Rastergraf
4.2 Dealing with the PCI Bus
Because of the nature of the PCI protocol and the way support has been
implemented in the Operating Systems for PCI bus devices such as the
Eclipse3, it is not possible to follow the same debugging strategies.
In fact, there are no address jumpers for these boards. Everything is
configured in software through a set of on-board registers, which control
the characteristics of the board as required by the PCI Specification.
The information used to program these registers is supplied to Operating
System (OS) specific functions by Rastergraf ’s software. Ordinarily,
several address map translations occur, including the CPU physical and
virtual address maps and the CPU to PCI bridge address map.
While x86 systems generally follow the standards required to meet PC
compatibility and mask these details, PowerPC systems do not. Among
PowerPC vendors, there are no standards which ensure interoperability
among CPU boards, even when they use the same CPU and PCI bridge.
Therefore, if you plan to use an Eclipse3 graphics board in a PowerPC
based system, it is vital to ensure that Rastergraf can vouch for the board’s
operation before you order the board. Otherwise, you may go crazy trying
to figure out why it doesn’t work. Please contact us
(
or 541-923-5530) if you have problems.
4.3 Maintenance, Warranty, and Service
Maintenance
The Eclipse3 requires no regular service, but if used in a particularly dirty
environment, periodic cleaning with dry compressed air is recommended.
Because of the heat generated by normal operation of the graphics board
and other boards in the system, forced crossflow ventilation is required. If
forced ventilation is not used IC temperatures can rise to 60 degrees C or
higher. Such high temperature operation causes IC failures and reduced
MTBF. With proper forced air cooling IC temperatures will be less than
35 degrees C.
Warranty
The Eclipse3 graphics boards are warranted to be free from defects in
material or manufacture for a period of 12 months from date of shipment
from the factory. Rastergraf ’s obligation under this warranty is limited to
replacing or repairing (at its option) any board which is returned to the
factory within this warranty period and is found by Rastergraf to be
