Cyclone Control GUI
For Cyclone LC, Cyclone FX, Cyclone MultiChannel
As part of the Cyclone Control Suite, PEmicro includes the Cyclone Control GUI, a graphical application that gives the users access to all the functions of the latest Cyclone Control.
The Cyclone Control GUI allows users to add and remove images from Cyclone memory and, when supported by the connected Cyclone, other available storage. The utility also allows the user to view and edit Cyclone properties, to view the Cyclone LCD remotely, to view and add Cyclone Licenses, and to view and manage Serial Files and Encryption Keys.
The utility is composed of three main parts: a connection dialog, the control tabs, and a status window.
Figure: Areas of the Cyclone Control GUI
The Connection Dialog
Allows the user to specify a Cyclone to connect with, as well as specify the connection options. The utility will always automatically upgrade the firmware of a Cyclone if the firmware in the Cyclone is outdated. However, firmware update can also be forced by using the checkbox in File->Force Firmware Update. This option will update the firmware on the Cyclone with the latest firmware in the same folder as the Cyclone Control GUI.
The user may also set the GUI to skip firmware updates by using the checkbox under File -> Skip Firmware Update in the menu. Skipping the firmware update will still connect to the Cyclone, and will return an error message if there are any attempts to add an unsupported image.
At launch, the Cyclone Control GUI will show all the Cyclones detected on the network and those attached by USB connections in a drop-down list. Cyclones can also be connected to by using the “Specify Cyclone” checkbox and specifying a Cyclone by identifier. This identifier can by the Cyclone name, its IP address or its port number.
Figure: Select Cyclone From Drop Down
Once the Cyclone is selected, clicking on the “Connect” button will bring a series of tabs that will allow full access to the Cyclone.
The Control Tabs
The control tabs allow access to the Cyclone. Through these tabs you can view, add, and erase Cyclone images, you can view and modify properties, you can modify licenses, see the Cyclone screen remotely and view/manage Serial Files and Encryption Keys.
Cyclone Images Tab
The Cyclone Images tab allows the user to view and modify the Cyclone images both in internal Cyclone memory and on external memory cards. To add a new image to the Cyclone, click on the “Add Image Internal” button and selected the image you want to add. For the changes to take effect, the “Apply Changes” button needs to be clicked, this will place the image in the Cyclone memory.
Figure: Images Tab - Image Ready to Store
Cyclone FX programmers (and legacy Cyclone LC programmers with license) can also store images in external memory (an SDHC card). The storage area for the Add Image button is toggled between Internal and External by clicking on the drop down arrow on the right of the “Add Image” button. Users can also right-click on an uncommitted image to toggle the storage between Internal and External.
Figure: Changing Storage Area - Right Click or Drop-Down Selections
Note
An image displayed in blue is not yet committed, so disconnecting from the Cyclone before the “Apply Changes” button is clicked will discard any changes not committed.
Erasing an image can be done by clicking on the trashcan icon at the left of the image, it can also be done by selecting the image and click the DELETE key on the keyboard. The “Apply Changes” buttons must be clicked for any changes to the Cyclone to take place.
To format the external memory card click on the “Format External Card” button. This will erase all image information stored in the external card.
Categories
The following information is displayed for each image in the Images Tab:
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Delete Image - Clicking the trash icon will designate an image for deletion. Apply Changes must be clicked to execute this action.
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Number - Displays the Cyclone’s numbering for each image.
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Name - Displays the Image Name.
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CRC - Displays the CRC value for each image.
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Storage Area - “IN” designates that the image is stored in the Cyclone’s internal memory; “EX” designates that it is stored in external memory (SDHC Card).
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Status - This displays whether the image is “Stored” on the Cyclone, “Ready to store”, or “Ready to erase”. A stored image that is encrypted but missing its ImageKey will always show “Key Missing!” to indicate that the user must provision the Cyclone with this key in order to program that encrypted image.
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Encryption - Displays “Encrpyted” for encrypted images, and “None” for images that have not been encrypted.
For more about encrypted programming images, please see Encryption (Procryption Security) .
View Image Properties
From this tab a user can also access the image properties of images in the Cyclone. Just right click on the image then click on “View Image Properties” and a window with public image properties will pop up.
Figure: Image Properties Window
Properties like the image name, the voltage settings, image CRC, encryption info, and all current serial numbers can be viewed from this window. Use this feature to make sure your image settings are correct or check that the serial numbers change accordingly.
Channels Tab
Cyclone MultiChannel programmers display a Channels tab in the GUI where the user can set which channels are Active, which image will be programmed by each channel, and more. The figure below shows a list of the channels available to the user, the channel numbers, whether each channel is recognized as Connected, whether it is Active or Not Active, and which image (if any) is assigned to each channel.
Channels are not necessarily configured to execute programming simply because they are native to (or have been connected to) a powered Cyclone MultiChannel. Each channel has an associated Status, and that status must be Active in order for programming operations to execute on that channel. See "Set Active" Button for more details.
Figure: Cyclone Control GUI Channels Tab
"Set Image" Button
The user can assign images to specific channels by selecting an image from the dropbox next to the Set Image button, selecting the checkboxes for the channels to which that image should be assigned, and then clicking the Set Image button (as shown in the figure below). The dropdown box is populated with images that have been loaded onto the Cyclone MultiChannel.
Figure: Channels Tab - Set Image
In the figure above the user has selected four channels (12, 13, 31, and 32) as well as the image to be assigned to those channels ("KE04_Blinky_900000"). The figure below shows the new status after the user hits the Set Image button.
Figure: Channels Tab - Set Image Result
"Set Active" Button
Active channels are the channels that will program their associated image when programming is executed. To update which channels are Active, the user must use the checkboxes to select ALL of the channels that they want to be Active, even if the channels are already shown as Active. The user can then click the Set Active button. Selected channels will be set to Active, and any channels with an unselected checkbox will be set to Not Active.
"Select All" and "Select None" Buttons
The Select All and Select None options can sometimes help the user more quickly make the selections they require before hitting Set Active or Set Image. The former will select every channel, while the latter wil uncheck every channel.
PEcloud Tab
Some Cyclones are able to take advantage of PEcloud, PEmicro's free cloud-based platform for managing production programming.
If the Cyclone is not provisioned for PEcloud, the button in the lower middle will display “Provision This Cyclone.”
Figure: Provision Cyclone Button
Clicking on this button will bring up a dialog which allows the user to provision the Cyclone in one of two ways.
- If the user has a provision code generated by the PEcloud Cyclone Group, they may select Use Provisioning Code and type in their code.
- If the user has downloaded their PEcloud API credentials, they may provision the Cyclone using that file by selecting Use Credentials File. Once their credentials are selected the user must choose a Virtual Factory and Cyclone User Group from those provided. The newly provisioned Cyclone will join that VF/group.
Figure: Provision Cyclone Dialog
If the Cyclone is already provisioned for a PEcloud account the user will see a listing of cloud-connected images that are available to the Cyclone based on which Cyclone Group it is assigned to, and which Virtual Factory that Cyclone Group is assigned to.
Figure: PEcloud Tab
The Cyclone may be de-provisioned from the PEcloud account by clicking the “De-provision Cyclone” button. This removes all access to the PEcloud account and any ability to program cloud-connected images, regardless of whether the image is already loaded into memory. The Cyclone must always first obtain permission from the cloud before programming a cloud-connected image.
These cloud-connected images may contain various limitations including number of successful programs, date range, and more. These are incorporated into the image when it is deployed as part of the security settings. Any limitations are not visible to the Cyclone operator. During programming, if an error message is displayed which suggests that an unexpected limitation has been encountered, operators are encouraged to consult the PECloud admin/manager with any questions as it pertains to their specific usage scenario.
Properties Tab
Figure: Properties Tab
The properties tab shows all the network, Cyclone and image properties. It also shows properties for the supported features of the Cyclone. From this tab the Cyclone firmware and logic versions, the cyclone type, and the number of images are available. Also from this tab some of the properties can be modified.
Modifying A Cyclone Property
Some properties in the Cyclone are modifiable. The properties that can be modified will be displayed in blue.
Figure: Modifying Cyclone Properties
Double-clicking on these properties will change the blue text to black and allow the user to edit the field. Edit the value and then click “Enter” to save the new value, the window will refresh and the value shown will be the updated value of the property.
The Remote Display Tab
This tab will show the current display of the Cyclone. The utility checks every second for changes in the display and updates the image to the current display. This image is also clickable so clicks on the virtual screen are also registered by the Cyclone.
Figure: Remote Display & Control of Cyclone Screen
Licenses Tab
New licenses can be added to the Cyclone using the Licenses tab. Clicking on “Add New License” will prompt the PEmicro License Activation Form. This form takes in the Installation Code for a product and can automatically validate and register the installation.
This tab also shows the current licenses active in the Cyclone.
Figure: Licenses Tab
Serial Files Tab
The Serial Files Tab displays any Serial Files that are on the Cyclone. Serial Files can be “deleted” with the “Delete Serial File” button, but in this case it simply means that they will not be displayed. An image file that uses a “deleted” Serial File will simply cause the file to re-appear and resume with its next serial number.
Figure: Serial Files Tab
Cyclone programmers with the ProCryption Security License are able to encrypt programming images with a user-generated ImageKey. In order to load an encrypted image onto a Cyclone, or to program with an encrypted image once it is on the Cyclone, the ImageKey used to encrypt that image must be present on the Cyclone.
The Encryption Keys tab displays any ImageKeys that reside on the Cyclone. The Name and unique ID number for each ImageKey is shown.
Figure: Encryption Keys Tab
The Add Encryption Key button allows the user to browse to an ImageKey that they wish to add to the Cyclone. Encrypted programming images cannot be loaded onto the Cyclone unless the ImageKey that was used to encrypt them is present on the Cyclone. The transfer of an ImageKey to a Cyclone using the Cyclone Control Suite is always secured by encrypting the ImageKey with an RSA public key specific to the Cyclone that it is connected to.
The Delete Encryption Key button will delete the selected ImageKey from the Cyclone. The user should bear in mind that if the ImageKey is missing for an encrypted image, that image will be locked and cannot be programmed.
Network Settings Tab
The GUI allows the user to configure settings for Ethernet (and WiFi, if supported) in the Network Settings tab. If WiFi is not supported, the WiFi Settings area will be greyed-out.
Ethernet Settings
The Ethernet Settings are listed at the top. The fields shown display, and can be used to configure, the Cyclone’s Ethernet settings. By default the Cyclone is configured to dynamically fetch an IP address from the local network via DHCP. Static assignments can be made here in the Cyclone Control GUI via USB.
The user may consult the Ethernet chapter for a detailed guide to configuring the Cyclone.
Figure: Ethernet Settings
WiFi Settings
For Cyclones which support WiFi communications, the WiFi settings are displayed beneath the Ethernet settings; the user may simply scroll down to access them. Those users may consult the WiFi Configuration and Connection chapter for detailed information about how to configure the Cyclone.
Figure: WiFi Settings
Most often the user will scan for and select a WiFi network, if the Cyclone is not already configured with the desired network.
Figure: Example: List of Networks After Scan
The functions available in the GUI are exactly the same as those in the Cyclone’s LCD touchscreen menu.
Cyclone Logs Tab
The Cyclone Logs tab can display logging of particular functions performed by the Cyclone. Contact PEmicro for more information.
The Status and Error Window
Figure: Status & Error Window
This section of the Cyclone Control GUI displays the status of the utility as well as any errors during the connection or any of the actions performed by the utility. It’ll show detailed errors on images that failed to be properly added or actions that require additional licensing.
This new status and error window increases the visibility of the user into the tasks the utility is performing as well as the issues that may arise.
Serialized Data
Serialized data, such as unit serial numbers, is a specific type of unique data, and Cyclone programmers include a dedicated serialization mechanism designed to simplify this process while also providing useful production features. The user should please refer to Automatic Serial Number Mechanism for detailed information about how to work with serialized data, including how to share serial numbers and how to create programming images with multiple serial numbers. Serialization may also be incorporated into Cloud-Connected programming workflows.
In situations like MutliChannel programming, or when programming with multiple Cyclones (with or without PEcloud), note that multiple images or channels can use the same serial file and share the serialized count. The multiple channels/Cyclones in a serialized operation are not programmed in any particular order (e.g., lowest channel number first) so if this information is important to the user they would need to track it via other means.
Cyclone FX users should additionally be aware that serialization can be incorporated into programming initiated by barcode scanner.
“Run Test” Data
For Cyclone which support the Run Test feature, Unique data can be incorporated as part of a “run test” procedure. A series of test applications may be programmed and run before final programming occurs, often for calibration and testing of the target system (these are custom apps written by the user). These apps can generate data as part of this process which can then be used in final programming.