Frequently Asked Questions


This section of our PMON/2000 Web-site is devoted to questions that frequently arise, but have readily available answers.

Although most questions can be answered by reading the on-line Web-site documentation suite for PMON/2000, some are not so easily understood. In fact, if you are new to PMON/2000 then this set of pages will be very helpful. We are also developing a Discussion Forum Section that will serve as a central conversation area for users of, and contributirs to PMON/2000.

Lets get rigtht to the good stuff.

Q: I tried using the 'load' command to get a binary image from my host server, but nothing gets downloaded across the network - and my console hangs. Is PMON broken?

A: The 'load' command operates on serial ports only. To use 'load' correctly, the 'env' variable hostport should only be set to tty0 or tty1. Then 'load' will transfer an 'S-Record' of 'Fast Load Format' image across the serial port you choose. To load over Ethernet the 'netboot' or 'boot' shortcut should be used.

Q: I just changed my 'ipaddr' and 'gateway' variables in the environment so I could netboot a new application from a remote host. My PMON/2000 board still cannot see the network host and reports "Network not reachable." What am I doing wrong?

A: Currently PMON/2000 must also be restarted if 'ipaddr' or 'gateway' is changed. The built-in 'ifconfig' function, which sets up the Networking interface, is run during the board initialization. We are looking into a procedure that will allow changing these parameters at run-time. This would be more consistent with the behaviour of real operating systems (Windows not included, of course).

Q: I want to download an ELF 32-Bit binary image across the serial port, but it will not work. Why?

A: Downloading binary files over serial ports does not yet work. A method using the Zmodem protocol will be implemented in the next major revision. Currently serial port downloading only works with 'S-records' or 'fastload' format.

Q: I have tried to download from an NT host, but it fails. Is there any special directory, or file pathname convention needed?

A: This is likely to be a problem if the file in question is outside of the default location for your 'tftpd' on the WindowsNT machine. PMON/2000 is a native child of the Unix world and, as such, expects filename and pathname conventions that use forward slash ("/") as a seperator for pathname elements. WindowsNT does not conform to this standard. Try putting the file in question into the base directory location that your 'tftpd' server on the WindowsNT machine uses as a starting point for finding files that are requested.


Navigation: Document Home | Document Contents | Document Index | Return to GroupBSD Site