A multiprocessor node for communication and control

Graduation date: 1989This paper describes the design and implementation of\ud "A multiprocessor node for communication and control"\ud (MPCC). MPCC is a high speed, high performance local area\ud network capable of performing real time control tasks. This\ud is achieved by the concurrent operation of two 8051\ud microcontrollers, a dual port RAM and the intelligent and\ud high performance serial interface unit on-board the INTEL\ud 8344.\ud To achieve the desired high performance in the MPCC,\ud "the division of labor" principle was applied. A dedicated\ud "application processor" is employed to carry out all\ud application tasks and a "communications processor" to take\ud care of all communication needs in the MPCC. These needs\ud include: host to node, node to host, and node to node. The\ud INTEL 8051 microcontroller is used as the application\ud processor and the INTEL 8344 RUPI is used as the\ud communications processor. To increase the frame size of the\ud transmitted and received frames, the INTEL 8344\ud microcontroller is operated in the expanded node.\ud MPCC employs the Token passing method for bus access\ud and uses the RS-485 multidrop implementation for the bus.\ud Data rates as high as 300 kbs have been achieved.\ud A monitor, debugger program, MDP-44 was developed for\ud the 8044. TASKMASTER [HERZ 86] was modified to receive the\ud command packet from the dual port RAM. Software was\ud developed to operate the SIU in expanded mode for\ud communications