The upload path is the route used to upload your event data from the target to the host. The upload destination is where the data is put when it is uploaded. The options presented in the Upload Path section of the Control Properties dialog box (see Figure 4-3) combine a path and a destination.   

WindView, like other Tornado tools, allows you to upload data through the target server. This is done using a new feature called TSFS, which is described in detail in the VxWorks Programmer's Guide: Local File Systems. TSFS uses the VxWorks virtual I/O facility to send data to the host. (For information about the VxWorks VIO facility, see the Tornado API Guide: The WTX Protocol.) TSFS implements the standard I/O commands. In addition, TSFS supports a socket as a special file type. Thus TSFS can upload data either to a file or to the WindView display or another destination.

TSFS uses the same path as your WDB agent to communicate to the target server. Thus you must define INCLUDE_WDB in order to use TSFS. If you configured WDB to use a serial interface, TSFS will use the serial interface. If you configured WDB to use a network connection, TSFS will use the network connection. Note that when you include WindView and do not specify an upload path, the TSFS paths to both files and the WindView display are included (see Upload Path).

The advantage of a network connection over a WDB connection is that it is separate from the WDB messages flowing between your target and the Tornado target server. The disadvantage is that using this path requires that your target contain at least the network stack (TCP/IP) and possibly also the Network File System (NFS). If you plan to configure these facilities anyway, you may choose to use these paths. If you do not need these facilities, and if you need to minimize the size of your VxWorks kernel, you might choose to use TSFS over a serial line.

Sending your event data directly to the view graph means you can eliminate the step of opening a file. On the other hand, the parser element within the WindView host tool must process the data before it can be displayed, which may slow the data transfer rate. You can save any event log to a file from the view graph.

Sending your event data to a file means that the log is saved on the host before you begin analysis. The data can be written to a file more rapidly than to the view graph because the data is written in its raw format. The parser does not process the data until you open the file to display it in the view graph.

When you select Direct to Graph from the Upload Path drop-down combo box, the event log is uploaded directly into the WindView view graph on the host where the target server is located. The only configuration steps you must take to use this path are to include TSFS in your VxWorks image (see 2.4.2 Configuring VxWorks) and to configure the target server to support TSFS (see 2.4.3 Starting a Target Server). When you upload data, a view graph opens and the data streams into it.

When you select File via TSFS from the Upload Path drop-down combo box, the default path presented is /tgtsvr/eventLog.wvr. When you upload data, the root you specified in the Target Server Configuration dialog box is substituted for /tgtsvr. Data is written to this file when upload is requested, either by the target (in continuous upload mode) or by you (in deferred upload mode). To view and analyze the data, you must load the log file into WindView using Open from the main File menu. For more information on configuring this path, see TSFS to a File.

When you select Socket via TSFS from the Upload Path drop-down combo box, the default path presented is /tgtsvr/TCP:hostname:6164 where hostname is the name of the machine where the target server is located. Using this default path sends the data to the WindView view graph just like Direct to Graph. However, if you select this option you must open the view graph using New on the main File menu before starting data collection, which is unnecessary with Direct to Graph. The port number indicated on the view graph must match the port number in the Control Properties dialog box. In addition, selecting this option allows you to modify the defaults to send the data to an alternate destination, such as a remote machine or evtRecv. Data is uploaded either continuously or when you request it, but when it is uploaded, it streams to the specified destination. For more information on configuring this path, see TSFS Sockets.

When you select Socket via TCP/IP from the Upload Path drop-down combo box, the default path presented is hostname/6164. When upload occurs, it goes from the socket on the target to the socket connection on the host which you have configured. You can configure the host socket by opening the view graph using File>New on the main Tools menu or by starting evtRecv. The port number indicated on the view graph or used by evtRecv must match the port number in the Control Properties dialog box. Data is uploaded either continuously or when you request it, but when it is uploaded, it streams to the specified destination. For more information on configuring this path, see TCP/IP.

When you select NFS to File from the Upload Path drop-down combo box, the default path presented is /eventLog.wvr. You must configure NFS on your target so it can find this file. Data is uploaded either continuously or when you request it, but when it is uploaded, it is written to this file. To view and analyze the data, you must load the log file into WindView using Open from the main File menu. For more information on configuring this path, see Using NFS.