FMS/cRIO comm issue

[sdaustin]

MAC filtering probably isn't the issue. I'm told the FMS does not send any traffic directly to the cRIO. It's all commands to the DS, which then in turn sends commands to the cRIO. We tried two different DLinks and a different DS.

I can't recall exactly what was displayed on the DS, other than that the uppermost indicator in the lower-left pane ("Comm", I believe) simply never turned green running under FMS. Without Comm, the robot battery voltage was probably not being displayed. The DS was usually on AC. When we swapped out the cRIO, we continued to use our existing modules and didn't change any of the wiring to/from them. Given that everything worked fine if the DS was hardwired directly to the cRIO or thru the DLink, or if we used a different cRIO, I think that rules out the battery and modules.

What's the RSL?

Autonomous wasn't an issue for the first five matches -we carried the robot off the field before they started. My recollection is that it was disabled for the first few matches w/ the new cRIO, then we enabled it. It was enabled for all of the Waterford competition and by about the 6th match our kids had it working very well, following the lines & hanging an ubertube. Woo Hoo!

This smells like an OSI Layer 1 or 2 network issue in the cRIO ethernet port to me.

Anyway, I have a high level of confidence that the NI application engineer working on this will get it resolved to our satisfaction soon. He has been truly awesome.

[jtdowney]

Originally Posted by sdaustin

What's the RSL?

Robot Signal Light, it is the large orange Allen-Bradley light that is wired into the Digital Side Car that connects through slot 4.

[anyheck]

Originally Posted by sdaustin

MAC filtering probably isn't the issue. I'm told the FMS does not send any traffic directly to the cRIO. It's all commands to the DS, which then in turn sends commands to the cRIO. We tried two different DLinks and a different DS.

I was suggesting that because no traffic would pass to the cRIO regardless of the source of the traffic, if this was set up in the router or firewall somewhere.

[Mark McLeod]

If you think it was an issue with the cRIO Ethernet port, then what were the port lights displaying while the error occurred?

There is a fault that exhibits itself as solid red & amber lights on the cRIO port where it fails to communicate with anyone. It's apparently a lockout condition between the cRIO and the DLink, possibly related to the ARP. Everyone's on but nobody is talking.

Power cycling does nothing to help (it's actually counter-productive in this case), because the timing is such that the order the devices come up seems to cause the lockout.
I've seen it fixed by a simple disconnect/reconnect of the cRIO Ethernet cable followed by a minute of patience. Sometimes a reset of the cRIO alone will clear the condition, but only sometimes.

A sniffer would certainly help diagnose the issue.