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NAME

       plctest - Qualcomm Atheros PLC Test Applet Loader

SYNOPSIS

       plctest [options] [file] [file] [...]

DESCRIPTION

       Download  and  execute  one  or  more test applets to the local Qualcomm Atheros powerline
       device.  An applet is a small firmware image that can be started  by  the  bootloader  and
       will  return  to  the  bootloader  when done.  This program replaces int6ktest and amptest
       because is supports both old and new image file formats and  the  old  and  new  powerline
       device boot methods.

       Qualcomm  Atheros firmware files may contain one or more applets.  Each applet is preceded
       by a header that specifies the image size,  load  address  and  start  address  and  other
       information.   Program  plctest  sequentially  dowloads  and executes every applet in each
       image file named 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 sequences to be executed with one command.
       A sequence may consist of one file having multiple applets or multiple files  each  having
       one  applet  or  any  combination  of single and multiple applet files.  The sequence 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  Powerline  Toolkit  contains  a  set of legacy applets in folder applets.  These were
       originally designed for use with program int6ktest  and  most  will  not  display  console
       messages  properly  using  this  program;  however, a new series of compatible applets are
       under development and should be  available  through  Qualcomm  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     Execute  all  applets  in  all  files  on  the  command  line  until the program is
              terminated using ^C.

       -p frequency
              The polling frequency expressed in polls-per-second.  For example, 1 means one poll
              per second and 10 means ten polls per second.  Overall wait time is count/frequency
              where count may  be  modified  using  option  -c.   Overall  wait  time  is  always
              approximate since operating system overhead and latency are not taken into account.
              The default frequency is 5.

       -q     Suppresses normal progress and status messages.

       -t timeout
              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     Exit program on first error instead of proceeding to the next applet.  Error  exits
              return a non-zero value to the shell.

       -X     Exit  program  on  first applet load instead of waiting for the applet to complete.
              This exit returns a 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.

          # plctest abc.nvm

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

          # plctest 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),  amptest(1),  int6ktest(1),  nvmsplit(1),  nvmmerge(1),
       setnvm(1)

CREDITS

        Charles Maier