Support for Message Signaled Interrupts

[FlightSimEngineer]

We have been using the PCAN-PCI boards with our own RTOS driver for a number of years. We would like to switch to PCAN-PCI Express boards. The version 1.1 boards that I have work fine with MSI but the version 2.1 boards do not. In some systems, we have to use MSI. Are there newer revisions beyond 2.1 that have MSI working?

[PEAK-Support]

What exact happend with the Rev. 2.1 in MSI Mainboards?
Could you please give us some more Information?

Thank you

Uwe

[FlightSimEngineer]

Not an MSI motherboard--we must use message signaled interrupts (MSI) on some systems.

The systems most used are Intel 2U servers either SR2500 (5000P chipset) or SR2600 (5520 chipset I believe).

The cards work fine under Windows on these systems. However, when IntervalZero's RTX is added, there can be no sharing of legacy interrupts between Windows and RTX. On the SR2600, all of the PCIe slots except one share a legacy interrupt with a PCI Express Hub. Thus, we could only use one PCAN card if legacy interrupts are used. We had similar issues with an HP Z800 and decidied not to use it for our simulations with CANBUS.

The 1.1 cards allowed us to use message signaled interrupts and avoid the legacy interrupt issue. The 2.1 cards only work in legacy interrupt mode. I currently have two 1.1 (April 2007) cards and eight 2.1 (September 2008) cards. The PCIe bridge chip changed to a Tundra on the 2.1 cards and seems to only be asserting INTA rather than using message signaled interrupts.

[PEAK-Support]

Ok, but one more question:
The PCAN-PCI Express card use the Tuntra PCIe to PCI bridge.
You talk about a PCAN PCI-Express card Version 1.1 ? Do you have a serial number?
Could you send us a picture or the information of the used PCIe Chip used (is it a Lattice CPLD/FPGA)?
Normaly all our cards that support the PCI Express Interface use the Tuntra chip.
More Info how the INT mode could be changed with the Tuntra will be write by one of our Engineers here today.

[P.Steil]

hi there,
if the v1.1 PCIe card is using a lattice FPGA, the card (FPGA design) was one of the first prototype series developed by external partners. Activity on this design was stopped later by problems on many PCIe platforms. The design was replaced by a bridge chip in conjunction with our standard PCI CPLD. This does not support MSIs, neither by the bridge nor by the PCI CPLD.

Regards
Philipp