Hi All,

I would like to know where the operating system QNX resides, for a MKVI system.

Is it preloaded on that 128MB flash ram?/
Does control tool box or its components load this.

Also, is it possible to view files or data stored on this media (128MB ram) using an operating system other that GE's.

Can I run QNX on a system board other than GE UCVE.

 

> I would like to know where the operating system QNX resides, for a MKVI system. Is it preloaded on that 128MB flash ram? <

On board (glued) Flash ram? removable 128MB flash disk? I think its the former, I cant be sure.

> Does control tool box or its components load this. <

Not sure!

> Also, is it possible to view files or data stored on this media (128MB ram) using an operating system other that GE's. <

Yes, just put it into an off the shelf USB SD card reader, and connect to your windows PC.

> Can I run QNX on a system board other than GE UCVE.<

QNX is a commercially available derivative of UNIX, aimed at the embedded systems market. It is quite a popular multitasking OS among control system design engineers, and you will find many control systems (Mark-VI included, others include Emerson Ovation etc) that use this operating system. So yes, you can run QNX on many commercially available development boards that support QNX. But I think you want to run the EXACT copy of QNX as it runs in the UCVE to another controller, and I am afraid that's not going to be possible. That version of QNX is "compiled" for that SPECIFIC version and hardware configuration of UCVE. Copying and pasting just wont do. It can probably be done, but it calls for VERY advanced skills in embedded systems and especially QNX.

 

Just as a minor quibble, QNX is a unix-like operating system, but it's not legally a "derivative" of Unix (derivative has a specific meaning under copyright law). Unix is an OS originally developed by AT&T (who later sold it to Novell), and the source code was licensed to various companies such as IBM, Sun, HP, Siemens, SCO, (plus many, many more) for them to make their own improved "derivatives" based on it.

QNX, Linux, BSD, Apple OS/X, and many others are "unix-like" operating systems that look like Unix from the outside, but were independently developed (although OS/X is partially derived from BSD). There is actually an official operating system standard called POSIX which defines a lot of this functionality.

You can get QNX from QNX Software Systems (who apparently are now a subsidiary of RIM). You can download a 30 day evaluation copy from their web site that will run on your PC. However, as "freelanceng" says the chances of GE's software running on that generic version are rather slim.

Most modern operating systems are modelled on Unix even if they're not directly derived from the original Unix source code. That means whether you're using a supercomputer or an iPhone, the underlying principles are familiar to a programmer and a lot of software can be ported between them.

The most familiar exception to this is MS Windows NT (which includes all modern versions of Windows), which was modelled on (or derived from?) DEC VMS. They then threw in whatever odds and ends took their fancy from Unix, MS-DOS, and Windows 95/98. They got sued by DEC for alleged "intellectual property" infringement and had to make a massive payout to them. That's one of the reasons why software developers tend to be sensitive about the word "derivative", as it's not something you really want to be accused of.

 

Thanks for the added clarification Mr Griffin! I really did think it was a flavor of unix, as opposed to being unix-like. Thanks for the correction!

I did some more research (Read: Went through the GEH-6430k Control system Toolbox guide, p. 3-96), and found the following key points which answer many of the original poster's questions.

1: QNX resides in the flash RAM (non-volatile memory). This flash RAM also contains the file system and TCP/IP software)

2: The Serial loader utliity (NOT the toolbox) is used to load the file system into the on board Flash RAM

3: The Serial loader functionality is built right into the BIOS, and you only need a PC with an RS232C port and the serial loader utility to do the serial load.

4: The controller is shipped with the BIOS, the real-time operating system, and the runtime software installed (although the runtime software is loaded again "on-site" (both to RAM and Flash)- just to be sure that the versions are all correct and up-to-date.)

5: All of the "core load" resides in the Flash disk. Hard-Rebooting the card loads the core-load into ram

There is still some confusion in my mind as to what is the role played by the "on-board" flash RAM (as opposed to the CompactFlash SD RAM, which is the removable type). Perhaps someone else can shed some light on it?