NAME

       amptest - Qualcomm Atheros PLC Test Applet Loader

SYNOPSIS

       amptest [options] [file] [file] [...]

DESCRIPTION

       Download  and  execute one or more test applets on the local Qualcomm Atheros PLC device.  An applet is a
       small firmware image that can be started by the bootloader and that returns to the bootloader when  done.
       This program is an alternative to program int6ktest but has been replaced by program plctest.

       A  Qualcomm  Atheros  firmware  image file may contain one or more applets.  Each applet is preceded by a
       header that specifies the image size, load address  and  start  address.   Program  amptest  sequentially
       downloads  and executes each applet found in each image file specified on the command line.  It waits for
       each applet to complete before downloading and executing the next one.  The program terminates  once  all
       applets in all files have been executed or some applet fails to complete within 60 seconds.

       Most  applets  return to the Bootloader on successful completion so that another applet can be downloaded
       and executed.  This allows applet chains to be executed using one command.  A chain may  consist  of  one
       file  containing  multiple  applets  or  multiple  files each containing one applet or any combination of
       single and multiple applet files.  The chain will break, after a timeout, if  any  applet  in  the  chain
       fails to return to the Bootloader in time.  Failure to return in time may be either a good thing or a bad
       thing depending on applet design.

       This program is part of the Qualcomm Atheros Powerline Toolkit.  See the APT man page for an overview and
       installation instructions.

COMMENTS

       The  Qualcomm  Atheros  Powerline Toolkit contains a set of legacy applets in folder applets.  These were
       designed for use with program int6ktest and most will not display console messages  properly  using  this
       program.   A  new  series  of  compatible  applets  are under development and should be available through
       Atheros Field Application Engineering.

       Assuming a good set of applets are available, this program is ideal for  testing  reference  designs  for
       performance  and  production  units  for  defects.   Applets  may  become  available  for testing onboard
       connections, memory integrity and noise immunity.  Consult with Atheros Field Application Engineering for
       applet availability.

OPTIONS

       -e     Redirects stderr messages to stdout.  By convention status  and  error  messages  are  printed  on
              stderr while primary program output is printed on stdout.  This option prints all output on stdout
              in cases where this is desired.

       -i interface
              Select  the  host  Ethernet  interface.   All  requests  are sent via this host interface and only
              reponses received via this host interface are recognized.  The default interface is  eth1  because
              most  people  use eth0 as their principle network connection; however, if environment string "PLC"
              is defined then it takes precedence over the default interface.  This option then takes precedence
              over either default.

       -l     Sequentially execute and re-execute all applets in all files on the command line until the program
              is terminated with ^C.

       -q     Suppresses normal progress and status messages.

       -t milliseconds
              Read timeout in milliseconds.  Values range from 0 through UINT_MAX.  This  is  the  maximum  time
              allowed for a response.  The default is shown in brackets on the program menu.

       -v     Print  additional  information  on stdout.  Specifically, this option prints incoming and outgoing
              frames in hexadecimal format on stdout.  Output can be directed to a text file for analysis.

       -w seconds
              Application timeout in seconds.  This application will wait this long for an applet  to  terminate
              and return to the bootloader before reporting an error and proceeding to the next applet.

       -x     Cause the program to exit on the first error instead of moving on to the next applet.  Error exits
              return a non-zero value to the shell.

       -?, --help
              Print  program  help  summary  on  stdout.  This option takes precedence over other options on the
              command line.

       -!, --version
              Print program version information on stdout.  This option takes precedence over other  options  on
              the  command line.  Use this option when sending screen dumps to Atheros Technical Support so that
              they know exactly which version of the Linux Toolkit you are using.

ARGUMENTS

       file   The name of an Atheros image file.  The image file may contain one or  more  images.   Each  image
              will  be downloaded and executed in turn until all images are executed or an image fails to return
              to the Bootloader within 1 minute for some reason.

EXAMPLES

       The following example sequentially downloads then executes each image in  file  abc.nvm  in  turn.   Each
       image  must  complete and return to the bootloader before the next one downloads.  Observe that no device
       address is needed because Atheros powerline devices use  address  00:b0:52:00:00:01  when  in  bootloader
       mode.

          # amptest abc.nvm

       The following example will sequentially download and execute the images in each file abc.nvm, def.nvm and
       ghi.nvm in turn.

          # amptest abc.nvm def.nvm ghi.nvm

DISCLAIMER

       Atheros image file structure and content is proprietary to Qualcomm Atheros, Ocala FL USA.  Consequently,
       public  information  is  not  available.  Qualcomm Atheros reserves the right to change file structure or
       content in future firmware releases without any obligation to notify or compensate users of this program.
       This program is reserved for use by  Atheros  Field  Engineers.   Use  of  this  program  may  void  some
       contractual obligations made by Atheros.

SEE ALSO

       APT(1), chknvm(1), chknvm2(1), int6ktest(1), nvmsplit(1), nvmmerge(1), plctest(1), setnvm(1)

CREDITS

        Charles Maier

open-plc-utils-0.0.3                              November 2013                                       amptest(1)