plctest.1
Author: cmaier@cmassoc.net

    plctest(1)                                   Qualcomm Atheros Open Powerline Toolkit                                  plctest(1)

    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  com‐
           patible 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 hexadec‐
                  imal 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 informa‐
           tion  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 <cmaier@qca.qualcomm.com>

    open-plc-utils-0.0.3                                        Mar 2014                                                  plctest(1)

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