CobraNet Firmware Version 2.11.6

Changes since 2.11.4 release

• Fixed an Ethernet transmitter underrun problem that could cause the interface to transmit corrupted packets (with valid CRCs) in the presence of heavy host port activity. Corrupt packets would typically result in audio dropouts but could also produce undefined behaviors (i.e. crash) at the receiver.
• Fixed a problem whereby, in the presence of heavy host port activity, host port data pins would occasionally inappropriately go into a tri-state mode during reads.
• Fixed a signaling problem updating internal operative copies of some MI variables when written via the host port. Updates would be delayed until the same or another host variable was written. Updates are now properly scheduled and will occur within milliseconds of the host port write.
• Fixed a reliability problem for unicast or multiple unicast transmissions on networks with over 128 CobraNet devices.
• External synchronization mode 0x14 is now supported on CS18102 and CS49612 devices operating in 16 channel mode. Special circuitry is required for this.
• Prohibit changing of modeRateControl while audio DSP is running. If procMode = 2, changes to modeRateControl will not be reflected in modeRateStatus.
• Changed OIDs of audio DSP control variables. The configuration signature is now embedded in the OIDs. This prevents the possibility of bad settings (and bad audio) if the DSP configuration running on the CobraNet interface does not match the controllers configuration. A corresponding DSP Conductor change has been made. Version 1.3 of DSP Conductor or greater must be used with this firmware.
• ETHERRX_SHORTPACKET and ETHERRX_BIGPACKET are now correctly reported. These malformed Ethernet packets were previously discarded silently. The errors are now reported when they are discarded.
• TFTP server now reports "File not found" error on attempt to write running audio DSP configuration when procMode = 2. Previously such writes were allowed and changing the configuration while it was running would likely cause the DSP to crash.
• Fixed a problem whereby if multiple transmitters are set to the same bundle number, a CobraNet Silicon conductor will not grant transmission permission to either transmitter.
• Fixed a problem where interface could hang if switchover between primary and secondary Ethernet ports occurs while receiving a packet.
• Added firmware support for AMD MT28F008B3 flash device. Currently supported flash devices are: AMD/Spansion S29AL008D90TAI02 (device id: 0x5B), AMD/Spansion S29AL016D90TAI02 (device id: 0x49), MICRON MT28F800B3 (device id: 0x9D).
• Fixed a logic problem slowing execution of background processes such as flash reads and writes and certain MI variable updates. This problem was introduced in the 2.11.4 release.
• Fixed a clock stability problem in external word clock mode.

Note

• The following CobraNet features are not available on the CS4961xx platform: Audio meters (audioMeter...), loopback (audioLoop...) and duplication (audioDup...) If required, this functionality is easily achieved with DSP Conductor primitives.

Errata

• Packet bridge transmission length must be an even multiple of 4. This is a firmware limitation not a hardware limitation. The limitation has been present in all prior CobraNet silicon series firmware releases.
• In our lab we have observed a condition whereby a conductor on a network with dozens of active bundles may report BEAT_FLOODED errors and operate erratically. This failure is only a possibility for a conductor that is neither transmitting nor receiving network audio. We believe this problem exists in all CobraNet silicon series firmware releases
• Occasional loss of audio clock lock (approximately 1 per hr) has been observed on large networks with numerous switch hops.
• Bundle priority does not correctly control transmission ordering. Transmission ordering is unimportant on switched networks and only of marginal importance on a repeater network.
• Audio transmission may be inhibited when bundle transmitters and receivers are not turned off (by setting bundle assignments to 0) before modeRateControl is modified.
• TFTP server will not retransmit a lost uploading data block if the client requests it. Read operation will timeout. Read operation can be restarted to recover. The TFTP server has always mishandled this condition.