xPC Target™

System Requirements

Introduction

The hardware and software requirements are different for the host and target computers.

Note that the BIOS settings of a PC system can affect how the PC works with the xPC Target software. If you experience problems using the xPC Target product with the target or host PC, you should check the system BIOS settings. These settings are beyond the control of the xPC Target software. Refer to Target PC BIOS in the xPC Target User's Guide for guidelines on BIOS settings.

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Host PC Requirements

The host PC is usually your desktop computer where you install the MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow, Stateflow Coder, Real-Time Workshop, xPC Target, and xPC Target Embedded Option products. A notebook computer is also a viable host PC.

Software Requirements for the Host PC

The following table lists the minimum software the xPC Target product requires on your host PC. For a list of optional software products related to the xPC Target product, see http://www.mathworks.com/products/xpctarget/related.jsp.

Hardware Requirements for the Host PC

The following table lists the minimum resources the xPC Target product requires on the host PC.

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Target PC Requirements

The target PC must be a PC-compatible system. For example, you can use a second desktop computer or an industrial system like a PC/104 or CompactPCI as the target computer.

Software Requirements for the Target PC

The following table lists the minimum software the xPC Target product requires on your target PC system.

Hardware Requirements for the Target PC

The following table lists the minimum resources the xPC Target product requires on the target PC system.

Note   Do not use a laptop PC as a target PC.

Hardware	Description
Chip set	PC compatible with UART, programmable interrupt controller, keyboard controller, and counter
Communication	Select one of the following methods to communicate with the host PC: One supported Ethernet card connected to a network (see Network Communication for supported Ethernet cards and chip sets). Note, the xPC Target product includes an approved Ethernet card for the target PC. One free serial port (COM1 or COM2) with a 9-pin or 25-pin D-sub connector (see Serial Communication for details). The xPC Target software includes a serial null modem cable for the target PC.
CPU	Intel 386/486/Pentium or AMD K5/K6/Athlon with or without a floating-point coprocessor
Keyboard	Needed to control the target PC when you create stand-alone applications Note that if a keyboard is not connected, the BIOS might display an error message (keyboard failure). With a current BIOS, you can use the BIOS setup to skip the keyboard test.
Monitor	The MathWorks recommends using a monitor, but it is not necessary. You can get all the target information using xPC Target functions on the host PC.
Peripheral	One 3.5-inch floppy disk or CD drive. A hard disk drive is not required unless you want to access the target PC file system (for scopes of type file). Notes: If you install the xPC Target Embedded Option product, you can copy files to a hard disk or flash memory and boot from that device. If you have a hard disk drive, and you want to access the target PC file system on that drive, see Working with Target PC Files and File Systems in the xPC Target User's Guide. The xPC Target product supports file systems of type FAT-12, FAT-16, or FAT-32. The hard drive must be a parallel ATA (PATA)/Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) or serial ATA (SATA) drive. For best performance, configure this drive as a primary master. Ensure that the hard drive is not cable-selected.
RAM	8 MB or more

Random Access Memory (RAM) — The xPC Target product works with PC-compatible computers that use inexpensive dynamic RAM, unlike many non-PC-compatible target computers that use expensive static RAM. You can acquire several megabytes of data during a run depending on how much memory you install in the target PC.

PC-compatible target computers — The xPC Target product supports the following PC-compatible hardware (form factors):

• PC ISA

• PC PCI

• PC/104 and PC/104+

• CompactPCI

I/O boards — You can install inexpensive I/O boards in the PCI or ISA slots of the target PC. These boards provide a direct interface to the sensors, actuators, or other devices for real-time control or signal processing applications.

The xPC Target software supports the I/O functionality listed in I/O Driver Support.

The xPC Target Software and the Target PC BIOS

The BIOS settings of a PC system can affect how the PC works with the xPC Target software. As a general rule, ensure that the host and target PC BIOS have at least the following settings:

• RS-232 communication — If you are using RS-232 communications, ensure that COM ports are enabled for both host and target PCs. Also, ensure through the BIOS that COM1 has a base address of 3F8 and an IRQ of 4. COM2 must have a base address of 2F8 and an IRQ of 3. These are the default base address values. Do not change these values.

• Plug-and-Play (PnP) operating system — Disable this feature to ensure that the PCI BIOS sets up the plugged-in PCI cards properly. The xPC Target kernel is not a PnP operating system; you must ensure that this feature is disabled or PCI devices will not work on the xPC Target product.

• Power Saving modes — Disable all power saving modes.

• USB support —- Disable all USB support, including general USB and USB keyboard support. Failure to do this will cause occasional long task execution times (TET).

• PCI boards — Do not detect PCI boards with class code 0xff in the target PC BIOS. Set this option to Off to enable the BIOS to detect and configure all boards.

In addition, check the boot up order for the target PC BIOS. You can boot up the target PC using the following methods:

• Boot floppy disk

• CD bootable ROM

• Dedicated network boot

Configure your target PC BIOS to use your preferred boot order.

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Related Products

Installation on the Host PC