Managing Network Interfaces

You can add, delete, set properties for, and associate filters with RTX64 interfaces from the Manage interfaces control panel page.

NOTE: Some changes require a restart of the network.

topics in this section:

Opening this Page in RTX64 Control Panel
Adding, Modifying, and Deleting Interfaces
Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) Properties
TCP/IP Stack Properties

Opening this Page in the Control Panel

To open this page in the Control Panel:

In the Start menu, navigate to RTX64 4.5 Runtime and click RTX64 Control Panel.
Click Manage Interfaces.

Adding, Modifying, and Deleting Interfaces

Before you can manage interfaces, you must first have converted a Windows Network device to RTX64 control.

To convert a device from Windows to RTX64:

Open the RTX64 Control Panel:
Click Manage RTX64 devices.
The Windows Device Manager appears. If you are converting a device that RTX64 does not provide out-of-the-box support for you will first need to create an INF file. For more information, see the RTX64 Help topic Creating an INF File for Custom Devices. For a list of drivers supported by RTX64, see the Supported NICs document available from the customer center.
Right-click on the device you want to convert, and then click Update Driver Software.
Click Browse my computer for driver software, and then click Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
Make sure the Show compatible hardware check box is checked. All RTX64 drivers have descriptions ending with “(RTX64)”.

If the RTX64 NAL driver is listed, select it and proceed to the next step.
If the RTX64 NAL driver is not listed, click the Have Disk… button. The Install From Disk dialog will open. Click the Browse… button and navigate to the file %RTX64DIR%\Inf\RTX64PnpNet.inf, where %RTX64DIR% indicates the location of the RTX64 Runtime installation directory. Click OK. The RTX64 driver should now appear in the Update Driver Software dialog. Select it and proceed to the next step.

Click Next. The converted device now appears in the Windows Device Manager under either Network Adapters (if it is a network interface card) or RTX64 Drivers (for all other devices).

NOTE: If the converted device doesn't appear in the Network Connections page in the Windows Control Panel following conversion, refresh the page.

You can now configure properties for the converted device. For more information, see Modifying RTX64 PCI/PCIe Device Properties.

For more information, see Converting a Windows device to RTX64.

NOTE: The RTX64 Virtual Network Interface is an optional component during installation. It is selected by default during installation.

NOTE: If the RTX64 Virtual Network Interface is installed, the Interfaces list will contain an interface called RtTCPIPVirtualNIC. This interface is dependent on the RT-TCP/IP Stack, and it is disabled when the RT-TCP/IP Stack is not licensed. Note that this interface cannot be enabled when the NAL property Support TCP/IP is not selected.

To add an interface:

Under Interfaces, click Add.

The Add Interface dialog appears.

NOTE: A warning will appear if the new interface causes a memory deficit for the real-time network, based on the allocations configured on the Manage memory page.

Specify a Name for the interface. The name cannot exceed 64 characters and cannot include spaces.
Select a Real-Time Network Device (RTND) from the Device drop-down.
The proper RTX64 Driver should be selected for a supported NIC card. However, you can change the driver by clicking the Browse button to browse for a different driver.

NOTE: Network interfaces will use device-specific limits when a non-default driver is specified.

Specify the PCI bus Location of the network interface card for the interface in the form of three semicolon-separated integers. This parameter is optional if only one device of its kind is installed. The default location is 0;0;0. This field will be auto populated upon choosing a Device.
Select the Support TCP/IP check box if you want the new interface to support TCP/IP functionality. When selected, you must specify the following settings:
The IPv4 Address of the interface in dotted-quad notation. If you specify an IPv4 Address that matches that of another enabled interface, a dialog appears with a list of the duplicate IPv4 address(es).
The IPv4 Netmask of the interface in dotted-quad notation.
Click Add. The interface for the selected device appears under Interfaces.

By default, interfaces are enabled when they are added. To disable an interface, click the drop-down under Status, and then select Disabled.

NOTE: No more than 50 interfaces can be enabled at one time.

Properties for the selected interface appear in the Properties box.

NOTE: If you are not a member of the RTX64Administrators or RTX64Users groups, you may encounter an error. For more information on user groups, see User Groups and Access Permissions.

Restart the NAL and TCP/IP Stack (if running) for your changes to take effect. If you plan to make other changes that require a restart of the network, make those changes first and then restart the NAL when you are finished. You must stop all network-enabled processes before you can restart.

To change interface properties:

To change an interface property, follow the steps below.

Select the interface whose properties you want to view or edit.
Edit the properties you want to change. See Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) Properties and TCP/IP Stack Properties below.
You must restart the NAL and TCP/IP Stack (if running) for changes to NAL properties to take effect. You must restart the TCP/IP Stack for changes to TCP/IP properties to take effect. You must stop all network-enabled processes before you can restart.

To delete an interface:

Select the interface you want to delete from the interfaces panel.
Click Delete.

Exercise: Adding a new network interface

In this exercise, you will learn how to create a new network interface.

NOTE: This exercise assumes you have already converted a NIC device from Windows to RTX64.

to create a new network interface

Open the Control Panel.
Navigate to Managing Interfaces.
Click Add.
Name your new interface InterfaceTest.
Select a supported NIC your device.
Select an RTX64 driver supported for your supported NIC as your driver. Common drivers are RtNALIGB and RtNALIPCH.
Select the Support TCP/IP check box.
Click Add.

Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) Properties

To view properties for a specific interface, select it in the interfaces panel. Its properties appear under NAL properties.

NOTE: If the selected interface supports TCP/IP, its TCP/IP-specific settings appear under TCP/IP properties (see below).

Basic Properties

These NAL-specific interface properties are always visible on the Manage Interfaces page.

Property	Description	Default
Name	The name of the Real-time network device (Rtnd) driver for this interface, which is either the file name of the RTDLL implementing the driver or the full pathname to the RTDLL implementing the driver.	Set in the Add Interface dialog
Device	The device associated with the interface.	Set in the Add Interface dialog Once an interface is created, you cannot switch between a physical NIC and a virtual NIC, or vice versa.
Driver	The RTX64 driver for the supported NIC card. You can change the driver by clicking the Browse button to browse for a driver. NOTE: Network interfaces will use device-specific limits when no driver is specified.
Maximum packet size	The maximum packet size allowed by the interface.	1514 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges. NOTE: Some devices may have more restrictive limits than what is documented or enforced by the Control Panel. To see the most accurate limits, consult the appropriate specification guide for your device.
Link status	Enable/disable link status monitoring for the selected interface.	Enabled
Support TCP/IP	Adds TCP/IP support to the selected interface. When selected, additional TCP/IP interface properties are displayed. See TCP/IP Stack Properties below for more information. NOTE: This setting requires a valid RT-TCP/IP Stack license.	Selected (checked) if this property was selected in the Add Interface dialog. Otherwise, this property is not selected.

Advanced Properties

These NAL-specific interface properties are hidden by default. Click the Advanced NAL properties expander to toggle their display.

Property	Description	Default
Location	The PCI bus location of the network interface card for the interface in the form of three semicolon-separated integers. This property is optional. NOTE: The Control Panel does not include logic to validate this parameter. As a result, an incorrect location may be accepted. NOTE: This is not supported by the Virtual Network interface.	0;0;0
Interrupt type	Specify what type of interrupt will be used: MSI-X Single Vector MSI-X Multi Vector MSI Line-based NOTE: For improved performance, we recommend you use MSI-X Single Vector instead of MSI for interrupts when possible. NOTE: MSI mode is the only option supported by the Virtual Network interface.	MSI See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Interrupt thread priority	The interrupt priority for the interface. This must be a valid RTX64 priority, an integer in the range 1 to 127. This property is optional.	64
Interrupt ideal processor	The ideal processor for the thread servicing the interface interrupts. The specified value must be a valid RTSS processor. NOTE: Processor numbers are zero-based. By default, the first RTSS processor is the ideal processor.	1
Transmit complete thread priority	The priority of the thread that services transmitted packets. NOTE: This is not supported by the Virtual Network interface.	62
Transmit complete thread ideal processor	The ideal processor for the thread that services transmitted packets. NOTE: This is not supported by the Virtual Network interface.	1
Number of receive buffers	Optional. The number of receive buffers used by the interface. This value must be greater than or equal to 64, and it must be a multiple of 8.	256 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Number of transmit buffers	Optional. The number of transmit buffers used by the interface. This value must be greater than or equal to 64, and it must be a multiple of 8.	256 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Number of receive queues	The number of receive queues to configure for the interface.	1 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Number of transmit queues	The number of transmit queues to configure for the interface.	1 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Default receive queue	The number of the queue that receives unfiltered data, starting with queue 0.	0 See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.
Speed & Duplex	Specify the method used to establish the Ethernet link	Auto Negotiate See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges.

TCP/IP Properties

These TCP/IP interface properties appear when the Support TCP/IP check box is selected (see above).

NOTE: The TCP/IP options will not be available if the TCP/IP component is not activated. For information on activating RTX64 components, see RTX64 Activation or the RTX64 Activation and Configuration Guide.

Property	Description	Default
IPv4 configuration	Lists the configured IPv4 address and network mask pairings for the selected interface in dotted-quad notation. An interface can have up to 12 IPv4 address and network mask pairings. See Configuring IPv4 Address and Netmask Pairs below for more information.
Gateway	Optional. The gateway for this interface. If this parameter is not specified, the interface has no gateway. NOTE: This value must be a valid IP address. Leading zeroes are not supported.	0.0.0.0
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)	Optional. The Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size in bytes for the interface. NOTE: This value cannot exceed the interface’s Max packet size minus 14. See Device-Specific Interface Values for device-specific defaults and value ranges. NOTE: For the Virtual Network, this value must match the Windows Virtual Network Adapter MTU value. For detailed information on configuring Jumbo Frames, see Configuring Frames.	1500
Filter status	The Enabled/Disabled status of the filter.
Filter name	The name of the filter associated with the interface. See Associating a Filter with an RTX64 TCP/IP Interface below for more information.
IPv6 address	Optional. The IPv6 address. If not given, the interface has no IPv6 address.	Auto
IPv6 prefix	Optional. The IPv6 network prefix.	64
Receive thread priority	Optional. The RT-TCP/IP stack’s receive thread priority. This must be a valid RTX64 priority in the range 0 to 127.	63
Receive thread ideal processor	The ideal processor for the interface’s receive thread. The specified value must be a valid RTSS processor. NOTE: Processor numbers are zero based. By default, the first RTSS processor is the ideal processor	1

Configuring IPv4 Address and Netmask Pairs

You can add up to 12 unique IPv4 address and netmask pairs under TCP/IP properties > IPv4 configurations.

NOTE: This setting is only available when Support TCP/IP is enabled for the selected interface. See Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) Properties above for more information.

To add an IPv4 address and netmask pair:

Select the interface for which you want to configure IPv4 settings.
Under TCP/IP properties, do one of the following:

Right-click on IPv4 configurationor on a current IPv4 Address/Netmask row, and then click Add.
Click Add:

A new IPv4 row appears, with empty Address and Netmask text entry fields.
Enter the new Address and Netmask in dotted-quad notation.
You must restart the TCP/IP Stack for changes to TCP/IP properties to take effect.

To remove an IPv4 address and netmask pair:

Select the interface for which you want to configure IPv4 settings.
Under TCP/IP properties, do one of the following:

Right-click on the IPv4 Address/Netmask row you want to remove, and then click Remove.
Click the Remove button that corresponds with the IPv4 Address/Netmask row you want to remove:

You must restart the TCP/IP Stack for changes to TCP/IP properties to take effect.

Associating a Filter with an RTX64 TCP/IP Interface

NOTE: This setting is only available when Support TCP/IP is enabled for the selected interface. See Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) Properties above for more information.

NOTE: You can only create one filter per interface.

To associate a filter with an RTX64 TCP/IP interface:

Select the interface you want to create a filter for.
Under TCP/IP properties, click the Browse button for Filter Name.
Navigate to the filter driver you want to use, and then click Open. The full path to the filter name appears.
You must restart the TCP/IP Stack for changes to TCP/IP properties to take effect.