meta-panda¶

PandA is a programmable logic box for synchronised triggering and position capture in scientific experiments. You configure it by wiring together functional blocks in its FPGA — from a web browser or over a simple TCP protocol — and capture timestamped position data from it at high speed.

This site is the root of the PandABlocks documentation: it covers getting a PandA on the network, using the Web Control, capturing data, administering and upgrading a PandA, and building its firmware and software. Documentation for the individual components (FPGA framework, TCP server, Python client, EPICS / Tango integration) is linked throughout.

This repository itself is the meta-panda layer: the Yocto recipes and configuration for building the Linux system that runs on a PandA.

• Machines provided: pandabox, pandabox2, pandabrick

• Distro provided: panda-petalinux

• Image provided: panda-image

The Linux system brings up the network from a config.txt file on the SD card, runs an SSH server for debugging access, programs the FPGA and runs services such as the TCP server and Web Control, and serves a Web Admin interface on port 80 for installing and removing packages and adding SSH keys.

How the documentation is structured¶

Documentation is split into four categories, also accessible from links in the top bar.