Provided by: plc-utils-extra_0.0.6+git20230504.1ba7d5a0-1_amd64 
NAME
int6kwait - Qualcomm Atheros INT6x00 Powerline Device Procrastinator
SYNOPSIS
int6kwait [options] [device] [device] [...]
DESCRIPTION
Poll a Qualcomm Atheros powerline device, waiting for one or more events to occur before
continuing or returning. The events include reset or power off, restart or power on and
network association. It is used to pause shell scripts at critical points where a device
must be in a known state before continuing.
This program is part of the Qualcomm Atheros Powerline Toolkit. See the plc man page for
an overview and installation instructions.
OPTIONS
-a Poll the device every few seconds using VS_NW_INFO messages until the device
indicates that a networks exists and has at least one station. This option can
give false readings if other devices have dropped off-line and the device bridging
table still holds information about them. The program always checks for this event
last if other event options are specified.
-c count
The number of times the program will poll the device before declaring an event
failure. The program will wait a fixed period of time between each poll attempt.
Overall wait time is count/frequency where count can be modified using option -c.
Overall wait time is always approximate since operating system overhead and latency
are not taken into account. The default count is 300.
-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.
-f firmware
The identification string for firmware that should be running after the device
starts. This option can be used to detect a failed firmware load. If the actual
identification string does not match this one once the device starts then an error
is reported. If option -x is present then the program terminates with a non-zero
exit code. This option has no effect unless option -s is present. An
identification string looks like "INT6000-MAC-3-1-3143-1690-20071107-FINAL-B" and
can be obtained using int6k -r.
-i 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.
-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 Enter quiet mode. Progress messages are suppressed.
-r Poll the device every few seconds using VS_SW_VER messages until the bootloader or
runtime firmware fails to respond or the poll count exhausts. The absence of a
response indicates that the device either lost connection to the host, lost power
or has reset. The program always checks for this event first when other events are
specified.
-R Reset the device then check return status. Exit program on error if option -x is
present; otherwise, repeat the reset request until the device either accepts the
request or the wait time is exceeded.
-s Poll the device every few seconds using VS_SW_VER messages until the bootloader or
runtime firmware responds or the poll count exhausts. The presence of a response
indicates that the device has either connected to the host, received power or
finished reboot.
-t Display the actual time in seconds taken for successful completion, or waited for
unsuccessful completion, of ecah event.
-v Enter verbose mode. All Etherenet frames sent or received by the program are
displayed on stdout.
-w seconds
Additional time to wait once all events have occured. This wait does not occur if
any of the events timeout. When no other events are specified this option is
effectively equivalent to sleep. This option can be used to allow the device or
the network to settle. For example, a nominal 5 second wait is recommended after a
device successfully associates before attempting to transfer data.
-x Exit program on first error with a non-zero exit code. This option allows shell
scripts to detect failed or incomplete operations and take the appropriate action.
-?, --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
device The Media Access Control (MAC) address of some device. Addresses are 6 hexadecimal
octets optionally separated by colon. For example, the addresses "00b052000001",
"00:b0:52:00:00:01" and "00b052:000001" are all valid and equivalent. For
convenience, the symbolic address "local" resolves to "00:b0:52:00:00:01" and the
symbolic addresses "all" and "broadcast" both resolve to "ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff".
REFERENCES
See the Qualcomm Atheros HomePlug AV Firmware Technical Reference Manual for more
information.
DISCLAIMER
Atheros HomePlug AV Vendor Specific Management Message Entry structure and content is
proprietary to Qualcomm Atheros, Ocala FL USA. Consequently, public information may not
be available. Qualcomm Atheros reserves the right to modify message structure and content
in future firmware releases without any obligation to notify or compensate users of this
program.
EXAMPLES
The following command polls the local device until firmware stops running then polls the
device until firmware starts running again. This command can be inserted into a shell
script at a point where the device must reset and reboot before proceeding. Observer that
the program waits up to 60 seconds for each event, in turn. The 60 seconds is the product
of 60 poll attempts spaced 1 second apart.
# int6kwait -rs
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 60 seconds for Reset
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 60 seconds for Start
The following example specifies 5 poll attempts spaced 10 seconds apart. Less frequent
polling reduces network traffic but makes the program less responsive to events. Observe
that the allotted time applies to each event in turn.
# int6kwait -rs -p 10 -c 5
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 50 seconds for Reset
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 50 seconds for Start
The next example reports the actual amount of time taken for each event to occur. Observe
that the last event, device association, did not occur within the allotted time.
# int6kwait -rsat
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 60 seconds for Reset
etho 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Waited 22 seconds to Reset
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 60 seconds for Start
etho 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Waited 4 seconds to Start
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Allow 60 seconds for Assoc
etho 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Waited 60 seconds for Assoc
etho 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Device did not Assoc
The following example illustrates use of the revision string to detect mismatched
firmware. In this example, we reset the device first, using program int6k, then wait for
it to reset then start up again. There are also operation that can cause the device to
reset.
# int6k -R
# int6kwait -xrsf INT6000-MAC-3-1-3143-1690-20071107-FINAL-B
eth0 00:B0:52:BA:BA:01 Device started wrong firmware
Immediately after a reset we wait for the firmware to stop responding, with option -r, and
then start responding, with option -s, and then perform a string comparison against the
actual firmware revision string, with option -f. If the strings do not match then an
error is reported. In this case, the program will exit with a non-zero return code since
option -x is present.
DISCLAIMER
Atheros HomePlug AV Vendor Specific Management Message Entry structure and content is
proprietary to Qualcomm Atheros, Ocala FL USA. Consequently, public information may not
be available. Qualcomm Atheros reserves the right to modify message structure and content
in future firmware releases without any obligation to notify or compensate users of this
program.
SEE ALSO
plc(1), int6k(1), int6kf(1), int6khost(1), int6kid(1), int6krate(1), int6krule(1),
int6kstat(1)
CREDITS
Charles Maier