< Previous PageNext Page >

BlackDog Boot Sequence on a Windows Host

The following actions occur when you insert a BlackDog into the USB port of a host computer:

  1. The BlackDog powers on.
  2. The BlackDog boots its operating system.
  3. The BlackDog examines the USB transaction signatures to determine the host's operating system.
  4. The BlackDog presents a CD-ROM device to the host. If autorun is enabled, Windows initiates its autorun process, which displays a splash screen, executes the Realm-autorun.exe program to copy application files to the host, and then launches the Realm-manager.exe, realm_net.exe, and Realm-networking.exe applications.

    Caution: If autorun is not enabled, the user must double-click on My Computer, and then right-click on the CD icon and select Autorun.

  5. Realm-manager.exe starts the realm_net.exe, which scans the host network for an available address range for the BlackDog network interface.
  6. After realm_net.exe communicates the available network address to the BlackDog, the BlackDog disconnects the CD-ROM USB device.
  7. When realm_net.exe exits, then Realm-manager.exe starts mps_cfg.exe. This program is responsible for communicating DNS, time, and other information to the BlackDog.
  8. The BlackDog presents a Linksys Etherfast device over USB to the host.
  9. The host performs a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) query on the Linksys Ethernet interface.
  10. The BlackDog responds to the query with a network configuration that does not conflict with the host's networks (using the network information gathered in step 5).
  11. Realm-manager.exe awaits a message stream from the BlackDog. When the BlackDog signals that the vtun daemon is running, it starts the Realm-networking.exe program to perform user network address translation.
  12. When Realm-manager.exe receives a message indicating that the xfsd X font server is running on the BlackDog, it starts the X server.
  13. When Realm-manager.exe receives notification that the login application is running on the BlackDog, the splash screen is hidden.

This concludes the boot sequence on a Windows host.

< Previous PageNext Page >
Copyright © Realm Systems, Inc. 2003-2005.
All rights reserved.