Network problem - Gradually getting slower after time.

[Ian Caddy]

Hi Jonas,

We recently upgraded our RTEMS from 4.5.0 to 4.6.2 and also went from a 
non-optimised build to an optimised build.

This exact problem was identified in the SMC91111 driver.  I will send 
you a patch outside the list.  The problem was that a particular 
variable was not marked volatile and the newer optimisation in the newr 
GCC (for us) caused the driver to miss packets, effectively delaying them.

There have probably been other minor changes to the driver since I sent 
it to you as well, so I will zip up the whole thing and pass it over to you.

I hope this helps.

regards,

Ian Caddy


Jonas Moberg wrote:
> Dear RTEMS friends,
> 
> We are in the final stage of releasing our product based on RTEMS 4.6.0,
> Coldfire MCF5249
> and the SMSC91C111 network controller when "suddenly" a problem has arised.
> Could anybody please help or come up with ideas on what could be the
> problem.
> We have stripped all our application code and are running only the network
> tasks having the init
> task to terminate. After hours (6 - 8) of uptime the network slows down and
> a "ping" reply degrades to about
> 2 to 4 seconds. After additional uptime (2-3 days) the "ping" reply time
> down to 30 to 60 seconds but still working.
> The SMSC driver is based on Ian Caddys work and has proven to be rock solid
> in our application (heavy RTP VOIP traffic
> plus several TCP and UDP sessions open).
> We have not had any buffer exhausted problem other than that after a long
> uptime the transmit buffers will run out due to
> the slowdown problem. However this will recover as network load is reduced
> and there is "sufficient" time to send the transmit buffers.
> I still can't see (although it might be) this is a driver problem as the
> network performance is excellent during the first hours of operation.
> The timer tick is still ticking with a 1 ms period.
> Having worked around the clock for a few days we would very much appreciate
> a few good ideas.
> 
> Best Regards
> Solid Software AB
> Jonas Moberg
> 

-- 
Ian Caddy
Goanna Technologies Pty Ltd
+61 8 9221 1860