CONNECTIONCONFIG: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today a new blog in the Bootstrap CoaXPress features blog series. This time we will take a closer look at the ConnectionConfig and the related ConnectionConfigDefault feature.

ConnectionConfig is one of the most used bootstrap features by the system engineer. This feature can be used to set the number of connections you would like to use at a data rate you want to operate at.

Maybe you are asking yourself why you would change this. However, if you are not operating the camera at the highest frame rate, there are very valid reasons to do this.

For example, going from CXP6 to CXP3 data rate increases the cable length used for connecting the camera to the frame grabber. Reducing the connections minimizes the number of cables to save costs and reduce system complexity. Of course both options reduce the maximum data rate and thus the maximum frame rate that can be obtained.

So if ConnectionConfig can be used to set the data rate and number of connections, then what is ConnectionConfigDefault?

To understand this feature you have to understand a bit more about the discovery process between the camera and frame grabber. This is the process in which a communication channel is set up between the two devices.

The discovery process always occurs at CXP3_X1 i.e. at the 3.125 Gb/s over 1 CoaXPress cable. By fixing the ConnectionConfig to a standard configuration during the discovery process it is easier to guarantee that the frame grabber and camera will always discover each other independent of which connection configurations are supported.

However, the connection configuration used for discovery is one of the slower CXP configurations. Meaning that most of the time you would prefer to select a faster configuration directly after discovery. Hence, the ConnectionConfigDefault feature is created. After discovery the camera will be set to the ConnectionConfig setting as stored in the ConnectionConfigDefault feature.

Camera manufacturers often set the ConnectionConfigDefault to the fastest configuration that is supported. In CXP 1.1 the ConnectionConfigDefault cannot be easily changed. A workaround must be created by a manufacturer specific mechanism.

This will change in CXP 2.0. In CXP 2.0 the ConnectionConfig that is set at the time of a user set save will be stored in the ConnectionConfigDefault. The next time the user set is being loaded, be it at start-up or after start-up, the ConnectionConfig will be set to the desired value. This is only one of the many advantages of CXP 2.0 which we will speak to further in the future.

Contrary to StreamPacketSizeMax, which we previously discussed, ConnectionConfig is a bootstrap feature that really can be used to configure the camera to your needs. We hope  this blog helps you maximize the benefits of ConnectionConfig!