Echelon FTXL - Manual (Page 22)

10 Introduction to FTXL
Notes:
1. ShortStack Micro Servers running on FT 3150 or PL 3150 Smart Transceivers
support up to 254 network variables. ShortStack Micro Servers running on FT
3120 Smart Transceivers support up to 240 network variables, and ShortStack
Micro Servers running on PL 3120 Smart Transceivers support up to 62 network
variables. A custom Micro Server can support up to 254 network variables,
depending on available resources.
2. ShortStack Micro Servers running on FT 3150 or PL 3150 Smart Transceivers
support up to 127 aliases. ShortStack Micro Servers running on FT 3120 Smart
Transceivers support up to 120 aliases. ShortStack Micro Servers running on PL
3120 Smart Transceivers support up to 62 aliases. A custom Micro Server can
support up to 127 aliases, depending on available resources.
3. See the LonTalk Control Network Protocol Specification , EIA/CEA 709.1-B-2002, for
more information about the extended command set (ECS) network management
commands. This document is available from the IHS Standards Store:
global.ihs.com/doc_detail.cfm?item_s_key=00391891&item_key_date=971131&rid=
CEA
.
4. An implementation of the L ON W ORKS file transfer protocol (FTP) is not provided
with the product.
5. For more information about the direct memory files (DMF) feature, see Using Direct
Memory Files on page 96.
6. The FTXL parallel I/O link-layer driver is included with the FTXL LonTalk protocol
stack.
The FTXL solution provides the best performance and highest network capacity,
but is limited using to an Altera Nios II host processor and the TP/FT-10 channel.
The ShortStack solution provides support for any host processor (with available
examples for both an Atmel ARM7 host processor and an Altera Nios II host
processor), and supports both the TP/FT-10 and PL-20 channels. The ShortStack
solution supports fewer network variables and aliases that the FTXL solution,
but more network variables and aliases than the Neuron-hosted solution.
Because the ShortStack and FTXL solutions are both built on the LonTalk
platform, they share a very similar API (the FTXL LonTalk API and the
ShortStack LonTalk Compact API). Thus, migrating applications from one
solution to the other is fairly easy. In addition, you can create applications that
share a common code base for devices that use both solutions.
Requirements and Restrictions for FTXL
The FTXL Developer’s Kit supports only the FTXL 3190 Free Topology Smart
Transceiver. It does not support other transceiver types.
The FTXL LonTalk protocol stack requires that the FTXL application use an
embedded operating system. The FTXL Developer’s Kit includes an example
application that uses the Micrium μC/OS-II operating system, but you can use
any embedded operating system that meets your application’s requirements.
And although the μC/OS-II operating system is a real-time operating system, the
FTXL LonTalk protocol stack does not require the operating system to be a real-
time operating system.