Software development and real-time target systems on a common backplane

The authors discuss the advantages of a backplane connected system including host or remote (via network or telephone) access and monitoring for development, testing, and debugging of real-time applications. The emphasis is on the host/target system architecture and real-time memory management. To provide a fast data path between the real-time target system and the host development system, both can reside on the same VME bus backplane. Host and target systems on the same backplane, however, created new problems. Trying to reset the target processors also resulted in resetting of the host system. Additionally, interrupts meant for real time processors interrupt the host system, and target processors modify the memory. These problems can be alleviated by connecting host and target system backplanes via a VMEbus-to-VMEbus adapter, which links together the address, data, and control lines of both systems