QUICK START Linux DRIVER and
HARDWARE REFERENCE CARD
RocketPort 550 4 Port Quad
RocketPort 550 4 Port RJ45
RocketPort 550 8 Port Octa
RocketPort 550 8 Port RJ11
RocketPort 550 8 Port (with dedicated interface box)
(with dedicated interface box)
RocketPort 550 16 Port
This Guide.
Comtrol Europe Ltd Document Number COM226Linux
th
Release Rev H, 29 January 2003
The Linux RocketPort 550 Drivers allow application space programs to perform
asynchronous communications using boards from the Comtrol RocketPort 550 range.
1. Installing Your RocketPort 550 hardware
Take care when you handle the RocketPort 550 PCI cards, like any electronic device,
they are sensitive to static electricity. Use normal static precautions such as wearing an
earth ground strap.
Power down the host PC and disconnect its mains input.
Follow the host PC instructions for access to the PC and the installation of additional
cards.
You may install up to 4 RocketPort 550 PCI cards in one PC.
Ensure the front panel retaining screws are fitted.
Follow the host PC instructions for re assembly of the host PC its cabling and re-fitting
of safety covers.
Re-connect the host PC mains input, power up the PC and login as root.
3
2. Installing the RocketPort 550 Linux Device Driver
software
NOTE
The Comtrol Linux driver release 1.03 was developed using the RED HAT 8.0
distribution with Kernel revision 2.4.18-14.
The driver source is provided should developers wish or need to modify the driver for
use with alternative Linux distributions and/or Kernels. For use with other 2.4.x kernels,
a simple re-compilation (on the target system) is all that may be necessary and a
‘Makefile’ is provided to automate this process. Before (re)compilation, the kernel
source must be installed.
For test purposes, the driver source was (re)compiled under Red Hat 7.3 kernel 2.4.18-3.
The driver module was installed and functioned correctly.
This driver source will not (re)compile under the obsolete 2.2.x kernels. If it is wished to
use the RocketPort 550 with these earlier kernels, then request a copy of the RocketPort
550 Linux driver release 1.00.
The installation media (i.e. what you are installing from) may be a 1.44Mb floppy diskette or a
CD-ROM. Alternatively, you may have downloaded the driver from
There may be minor differences in the installation procedure depending on the
installation media.
that you copy the ‘tar’ file to an MS-DOS formatted floppy diskette and follow the
floppy disk based installation procedure
Following download, you may need to unzip the downloaded file in order to obtain the tar file. The tar
file name will be of the format relXXX.tar where XXX is the release number. E.g. XXX = 103 =
release 1.03
The following assumes that you have booted Linux and logged in as root.
Step 1
Extract the files from the installation media. First insert the floppy diskette or
CD into the relevant drive and mount the media so that the file can be accessed.
DISKETTE
[root@localhost root]# mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
CD ROM
[root@localhost root]# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
4
Step 2.
Next, create a temporary directory into which the files can be extracted:
[root@localhost root]# cd /tmp
[root@localhost tmp]# mkdir inst_Comtrol
[root@localhost tmp]# cd inst_Comtrol
Step 3.
Then, extract the driver components from the tar file on the diskette or CD ROM to the
temporary directory: Note that the name of the tar file may be different.
DISKETTE
[root@localhost inst_Comtrol]# tar xvf /mnt/floppy/rel103.tar
CD ROM
[root@localhost inst_comtrol]# tar xvf /mnt/cdrom/rel103.tar
Note:The path to rel103.tar may differ on the CD ROM.
Step 4
Run the installation script
IMPORTANT
If your Linux kernel is not version 2.4.18-14 or your kernel configuration
differs from our development system then you will need to (re)compile the
RocketPort 550 driver source on your system, otherwise the Install script will
display error messages and the driver will not be installed. If this is the case
then follow the procedure in section 7 , ( Re)-compiling the RocketPort 550
Linux driver, before proceeding with installation step 4.
5
Run the install script from the directory into which the files were extracted:
[root@localhost inst_Comtrol]# ./install
===========================================================
Comtrol Europe RocketPort 550 Drivers installation
Version 1.03
January 2003
===========================================================
Press Enter to begin installation
Press enter to begin installation.
A screen of text is displayed. It contains information about the names you can
select for the RocketPort 550 ports and details how the driver assigns numbers to
individual ports.
Your system will connect to the RockPort 550 Ports through entries
in the /dev/ directory. You can choose any prefix for the names,
as long as it is different from names given to other devices.
For example, if you select a prefix of 'ttyA', then the RocketPort 550
Ports will be called /dev/ttyA00, /dev/ttyA01 and so on up to
/dev/ttyA63
You can install up to 4 RocketPort 550 cards in a system. The device names
for the first card starts with ttyA00, the second starts ttyA16, the third
ttyA32, and the fourth ttyA48. If the installed cards have less than
16 ports, then there will be gaps in the numbering corresponding to the
missing ports.
6
There are two names for each port, one is for communication with a
modem, the other is for communication with a terminal or computer
Usually the modem connection has a Device name like 'cuaa..' and
the terminal/computer connection has a name such as 'ttyA..'
See section 6 for more information about port naming.
You are prompted to enter the Special Device name prefix for terminal ports:
Please enter the Special Device name for terminals [....]
7
… and for modem ports:
Please enter the Special Device name for modems [....]
The installation script now copies the driver file into the module directory and
adds a command to initialisation scripts so that the driver is loaded whenever
Linux is rebooted.
Copying files ......Done
Adding insmod command to /etc/rc... directories...Done
Next, you are asked if you want to load the drivers now. If you have already fitted
the RocketPort 550 cards into the system (as we suggest you do), then you should
choose ‘Y’ here.
If you have not installed the cards yet, or have other administration tasks that will
need a reboot, you can say ‘N’ for no.
Do you want to install the RocketPort module now. If you don't do it
now, then you will have to reboot before the serial ports can be
used.
Please enter [Y]es or [N]o [.]
If you say Yes, and you’re running on the System Console (not in X-Windows),
then you’ll see messages from the RocketPort 550 driver confirming that it has
successfully loaded and listing any boards it detects
Rckt550: Direct MAJOR is 253, callout is 252.
8
Comtrol Europe RocketPort 550 Linux Drivers installation Complete
Your RocketPort 550 Linux Drivers are now installed
Remove the driver distribution media from the drive
3. Viewing the RocketPort 550 Port Installation
You can check that devices have been created in the /dev directory.
[root@localhost inst_Comtrol]# ls -l /dev/ttyA*
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
root
root
root
root
254, 0 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/ttyA00
254, 1 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/ttyA01
254, 2 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/ttyA02
254, 3 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/ttyA03
[root@localhost inst_Comtrol]# ls -l /dev/cuaa*
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
crwxrwxrwx 1 root
root
root
root
root
254, 0 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/cuaa 00
254, 1 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/cuaa 01
254, 2 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/cuaa 02
254, 3 Jan 23 20:36 /dev/cuaa 03
[root@localhost inst_Comtrol]#
.
Changing Configurations
It is not necessary to re-install the driver if you change the number of
RocketPort 555 cards in the system. Each time the system is restarted, the
boards are re-scanned and the Special Device files re-created.
9
4. Driver Removal
There is generally no need to remove the device driver from the system.
If a card is no longer required, simply shutdown and power off the computer,
remove the card and reboot the system. If there are no longer any installed cards
then the driver will detect this condition unload itself. However, the driver files will
remain installed on the system’s hard disk.
At a later time the RocketPort 550 card(s) can be re-installed and the computer
restarted. The drivers will detect and operate the card(s).
5. Application Programming
The Application Programming Interface pertaining to the RocketPort 550 Linux
device driver is described in the Linux documentation for serial (tty) ports.
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6. Port Names
The following tables show the port names given to each RocketPort 550 port if
you choose the ‘normal’ cuaa and ttyA naming.
Modem Devices
Port
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
First Board
Second Board
/dev/cuaa16
/dev/cuaa17
/dev/cuaa18
/dev/cuaa19
/dev/cuaa20
/dev/cuaa21
/dev/cuaa22
/dev/cuaa23
/dev/cuaa24
/dev/cuaa25
/dev/cuaa26
/dev/cuaa27
/dev/cuaa28
/dev/cuaa29
/dev/cuaa30
/dev/cuaa31
Third Board
/dev/cuaa32
/dev/cuaa33
/dev/cuaa34
/dev/cuaa35
/dev/cuaa36
/dev/cuaa37
/dev/cuaa38
/dev/cuaa39
/dev/cuaa40
/dev/cuaa41
/dev/cuaa42
/dev/cuaa43
/dev/cuaa44
/dev/cuaa45
/dev/cuaa46
/dev/cuaa47
Fourth Board
/dev/cuaa48
/dev/cuaa49
/dev/cuaa50
/dev/cuaa51
/dev/cuaa52
/dev/cuaa53
/dev/cuaa54
/dev/cuaa55
/dev/cuaa56
/dev/cuaa57
/dev/cuaa58
/dev/cuaa59
/dev/cuaa60
/dev/cuaa61
/dev/cuaa62
/dev/cuaa63
/dev/cuaa00
/dev/cuaa01
/dev/cuaa02
/dev/cuaa03
/dev/cuaa04
/dev/cuaa05
/dev/cuaa06
/dev/cuaa07
/dev/cuaa08
/dev/cuaa09
/dev/cuaa10
/dev/cuaa11
/dev/cuaa12
/dev/cuaa13
/dev/cuaa14
/dev/cuaa15
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Terminal Devices
Port
First Board
Second Board
/dev/ttyA16
/dev/ttyA17
/dev/ttyA18
/dev/ttyA19
/dev/ttyA20
/dev/ttyA21
/dev/ttyA22
/dev/ttyA23
/dev/ttyA24
/dev/ttyA25
/dev/ttyA26
/dev/ttyA27
/dev/ttyA28
/dev/ttyA29
/dev/ttyA30
/dev/ttyA31
Third Board
/dev/ttyA32
/dev/ttyA33
/dev/ttyA34
/dev/ttyA35
/dev/ttyA36
/dev/ttyA37
/dev/ttyA38
/dev/ttyA39
/dev/ttyA40
/dev/ttyA41
/dev/ttyA42
/dev/ttyA43
/dev/ttyA44
/dev/ttyA45
/dev/ttyA46
/dev/ttyA47
Fourth Board
/dev/ttyA48
/dev/ttyA49
/dev/ttyA50
/dev/ttyA51
/dev/ttyA52
/dev/ttyA53
/dev/ttyA54
/dev/ttyA55
/dev/ttyA56
/dev/ttyA57
/dev/ttyA58
/dev/ttyA59
/dev/ttyA60
/dev/ttyA61
/dev/ttyA62
/dev/ttyA63
/dev/ttyA00
/dev/ttyA01
/dev/ttyA02
/dev/ttyA03
/dev/ttyA04
/dev/ttyA05
/dev/ttyA06
/dev/ttyA07
/dev/ttyA08
/dev/ttyA09
/dev/ttyA10
/dev/ttyA11
/dev/ttyA12
/dev/ttyA13
/dev/ttyA14
/dev/ttyA15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Note that the driver detects boards in a fixed order, as follows:
All 16-port boards, in order of PCI slot.
All 8-port RJ11 boards, in order of PCI slot.
All 8-port Octacable boards, in order of PCI slot.
All 8-port ‘Interface’ boards, in order of PCI slot.
All 4-port RJ45 boards, in order of PCI slot.
All 8-port Quadcable boards, in order of PCI slot.
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Also, note that the assigned special device names are fixed as shown in the above tables.
So, the first RocketPort will start at /dev/ttyA00, the second at /dev/ttyA16 and so on,
regardless of whether the RocketPorts are 4, 8 or 16 port examples.
For example, if installing, say, two 8 port RocketPorts then the first card will use device
names /dev/ttyA00 to /dev/ttyA07 and the second board will use /dev/ttyA16 to
/dev/ttyA23.
Of course two 16 port controllers will have sixteen contiguous device names from
/dev/ttyA00.
12
7. RocketPort 550 Linux driver (re)compilation
Before compiling the RocketPort 550 driver, you must install the Linux kernel source
code. Consult Linux on-line documentation and/or web hosted Linux documentation
for the procedure. With the RED HAT Linux 8.0 boxed set distribution, the Linux
kernel source is provided in a format ready for installation using RPM.
Following successful installation of the kernel source code, the kernel source tree root
will be found at
/usr/src/linux2.4.xx.yy
where xx = sub level and yy=extra version
For example for the source distributed with the Red Hat 8.0 boxed distribution the path
would be:-
/usr/src/linux2.4.18-14
This will differ for other distributions and kernels and may even differ with localised RED HAT
Linux 8.0 distributions.
By way of another example, for Red Hat 7.3 boxed distribution the path would be:-
/usr/src/linux2.4.18-3
Compilation procedure
For the purposes of this example, it is assumed that the compilation is on a system with
kernel revision 2.4.18-14
1. Make the symbolic link
[root@localhost root] # cd /usr/src
[root@localhost src] # ln –s linux-2.4.18-14 linux
2. Navigate to the RocketPort 550 installaton directory because this contains the
Source, rckt550.c and the makefile (this document assumes that this is
/tmp/inst_comtrol.
[root@localhost src] # cd /tmp/inst_comtrol
3. Perform the compilation.
[root@localhost inst_comtrol] # make clean
[root@localhost inst_comtrol] # make
If the make is successful and error free then a new rckt550.o will be produced.
You can now use the ‘install’ script to install the driver, return to installation step 4.
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8. RocketPort 550 Cable Types
RocketPort 550 4 Quad
RocketPort 550 4 RJ45
RocketPort 550 8 OCTA
RocketPort 550 8 RJ11
RocketPort 550 8 Port (with dedicated interface box)
RocketPort 550 16 Port (with dedicated interface box)
RocketPort 550 4 Quad Cable - 37 way D type fan out to 4 DB25 Male
DB37 pin DB25 pin RS232 Signal/Port DB37 pin DB25 pin RS232 Signal/Port
35
34
16
17
15
37
33
36
18
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 0
RxD Port 0
RTS Port 0
CTS Port 0
DSR Port 0
Signal Gnd Port 0
DCD Port 0
DTR Port 0
RI Port 0
26
25
7
8
6
28
24
27
9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 2
RxD Port 2
RTS Port 2
CTS Port 2
DSR Port 2
Signal Gnd Port 2
DCD Port 2
DTR Port 2
RI Port 2
12
11
30
31
29
14
10
13
32
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 1
RxD Port 1
RTS Port 1
CTS Port 1
DSR Port 1
Signal Gnd Port 1
DCD Port 1
DTR Port 1
RI Port 1
3
2
21
22
20
5
1
4
23
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 3
RxD Port 3
RTS Port 3
CTS Port 3
DSR Port 3
Signal Gnd Port 3
DCD Port 3
DTR Port 3
RI Port 3
Pin 19 of the 37 way connector is not used
Pins 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 25 of each 25 way connector
are not used.
The cable shields and connector metal bodies should be connected.
19
1
37
20
14
RocketPort 550 8 OCTA Cable - 78 way D type fan out to 8 DB25 Male
DB78 Pin DB25 Pin RS232 Signal/Port DB78 Pin DB25 Pin RS232 Signal/Port
30
55
51
16
54
71
35
49
36
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 0
RxD Port 0
RTS Port 0
CTS Port 0
DSR Port 0
Signal Gnd Port 0
DCD Port 0
DTR Port 0
RI Port 0
40
28
21
25
5
75
43
22
44
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 4
RxD Port 4
RTS Port 4
CTS Port 4
DSR Port 4
Signal Gnd Port 4
DCD Port 4
DTR Port 4
RI Port 4
50
17
31
53
34
72
33
32
15
2
3
TxD Port 1
RxD Port 1
RTS Port 1
CTS Port 1
DSR Port 1
Signal Gnd Port 1
DCD Port 1
DTR Port 1
RI Port 1
2
8
41
4
2
3
TxD Port 5
RxD Port 5
RTS Port 5
CTS Port 5
DSR Port 5
Signal Gnd Port 5
DCD Port 5
DTR Port 5
RI Port 5
4
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
5
6
7
8
20
22
42
76
23
3
24
11
37
12
59
58
73
39
13
20
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 2
RxD Port 2
RTS Port 2
CTS Port 2
DSR Port 2
Signal Gnd Port 2
DCD Port 2
DTR Port 2
RI Port 2
63
46
62
9
29
77
48
61
47
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 6
RxD Port 6
RTS Port 6
CTS Port 6
DSR Port 6
Signal Gnd Port 6
DCD Port 6
DTR Port 6
RI Port 6
10
56
14
57
38
74
18
52
19
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 3
RxD Port 3
RTS Port 3
CTS Port 3
DSR Port 3
Signal Gnd Port 3
DCD Port 3
DTR Port 3
RI Port 3
64
27
60
45
26
78
6
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
22
TxD Port 7
RxD Port 7
RTS Port 7
CTS Port 7
DSR Port 7
Signal Gnd Port 7
DCD Port 7
DTR Port 7
RI Port 7
1
7
Pin 67of the 78 way connector is not used. Pins 65, 66, 68, 69 and 70 are Signal Ground.
Pins 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 25 of each 25 way connector
are not used.
The cable shields and connector metal bodies should be connected.
20
39
59
1
21
40
78
60
15
RocketPort 550 8 RJ11 Cable Pin Out
RJ11 pin
RS232 Signals
DTR
Signal Ground
Pin 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
TxD
RxD
DCD
CTS
RJ11 Plug front and side view
Pin 1
RocketPort 550 4 RJ45 Cable Pin Out
RJ45 pin
RS232 Signals
RTS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
DTR
Signal Ground
TxD
RxD
DCD
DSR
RJ45 Plug front and side view
CTS
RocketPort 550 8 Port - with 8 DB25 Female RS232 dedicated interface box
and
RocketPort 550 16 Port - with 16 DB25 Female RS232 dedicated interface box
13
25
1
14
DB25 Female Interface Box Connector
1
14
13
25
DB25 Male Connector
16
Rocket Port Interface Box DB25 Signals
DB25 Pin
RS232 Signal
RS422 Signal
(RocketPort
RS232/422
Universal Interface
version only)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
15
17
19
25
TxD
RxD
RTS
CTS
DSR
*See note
*See note
*See note
*See note
*See note
*See note
*See note
*See note
RxD+ RxD(B)
RxD- RxD(A)
TxD+ TxD(B)
TxD- TxD(A)
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
See UI manual
Signal Gnd
DCD
DTR
Not used
Not used
Not used
Not used
*Note : All RS232 signals are present in RS422 mode.
The RocketPort interface box can only be used with the RocketPort 550-8 and
RocketPort 550-16. These controllers have a single DB25F mounted on the backplate
which connects via the RocketPort cable to the interface box. Alternatively the
RocketPort 550-8 and 550-16 controllers may connect to the Comtrol Universal
Interface (UI). Refer to the UI manual for connector pin-outs.
The Quad, Octa, RJ11 and RJ45 RocketPort versions do not support RS422 mode.
Pins 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of each 25 way connector are not used.
17
9. Technical Support
Comtrol has a staff of support technicians available. Telephone support is available daily,
Monday through Friday (except holidays) on the US (Central Time) or UK number listed
below. Before you call please have the following information available :
Item
Your System Information
RocketPort 550 model number
RocketPort 550 serial number
RocketPort 550 device driver version
Interface type
Operating system type and release
PC make, Model and speed
Details of other cards configured in the PC
The Comtrol Corporation Headquarters are at
6655 Wedgwood Road
Suite 120
Minneapolis
MN 55311-3646
USA
Phone : +1 763 494 4100
Fax : +1 763 494 8992
Email : [email protected]
Web site : http://www.comtrol.com
FTP site : ftp.comtrol.com
The Comtrol Europe Ltd Headquarters are at
Unit 2, Avonbury Business Park
Howes Lane
Bicester
Oxfordshire
OX26 2UA
Great Britain
Phone : +44 (0) 1869 323220
Fax : +44 (0) 1869 323211
Email : [email protected]
Web site : http://www.comtrol.co.uk
18
10. Specifications
RocketPort 550 card
Specification
Baud rate :
RS 232 (4 RJ45 and Quad)
RS 232 (8 RJ11 and Octa)
RS 232/422 (8 and 16 Port with interface box)
50 to 460.8K baud
50 to 115.2K baud
50 to 230.4K baud
Note : Baud rate is dependant upon hardware and operating system configuration
Bus interface
Control by device driver
Data bits
PCI
7 or 8
Parity
Odd, Even or None
Stop bits
1 or 2
Environmental Condition
Air temperature :
System on
Specification
0 to 40ºC
System off
-20 to 85ºC
Humidity (non-condensing)
System on
8 to 80%
System off
20 to 80%
Altitude
MTBF
0 to 10,000 feet
Greater than 30 years
Product
5V Current
210 mA
+12V Current
-12V Current
20 mA
20 mA
120 mA
80 mA
N/A
RocketPort 550 4 Quad
RocketPort 550 4 RJ45
RocketPort 550 8 OCTA
RocketPort 550 8 RJ11
RocketPort 550 8 Port
RocketPort 550 16 Port
20 mA
20 mA
120 mA
80 mA
N/A
190 mA
140 mA
250 mA
215 mA
300 mA
N/A
N/A
19
11. Copyright and Trademarks
Copyright
Copyright 2001 - 2003 Comtrol Europe Ltd
Trademarks
The Comtrol Europe logo and the RocketPort logo are trademarks of Comtrol
Corporation.
Product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Red Hat is a trademark of Red Hat inc.
Microsoft, MS-DOS, MS, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, MSN,
MSDN and Visual C++ are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
“Acrobat® Reader Copyright © 1987-2001 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights
reserved. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated which
may be registered in certain jurisdictions”
Comtrol reserves the right to make product and user guide changes without notice
Comtrol makes no representations or warranties with regard to the contents of this
Quick Start Card or to the suitability of any Comtrol product for any particular purpose.
Specifications are subject to change witho ut notice. Some software or features may not
be available at the time of publication. Contact your reseller for current product
information.
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