CYC(3)

NAME

cyc − Cyclone fiber interface

SYNOPSIS

bind #C /dev

/dev/cyc

DESCRIPTION

The cyc device drives the Cyclone CVME961 (not 960) card with an attached SQFBR Squall module to provide a high-speed point-to-point 9P link between a CPU server and a file server. Both machines must of course have VME buses. For debugging, the Cyclone may be loaded with on-board software using xms (see con(1)) and the NINDY ROM supplied with the device. In production, though, it is easiest to replace the ROM with the program in the directory /sys/src/fs/cyc. In either case, the on-board software expects an identical Cyclone to be at the other end of the fiber. One of the boards must be in a CPU server, the other in a file server; the systems configure their respective boards dynamically as appropriate.

The driver serves a single file, /dev/cyc. When opened, the file initializes the connection to the file server. The resulting file descriptor should be used only to send and receive 9P messages. Typically boot(8) will open /dev/cyc, prime the connection by sending nop and session messages (see attach(5)), and then mount (see bind(2)) the file descriptor in the CPU server’s name space. Thenceforth all activity on /dev/cyc will be mediated by the mount driver mnt(3)).

FILES

/sys/src/fs/cyc
Directory of on-board software for the Cyclone.

BUGS

The driver is specific to the SGI Power Series, although the device should operate on any VME bus.

Plan 9 — January 03, 1993