Is there a re-initialization jumper for Power PMAC? (E3?)

[Sina]

There is no E-jumper to force Power PMAC to a factory default status, however, using a USB memory stick or SD Card, we can achieve a lot more.
Power PMAC upon startup checks available USB memory sticks and SD cards for certain folder names (we call this the PPmac Recovery Mode). Existence of any of these folders forces the Power PMAC to a special mode other than normal mode, booting and loading the project in the flash.

Note that most mezzanine cards have a write protect switch which by default is set to protect (switch toward the nearest edge). To make updates you need to unprotect the system by setting the switch into the other position before booting the CPU.


The following list are the folder names and description for each of the modes.

Folder Name: PowerPmacNoRTLoad
Description: CPU runs as a generic computer without loading the Power PMAC Code.

Folder Name: PowerPmacFactoryReset
Description: Power PMAC starts up in factory reset mode ($$$***). This is similar to having E3 jumper on in a Turbo PMAC2 controller.

Folder Name: PowerPmacFirmwareInstall
Description: Power PMAC firmware will be updated. The installation package "powerpmac.deb" file should be placed in this folder.

Folder Name: PowerPmacConfigLoad
Description: It copies the Power PMAC Project from the files/folders available under this folder to Power PMAC flash memory, replacing the existing one. Project should be under "/PowerPmacConfigLoad/usrflash" folder.

Folder Name: PowerPmacFirmwareInstallandConfigLoad
Description: It updates the Power PMAC firmware and copies the Power PMAC Project from the files/folders available under this folder to Power PMAC flash memory, replacing the existing one. The installation package "powerpmac.deb" file should be placed in this folder. Project should be under "/PowerPmacFirmwareInstallandConfigLoad/usrflash" folder.

Folder Name: PowerPmacIP
Description: If folder is present and the file interfaces is in it the Power PMAC will use that IP address settings. If the interfaces file is not present in the folder the current interfaces file will be placed in that folder along with a boot.log. The boot.log may not exist if a disk failure occurs in that case RS232 must be used to view the log as it is created. (Step by step guide)

[***]

Adding some useful information from Sina regarding this same topic:


Here are the steps in order to use PowerPmacIP folder to detect/change the Power PMAC IP address:

1. Connect the USB memory stick/ SD Card to your PC (Any OS which can work with FAT32 partition)
2. Create a folder named PowerPmacIP on the USB memory stick/SD Card root folder.
3. Safely remove the USB memory stick/SD Card from the PC.
4. Plug the USB memory stick/SD Card to Power PMAC's USB port.
5. If Power PMAC is off, the power up the device. If Power PMAC is on, power cycle on the controller.
6. After the boot sequence is completed, the following files will be generated under your PowerPMACIP folder:
6.1. boot.log
6.2. interfaces

The interfaces file includes all the network settings for the Power PMAC CPU including the IP address.

If user desires to change the Power PMAC network settings, it is recommended to follow these steps:

7. Modify the interfaces file created by Power PMAC under PowerPmacIP folder, by connecting the USB memory stick/SD Card on PC and using any text editor which supports simple ASCII text.

interfaces Setup Example:

Code:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

iface eth0 inet static
address 10.34.9.232
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.34.9.254

iface eth1 inet static
address 192.168.0.232
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.0.232

auto eth0
auto eth1

8. Safely remove the USB memory stick/SD Card from the PC.
9. Plug the USB memory stick/SD Card to Power PMAC's USB port.
10. If Power PMAC is off, the power up the device. If Power PMAC is on, power cycle on the controller.
11. After the boot sequence is completed, Power PMAC is updated with the new interfaces network settings.

[bradp]

Starting in Firmware 1.5.x.x there is a new option.

Create a folder called PowerPMAC on a memory stick.

1.) If there is a file called interfaces.current in that folder that file will be replaced with the currently interfaces to allow a user to identify the processors current ip address

2.) If there is a file called interfaces in that folder that file will be used for ethernet configuration settings

3.) If there is a file called powerpmac.deb in that folder that will be installed

4.) If there is a configuration folder usrflash that folder will be copied to /opt/ppmac/ so it can be used as the configuration

If a file isn't present that operation is just skipped.