Hardware Overview
z2rlab is a system that comprises the following hardware (the exact configuration varies for 4/8 channel capable systems):- 19-inch rack including shelving
- System server with pre-loaded software image
- 16 channel unmanaged 10/100 network switch
- Multi-port USB hub
- USB to multi-port RS-232 adapter(s)
- USB to RS485 adapter
- Multi-channel Discrete Output module
- Multi-channel network controlled A/C power switch(s)
- Power blocks, cabling, connectors etc
- 1 x A/C power control port
- The system uses this to control power to the target unit
- 2 x Digital Outputs (open collector sink)
- Typically used to control the power-on demand and reset line for the target unit
- 1 x RS-232 serial port
- This channel is used to communicate with the target unit. The input/output is forwarded to the terminal window in the client browser
Rack Internals
The photo shows part of the system. To the top you can see the back of the network switch. Below that is the Digital Output unit and RS-422 converter. On the shelf below is the A/C power controller and serial port adapter.
Server Overview
The heart of the z2rlab system is the Server and its pre-loaded software image. This is what gives the system its intelligence and allows automation of complex tasks.Some of the main design features of the z2rlab server software are:
- To the user, z2rlab appears a web 2.0 application on the network cloud
- Support for multiple concurrent users
- Intuitive and simple user interface
- Support for physical or virtualized targets
- System documentation is an integral part of the system
- Per-user account management with privilege separation for administrator
- 2 main modes of operation, "Connect" or "Auto-deployment"
- Auto-deployment is managed using project containers
- Develop images locally and upload, or build remotely using LTIB
- NFS or RAMDISK deployment supported
- Support for multiple bootloader types (redboot, u-boot)
- Integrated booking system with resource tracking and accounting.
- Sessions may be pre-booking or on-demand.
- Isolation from the main site network. z2rlab has one
network port that connects to the main site network and a separate
one for the z2rlab equipment and target boards.
- DHCP, NFS, TFTP and other services run on the equipment network without generating unwanted traffic on the main site network.
- For security, only HTTPS/SSH ports are open from the site network to z2rlab
- Channel allocation and resource locking manages serialisation of concurrent accesses.
Screenshots
The following sequence of screenshots are shown to help give an understanding of the system in use.Login screen
The screeshot below show the initial screen prior to login. Notice that the connection is secure using https and that the menus are hidden at this stage.If a user does not already have an account, they may click the link and fill out a request. This will be emailed to the system administrator who will action the request.
Opening screen
Once logged-in, the full menu system is revealed and the user's log-in name is shown in the top right hand side. In the main panel, there is a brief description and diagram of the system.
Upload Images
This screenshot shows how the user uploads images from their local system to the server. The user first selects which target the image will be associated with and then selects a tag type (bootloader, kernel, DTB, filesystem, merge-object or other). Next the user simply clicks the browse button to select the file to be upload, adds an optional comment and finally clicks the "Upload File" button.
Manage Images
Once you have a set of images uploaded, this page will allow you to change properties and delete images.
New Project
The New Project page allows the user to create new projects to be associated with a target. Currently the supported project types are "Linux Upload" or "LTIB".
Project Settings
This page enables the user to configure their project. In this example, an LTIB project has one user uploaded merge-object. This will be added to their base LTIB image.
Configure/Build
For LTIB project types, this page allows users to re-configure and build the image from an interactive session with the server.
Project Delete
This page allows users to delete projects that are no longer required.
Connect
This page can be used to access a target, directly without a project context. From here you can:- Turn target power on, off or cycle it
- List the state of all targets (e.g. currently free or in use)
- Get detailed state information for the selected target
- Setup an interactive session with the target on the web terminal.
Note z2rlab will automatically sequence the power on and transparently
forward the serial port to your browser.
Auto-Deploy
Once you have setup a project, this page will completely automate:- Control of the power sequence (including demand-on switches etc)
- Loading of the image(s)
- Control of the full boot sequence up to the login prompt
- Transferring interactive control to the user in the terminal window
Booking/reservation
The screenshots below show the booking and reservation system integrated into z2rlab. This system can either:- Reserve targets for future use
- Make ad-hoc bookings on behalf of the user if a resource is accessed and it is currently free
- Detailed view
