addr.
LinkStatus

DWORD

1

Enable/disable Link Status monitoring.

  • 0 (disable Link Status monitoring)

  • 1 (Enable Link Status monitoring)
LinkStatusIdealProcessor DWORD

0

The ideal processor for the Link Status thread. This value must be a valid eRTOS processor.

Note: Processor numbers are zero based. Processor 0 is the first processor.

LinkStatusPriority DWORD 0

The Link status thread priority. This value must be a valid eRTOS priority within the range 0-127
ReceiveIdealProcessor DWORD 0

The ideal processor for the Receive thread. This value must be a valid eRTOS processor.

Note: Processor numbers are zero based. Processor 0 is the first processor.

ReceivePriority DWORD 0 The Receive thread priority. This value must be a valid eRTOS priority within the range 0-127.
RxQueueIndex DWORD 0 Index of the Receive Queue that the TCP/IP Stack receives frames from.

RxBufferCount

DWORD

512

Maximum number of inflight Ethernet frames from the NIC to the TCP/IP Stack.

Note: This is the value of the BufferCount parameter passed by the Stack to the Rtnl2CreateLogicalRxQueue() function when it creates the Logical Rx Queue for this NIC at startup.

TxQueueIndex

DWORD

0

Index of the Transmit Queue that the TCP/IP Stack transmits frames to.

TxBufferCount

DWORD

512

Maximum number of inflight Ethernet frames from the TCP/IP Stack to the NIC.

Note: this is the value of the BufferCount parameter passed by the Stack to the Rtnl2CreateLogicalTxQueue() function when it creates the Logical Tx Queue for this NIC at startup.

FilterState

DWORD

0

Enable/disable an Ethernet Filter driver on this NIC.

  • 0 (don’use a filter driver)

  • 1 (use a filter driver)

Filter

String

-

Pahtname of the filter driver to use, if FilterState=1.

RtConfig.rtreg Example

In this example configuration, the NL2 and TCP/IP Stack support one network interface card which uses the RtndIpch driver:

Copy 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\I219]
"Enabled"=dword:1
"PciLocation"="0;31;6"
"DriverPathname"="RtndIpch.edll"
"InterruptType"=dword:1
"JumboEnabled"=dword:0
"JumboMaxPacketSize"=dword:0
"AutoNegotiationDisabled"=dword:0
"ForcedFullDuplex"=dword:0
"ForcedSpeedMbps"=dword:0
"RestrictAdvertisedDuplex"=dword:0
"AdvertisedFullDuplex"=dword:0
"RestrictAdvertisedSpeed"=dword:0
"AdvertisedSpeedMbps"=dword:0
"FlowControlSetup"=dword:0
"FlowControlFrameTransmissionDisabled"=dword:0
"FlowControlFrameReceptionDisabled"=dword:0
"FlowControlDownshiftEnabled"=dword:0
"HardwareTimestampingEnanled"=dword:0
"IngressTimestampingRule"=dword:0
"IngressTimestampingUdpPort"=dword:0
"IngressTimestampingEtherType"=dword:0
"NonMsixIstIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"NonMsixIstPriority"=dword:0
"MsixNonQueueMessageId"=dword:0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\I219\RxQueues\0]
"Enabled"=dword:1
"NbBuffers"=dword:256
"TimestampingEnabled"=dword:0
"ManagementThreadIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"ManagementThreadPriority"=dword:62
"MsixQueueMessageId"=dword:0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\I219\TxQueues\0]
"Enabled"=dword:1
"NbBuffers"=dword:256
"TimestampingEnabled"=dword:0
"ManagementThreadIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"ManagementThreadPriority"=dword:62
"MsixQueueMessageId"=dword:0
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\I219\MsixMessages\0]
"Enabled"=dword:0
"IstIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"IstPriority"=dword:0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTERVALZERO\eRTOS\NL2Interfaces\I219\Protocols\TCPIP
"Enabled"=dword:1
"IPAddr"="192.168.100.50"
"Netmask"="255.255.255.0"
"IPv6Addr"="Auto"
"IPv6Prefix"=dword:64
"LinkStatus"=dword:1
"LinkStatusIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"LinkStatusPriority"=dword:0
"ReceiveIdealProcessor"=dword:0
"ReceivePriority"=dword:63
"RxQueueIndex"=dword:0
"RxBufferCount"=dword:512
"TxQueueIndex"=dword:0
"TxBufferCOunt"=dword:0
"FilterState"=dword:0
"Filter"=""