SpiNNer: SpiNNaker wiring tool¶
SpiNNer is a collection of tools for assisting with all stages of the process of wiring up large SpiNNaker machines, from design to installation verification.
For installation and setup, see the README, for everything else, continue reading!
Terminology & Conventions¶
The following terminology and conventions are used throughout SpiNNer’s scripts and code.
Cabinets, Frames and Boards¶
When discussing SpiNNaker systems, it is assumed that the system is comprised of SpiNN-5 boards arranged in standard 19” cabinets and frames like so:
2 1 0
Cabinet --+-------------+----------------+
| | |
+-------------+ +-------------+ +-------------+ Frame
| | | | | | |
| +---------+ | | +---------+ | | +---------+ | |
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : |--------+ 0
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | |
| +---------+ | | +---------+ | | +---------+ | |
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : |--------+ 1
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | |
| +---------+ | | +---------+ | | +---------+ | |
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : |--------+ 2
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | |
| +---------+ | | +---------+ | | +---------+ | |
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : |--------+ 3
| | : : : : | | | | : : : : | | | | : : : : | |
| +---------+ | | +|-|-|-|-|+ | | +---------+ |
| | | | | | | | | | |
+-------------+ +--|-|-|-|-|--+ +-------------+
| | | | |
Board -----+-+-+-+-+
4 3 2 1 0
A convention used throughout SpiNNer is to refer to individual boards by their position expressed in the form of (cabinet, frame, board) triples.
Triads and Boards¶
When describing large systems, their size is referred to either as a number of SpiNN-5 boards or in terms of their width/height in triads. A triad is a group of three SpiNN-5 boards connected like so:
___
/ \___
\___/ \
/ \___/
\___/
This pattern is repeated horizontally:
___ ___ ___ ___
/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \
/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/
And then vertically:
___ ___ ___ ___
/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \
/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \
/ \___/ \___/ \___/ \___/
\___/ \___/ \___/ \___/
Thus, in this example, we have a 4x2 triad, or 24 board system.
When specifying systems just in terms of numbers of boards, the squarest-possible arrangement of triads with that number of boards is assumed (preferring landscape arrangements when a square arrangement is not possible).
Physical Dimensions¶
All real-world physical dimensions are given in meters.
Physical coordinates are supplied in 3D space with the axes going from left-to-right, top-to-bottom and front-to-back for X, Y and Z respectively.
_ Z
/|
/
/
o-------> X
|
|
|
V
Y
Folding¶
For definitions of the terms used to describe the folding process (e.g. shear, slice and uncrinkling), please refer to “Bringing the Hexagonal Torus Topology into the Real-World” by Jonathan Heathcote et. al. which is available on request and is expected to be published at some future point.
SpiNNer Command-Line Utilities¶
SpiNNer’s functions are broken down into a number of individual command-line
tools, all starting with spinner-*. Each tool accepts arguments which
describe the SpiNNaker system of interest and a complete listing of these can be
found using the -h option.
Standard Arguments¶
All the SpiNNer commands accept a common set of arguments to specify the size of the system to be built.
All commands require that you specify the size of the system you’re working with:
--num-boards Nor-n N- The number of boards to use. The ‘squarest’ possible system with this many boards will be created.
--triads W Hor-t W H- The dimensions of system in terms of triads of boards.
You can also optionally specify how these boards should be ‘folded’ to reduce the maximum wire-length required when assembling such systems. These options are largely for backward compatibility: the tool will automatically select a sensible folding scheme.
When working with commands which deal with real-world physical dimensions, the
exact dimensions and positions of sockets, boards, frames and cabinets can be
defined using additional options (see spinner-wiring-guide -h, for example,
for a list of these). The default values represent the dimensions of standard
cabinets and frames and can generally be left unchanged.
Command Documentation¶
Example of common uses for each command can be found below:
spinner-topology-stats¶
Prints basic statistics about the network topology which will result from a given system.
$ spinner-topology-stats -h
usage: spinner-topology-stats [-h] [--version] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y]
Print basic topological statistics for a specified configuration of boards.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
Finding sytstem dimensions¶
The most common use-case for spinner-topology-stats is determining the
network dimensions of a given system of N boards.
For example, want to know about a 120-board system?
$ spinner-topology-stats -n 120
Topology Statistics
===================
| Measurement | Value | Unit |
| ------------------ | ------ | ----- |
| Network dimensions | 96x60 | chips |
| Board array | 8x5 | triad |
| Number of boards | 120 | |
| Number of cables | 360 | |
| Number of chips | 5760 | |
| Number of cores | 103680 | |
In this example, the network of SpiNNaker chips in this system will be 96x60 and the system is made up of 8x5 triads.
spinner-wiring-stats¶
Prints basic statistics about the wiring of a specified configuration of boards.
$ spinner-wiring-stats -h
usage: spinner-wiring-stats [-h] [--version] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--histogram-bins N]
[--wire-length L [L ...]] [--minimum-slack H]
[--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N]
Print basic wiring statistics for a specified configuration of boards.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
wire length histogram options:
--histogram-bins N, -H N
number of bins to pack wire lengths into in the
histogram of wire lengths (default: 5)
available wire lengths:
--wire-length L [L ...], -l L [L ...]
specify one or more available wire lengths in meters
--minimum-slack H the minimum slack to allow in a wire connecting two
boards in meters
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.133)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
2.0, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
Selecting wire lengths to buy¶
By default spinner-wiring-stats shows a histogram of wire lengths required
to wire up the supplied system in the Wire length histogram section. This
histogram gives a basic overview of the lengths of wires required:
$ spinner-wiring-stats -n 120
...snip...
| Range (meters) | Count | Histogram | Min slack (meters) | Max slack (meters) |
| ---------------- | ----- | --------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ |
| 0.00 < x <= 0.17 | 200 | ############### | 0.11 | 0.15 |
| 0.17 < x <= 0.35 | 0 | | 0.35 | 0.00 |
| 0.35 < x <= 0.52 | 64 | ##### | 0.10 | 0.14 |
| 0.52 < x <= 0.69 | 0 | | 0.69 | 0.00 |
| 0.69 < x <= 0.87 | 96 | ######## | 0.05 | 0.09 |
If the available wire lengths are known, these can be listed using the
--wire-length option and the histogram will bin the wires in the system
accordingly:
$ spinner-wiring-stats -n 120 --wire-length 0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00
...snip...
| Range (meters) | Count | Histogram | Min slack (meters) | Max slack (meters) |
| ---------------- | ----- | --------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ |
| 0.00 < x <= 0.15 | 200 | ############### | 0.09 | 0.13 |
| 0.15 < x <= 0.30 | 0 | | 0.30 | 0.00 |
| 0.30 < x <= 0.50 | 64 | ##### | 0.08 | 0.12 |
| 0.50 < x <= 1.00 | 96 | ######## | 0.18 | 0.22 |
When deciding the length of wire to use, spinner automatically includes at
least the slack specified by the --minimum-slack arugment which defaults to
0.05 m.
The histogram table also indicates the minimum and maximum slack for each wire length. This may be important when building systems whose wires are installed in an enclosed space.
Determining the folding process¶
Generally, SpiNNer automatically makes all the decisions required to ‘fold’ the
system to remove long wires. If you wish to see what decisions have been made,
refer to the Folding Parameters section of spinner-wiring-stats‘s output:
$ spinner-wiring-stats -n 120
...snip...
Folding Parameters
------------------
| Parameter | Value | Unit |
| ---------------------------- | ----- | ------ |
| Number of boards | 120 | |
| System dimensions | 8x5 | triads |
| Transformation | shear | |
| Uncrinkle Direction | rows | |
| Folds | 2x2 | pieces |
| Number of cabinets | 1 | |
| Number of frames-per-cabinet | 5 | |
| Number of boards-per-frame | 24 | |
...snip...
Perfect-world wire-length measurements¶
The Non-cabinetised measurements section of spinner-wiring-stats gives the
wire-lengths of the folded system before the boards are mapped into real-world
cabinets. This section is useful when comparing alternative folding schemes
since the results are not distorted by the cabinet mapping process.
The numbers in this section assume all boards are laid out in large rectangular grid and distance measures are given in units of the size of a board.
$ spinner-wiring-stats -n 1200
...snip...
Non-cabinetised measurements
----------------------------
| Parameter | Value | Unit |
| ------------------- | ------------- | ------ |
| System dimensions | 60.00 x 20.00 | boards |
| Mean wire length | 2.91 | boards |
| NE/SW | 4.02 | boards |
| N/S | 2.49 | boards |
| W/E | 2.22 | boards |
| Maximum wire length | 4.47 | boards |
| NE/SW | 4.47 | boards |
| N/S | 2.83 | boards |
| W/E | 2.83 | boards |
...snip...
spinner-wiring-diagram¶
Generates illustrations of SpiNNaker machine wiring.
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -h
usage: spinner-wiring-diagram [-h] [--version]
[--wire-thickness {thick,normal,thin}]
[--highlight CABINET [FRAME [BOARD [{east,south-west,north,south,north-east,west}]]]
[...]] [--hide-labels]
(--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N] [--subset SUBSET [SUBSET ...]]
filename [width] [height]
Generate illustrations of SpiNNaker machine wiring.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
--wire-thickness {thick,normal,thin}
set the thickness of wires drawn (default: normal)
--highlight CABINET [FRAME [BOARD [{east,south-west,north,south,north-east,west}]]] [ ...]
highlight a particular cabinet/frame/board/socket with
a red border
--hide-labels, -L hide socket/board/frame/cabinet number labels
image file parameters:
filename filename to write the output to (.pdf or .png)
width width of the image in mm for PDF and pixels for PNG
(defaults to 280 mm if PDF and 1000 px for PNG)
height height of the image in mm for PDF and pixels for PNG
(if only width is given, output will be at most width
wide and width tall)
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.133)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
2.0, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
wire subset selection:
These arguments allow the specificiation of subsets of wires to install,
for example, selecting only particular wires within a particular cabinet
or frame. If no subsets are specified, all wires will be included,
otherwise the union of all specified subsets are included. Use '1.2.*' to
select all wires between boards in cabinet 1, frame 2. Use '1.*.*' to
select all wires between boards in cabinet 1. Use '1-2.*.*' to select all
wires which cross between cabinets 1 and 2.
--subset SUBSET [SUBSET ...]
specify the subset of wires to include
Wiring diagrams¶
Small SpiNNaker machines can be assembled by following a printed wiring
diagram produced by spinner-wiring-diagram:
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -n 15 out.png
The diagrams can be produced as either PNG or PDF files.
For diagrams with a large number of wires, the thickness of the wires drawn can
be modified with the --wire-thickness option to make them easier to follow:
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -n 24 out.png --wire-thickness thin
Diagrams showing just a subset of the wires can also be shown using the
--subset argument (see more detailed introduction). For example, the command below generates a diagram
showing only wires crossing between cabinets:
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -n 600 out.png --subset 0-1.*.* 1-2.*.* 2-3.*.* 3-4.*.*
Board-to-Chip Maps¶
By default, all boards, frames and cabinets are numbered with their physical positions and also with the (X,Y) coordinate of the Ethernet connected chip on each board:
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -n 600 out.png
For a complementary visual mapping from SpiNNaker chip coordinates to physical board positions, see the spinner-machine-map command. Alternatively, for a machine-readable mapping, see the spinner-ethernet-chips command.
Images for presentations¶
If a diagram is required for illustrative purposes, the labels can be omitted
using the --hide-labels option:
$ spinner-wiring-diagram -n 1200 out.png --hide-labels
spinner-wiring-guide¶
Interactively guides the user through the process of wiring up a SpiNNaker machine and correcting wiring errors.
usage: spinner-wiring-guide [-h] [--version] [--no-tts] [--no-auto-advance]
[--fix] [--log LOGFILE]
(--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N] [--wire-length L [L ...]]
[--minimum-slack H] [--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME]
[--proxy HOSTNAME] [--proxy-port PORT]
[--subset SUBSET [SUBSET ...]]
Interactively guide the user through the process of wiring up a SpiNNaker
machine.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
--no-tts disable text-to-speech announcements of wiring steps
--no-auto-advance disable auto-advancing through wiring steps
--fix detect errors in existing wiring and just show
corrective steps
--log LOGFILE record the times at which each cable is installed
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.133)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
2.0, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
available wire lengths:
--wire-length L [L ...], -l L [L ...]
specify one or more available wire lengths in meters
--minimum-slack H the minimum slack to allow in a wire connecting two
boards in meters
SpiNNaker BMP connection details:
--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME
specify the hostname of a BMP to use to communicate
with SpiNNaker boards in the given frame
SpiNNaker proxy connection details:
--proxy HOSTNAME specify the hostname of a spinner-proxy-server
instance to use to communicate with the SpiNNaker
system
--proxy-port PORT specify the port to connect to spinner-proxy-server
with (default: 6512)
wire subset selection:
These arguments allow the specificiation of subsets of wires to install,
for example, selecting only particular wires within a particular cabinet
or frame. If no subsets are specified, all wires will be included,
otherwise the union of all specified subsets are included. Use '1.2.*' to
select all wires between boards in cabinet 1, frame 2. Use '1.*.*' to
select all wires between boards in cabinet 1. Use '1-2.*.*' to select all
wires which cross between cabinets 1 and 2.
--subset SUBSET [SUBSET ...]
specify the subset of wires to include
User Interface¶
The screen shot above shows the wiring guide being used to wire up a 600 board system.
The centre of the display shows an overview of the whole machine and indicates wires that have already been installed and are coloured based on the length of the cable used. The boards and sockets to be connected are highlighted and a close-up view of the two endpoints is shown on the left- and right-hand side of the display.
Underneath the diagrams, the central caption indicates the length of wire to use for the current connection and the current progress through the whole job. The left and right captions indicate the positions of the specific boards to be connected (in terms of their cabinet, frame and board numbers).
When each wire is installed, SpiNNer verbally announces the next connection to be made using text-to-speech (TTS). Additionally, when appropriate command-line options are given, SpiNNer also illuminates a red LED on the pair of boards which are to be connected. Further, SpiNNer can automatically check for the correct installation of each wire and automatically advance to the next wire when a successful connection is made.
The length of each wire to be installed is selected by the same method as the
spinner-wiring-stats tool. The order of wire installation proceeds in three
broad phases:
- Within frames
- Between frames
- Between cabinets
Additionally, the tightest wires are installed first such that newly inserted wires can be installed over the top of existing wires.
The following keys are used to interact with the wiring guide:
| Purpose | Key |
|---|---|
| Move to next wire | Left-click, Down, Space |
| Skip forward multiple wires | Page-Down |
| Move to previous wire | Right-click, Up, Backspace |
| Skip backward multiple wires | Page-Up |
| Go to first wire | Home |
| Go to last wire | End |
| Toggle Text-to-Speech | t |
| Toggle Auto-Advance | a |
| Pause logging | p |
See the spinner-proxy-server documentation to see how this tool may be used by multiple people at once to share the task of installing cables in large machines.
Standalone Usage¶
To run the wiring tool stand-alone without connecting to the SpiNNaker machine being assembled, simply supply a system size and a set of available wire lengths:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 1200 -l 0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00
Illuminating LEDs and On-the-Fly Wire Checking¶
spinner-wiring-guide can illuminate a red LED on boards whose wires are to
be connected and also check wires are inserted on-the-fly. To enable this
feature, ensure all boards are powered on (e.g. using rig-power BMP_HOSTNAME
on -b 0-23 for each frame) and then use:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 24 -l 0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00 --bmp 0 0 BMP_HOSTNAME
Note that the --bmp argument must be given once for each frame in the
system.
Parallel, multi-person cable installation¶
Several instances of spinner-wiring-guide can be used in parallel along
with --proxy argument and the spinner-proxy-server tool to share the
work of installing cables in very large SpiNNaker machines between multiple
people. See the proxy server documentation for a
complete example of how to do this.
Just Illuminating LEDs¶
If you do not wish to power-up the system while wiring it up, LEDs can still be
illuminated while disabling the wire-checking feature using the
--no-auto-advance argument:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 24 -l 0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00 --bmp 0 0 BMP_HOSTNAME --no-auto-advance
Repairing wiring errors¶
Adding the --fix option will check all installed wires in the machine and
guide you through any corrections which must be made:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 24 -l 0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00 --bmp 0 0 BMP_HOSTNAME --fix
Installing subsets of machines¶
If installation is to be split into multiple phases focusing on one subsection
at a time, the --subset argument may be used to filter the wires displayed
or repaired by the wiring guide.
The --subset argument takes a set of arguments in the form c.f.b where
c, f, and b are described below and specify a range of cabinets,
frames or boards. The three parts must be in one of the following formats:
- A number (e.g.
3) specifying a specific cabinet, frame or board. - A pair (e.g.
1-2) specifying a specific pair of cabinets, frames or boards. - A wildcard (
*).
For example:
- Subset
0.1.*would select wires going between any boards within cabinet 0, frame 1. - Subset
0-1.*.*would select any cable which connects between cabinet 0 and cabinet 1.
If multiple subsets are defined, cables matched by at least one of the subsets will be selected. For example, the screenshot below was produced by the following command-line which defines two subsets:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 360 -l 0.15 0.3 0.5 0.9 --subset 0.*.* 0-1.*.*
Logging¶
The --log FILENAME argument causes the wiring guide to log (into a CSV
file) how long it took to install each ceable. This may be useful for research
comparing ease of installation and maintainance of a SpiNNaker system. Note
that this system does not currently log cables being removed.
The CSV file contains the set of columns defined below. Various types of events are recorded in the log and not every event has a sensible value for every column. Columns without a sensible value are set to NA.
| event_type: | The type of event being logged (see list below). |
|---|---|
| realtime: | The real time and date the event occurred. |
| time: | Time that the event occurred, in seconds since the start of logging and excluding any time spent paused. |
| sc, sf, sb, sd, dc, df, db, dd: | |
| Source and destination cabinet, frame, board and direction of a cable being installed. | |
| duration: | Overall time, in seconds, to connect a cable correctly (or time spent paused for pause events). |
| attempt_duration: | |
| Time since last attempt to connect the cable, in seconds. | |
| num_attempts: | Number of attempts made to install the current cable. |
The following event types are defined:
| logging_started: | |
|---|---|
| This event is produced when a new wiring session begins. All relative times are measured in seconds from this point. | |
| logging_stopped: | |
| Produced when logging ceases. | |
| connection_started: | |
| Produced when a new cable to install is displayed on the screen. | |
| connection_error: | |
| Produced each time a cable is connected incorrectly according the the wiring probe. | |
| connection_complete: | |
| Produced when the wiring probe detects that the cable has been installed correctly. | |
| pause: | Produced after logging has been paused for some period of time. Relative timings reported by other events will not include any time spent paused. |
spinner-wiring-list¶
Textually enumerates every connection required in a machine.
$ spinner-wiring-list -h
usage: spinner-wiring-list [-h]
[--sort-by {installation-order,board,wire-length}]
[--version] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N] [--wire-length L [L ...]]
[--minimum-slack H]
Textually enumerate every connection required in a machine.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--sort-by {installation-order,board,wire-length}, -s {installation-order,board,wire-length}
Specifies the order the connections should be listed
in the file: installation-order sorts in the most
sensible order for installation, board lists wires on
a board-by-board basis, wire-length lists in order of
wire length.
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.133)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
2.0, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
available wire lengths:
--wire-length L [L ...], -l L [L ...]
specify one or more available wire lengths in meters
--minimum-slack H the minimum slack to allow in a wire connecting two
boards in meters
Enumerating required wires¶
To get a list of all connections required when assembling a given machine
simply run spinner-wiring-list specifying a number of boards and available
wire lengths:
$ spinner-wiring-list -n 24 -l 0.15 0.3 0.5
C F B Socket C F B Socket Length
-- -- -- ---------- -- -- -- ---------- ------
0 0 0 east 0 0 5 west 0.15
0 0 0 north 0 0 4 south 0.15
0 0 0 south west 0 0 7 north east 0.30
0 0 1 east 0 0 4 west 0.15
0 0 1 north 0 0 5 south 0.15
0 0 1 south west 0 0 6 north east 0.15
0 0 2 east 0 0 0 west 0.15
0 0 2 north 0 0 1 south 0.15
[...snip...]
Each connection is listed with its Cabinet, Frame and Board (C, F and B) number and the socket to use. The suggested wire length to use is also given.
By default the list is ordered by board position (top-right to bottom-left) but
this can be changed to either installation-order or ordered by wire length
using the --sort-by arguments.
spinner-wiring-validator¶
Validate the wiring of a SpiNNaker system.
$ spinner-wiring-validator -h
usage: spinner-wiring-validator [-h] [--version] [--verbose]
(--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N]
[--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME]
Validate the wiring of a SpiNNaker system.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
--verbose, -v list all incorrect and missing wires
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.089)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
1.822, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
SpiNNaker BMP connection details:
--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME
specify the hostname of a BMP to use to communicate
with SpiNNaker boards in the given frame
Validating machine wiring¶
To check that all board-to-board links are operational and the wiring of a
machine matches the wiring plans produced by SpiNNer,
spinner-wiring-validator can be used:
$ spinner-wiring-validator -n 24 --bmp 0 0 BMP_HOSTNAME
All 72 wires correctly connected.
Note a --bmp argument for every frame in the system must be supplied giving
the cabinet number, frame number and BMP hostname.
This test requires that all boards are powered on (e.g. using rig-power
BMP_HOSTNAME on -b 0-23 for each frame).
Note
spinner-wiring-validator only checks that the high-speed-serial
board-to-board links are active and connected to the correct boards. They do
not test the integrity of the actual SpiNNaker chip-to-chip network.
If any wiring errors are detected, the missing connections can be listed by
enabling the --verbose option.
To aid in making any required corrections, you can also use spinner-wiring-guide –fix option.
spinner-machine-map¶
Generate visual maps from the SpiNNaker network topology to board locations.
$ spinner-machine-map -h
usage: spinner-machine-map [-h] [--version] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N]
filename [width] [height]
Generate visual maps from the SpiNNaker network topology to board locations.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
image file parameters:
filename filename to write the output to (.pdf or .png)
width width of the image in mm for PDF and pixels for PNG
(defaults to 280 mm if PDF and 1000 px for PNG)
height height of the image in mm for PDF and pixels for PNG
(if only width is given, output will be at most width
wide and width tall)
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.089)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
1.822, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
Chip-to-Board Location Maps¶
To aid in diagnosing hardware-related issues in large SpiNNaker applications, SpiNNer can generate maps which show where each board boundary and board-to-board link in the system lies:
$ spiner-machine-map -n 24 out.png
PDF and PNG output are supported.
In the diagram, each hexagon represents a SpiNNaker chip and board boundaries are clearly marked. The coordinates of each Ethernet connected chip is indicated in the bottom-left corner of each board. The physical location of each board is labelled in large grey text. Depending on the size of the system, the cabinet, frame and board numbers are given (prefixed with ‘C’, ‘F’ and ‘B’ respectively).
Board boundaries are coloured to indicate which board-to-board link is responsible for each chip-to-chip link:
| Direction | Colour |
|---|---|
| North/South | Red |
| East/West | Green |
| North-East/South-West | Blue |
For a complementary visual mapping from physical board positions to SpiNNaker chip coordinates, see the spinner-wiring-diagram command. Alternatively, for a machine-readable mapping, see the spinner-ethernet-chips command.
spinner-ethernet-chips¶
Produce CSV listings of Ethernet connected chip physical and network positions.
$ spinner-ethernet-chips -h
usage: spinner-ethernet-chips [-h] [--version] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N]
Produce CSV listings of Ethernet connected chip physical and network
positions.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.089)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
1.822, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
Making Machine-Readable Physical-Position-to-Chip-Coordinate Mappings¶
A CSV format mapping between physical cabinet, frame and board position to the
SpiNNaker network coordinates of each Ethernet connected chip can be produced
with the spinner-ethernet-chips command:
$ spinner-ethernet-chips -n 3
cabinet,frame,board,x,y
0,0,0,0,0
0,0,2,4,8
0,0,1,8,4
For a complementary visual mapping from physical board positions to SpiNNaker chip coordinates, see the spinner-wiring-diagram command. For the inverse mapping see spinner-machine-map.
spinner-proxy-server¶
A proxy server which sits between very large SpiNNaker machines and multiple
instances of spinner-wiring-guide to enable multiple people to work on a
large machine at once. See below for a tutorial.
usage: spinner-proxy-server [-h] [--version] [--host HOST] [--port PORT]
[--verbose] (--num-boards N | --triads W H)
[--transformation {shear,slice}]
[--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}]
[--folds X Y] [--board-dimensions W H D]
[--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z]
[--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z]
[--inter-board-spacing S]
[--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME]
[--frame-dimensions W H D]
[--frame-board-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-frame-spacing S]
[--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET]
[--cabinet-dimensions W H D]
[--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z]
[--inter-cabinet-spacing S] [--num-cabinets N]
[--num-frames N] [--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME]
Start a proxy server to enable multiple interactive wiring sessions to
interact with the same SpiNNaker machine.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version, -V show program's version number and exit
--host HOST, -H HOST Host interface to listen on (default: any)
--port PORT, -p PORT Port listen on (default: 6512)
--verbose, -v Increase verbosity.
machine topology dimensions:
--num-boards N, -n N build the 'squarest' system with this many boards
--triads W H, -t W H build a system with the specified number of triads of
boards in each dimension (yielding 3*W*H boards)
topology folding options:
--transformation {shear,slice}, -T {shear,slice}
the transformation function to use from hexagonal
torus to rectangular Cartesian grid (selected
automatically if omitted)
--uncrinkle-direction {columns,rows}
direction in which to uncrinkle the hexagonal mesh to
form a regular grid (default: rows)
--folds X Y, -F X Y the number of pieces to fold into in each dimension
(default: (2, 2)) ignored if --transformation is not
given
board physical dimensions:
--board-dimensions W H D
physical board dimensions in meters (default: (0.014,
0.233, 0.24))
--board-wire-offset-south-west X Y Z
physical offset of the south-west connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.013, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north-east X Y Z
physical offset of the north-east connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.031, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-east X Y Z
physical offset of the east connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.049,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-west X Y Z
physical offset of the west connector from board left-
top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008, 0.067,
0.0))
--board-wire-offset-north X Y Z
physical offset of the north connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.085, 0.0))
--board-wire-offset-south X Y Z
physical offset of the south connector from board
left-top-front corner in meters (default: (0.008,
0.103, 0.0))
--inter-board-spacing S
physical spacing between each board in a frame in
meters (default: 0.00124)
frame physical dimensions:
--boards-per-frame BOARDS_PER_FRAME
number of boards per frame (default: 24)
--frame-dimensions W H D
frame physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.43,
0.266, 0.25))
--frame-board-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
left-most board from the left-top-front corner of a
frame in meters (default: (0.06, 0.017, 0.0))
--inter-frame-spacing S
physical spacing between frames in a cabinet in meters
(default: 0.133)
cabinet physical dimensions:
--frames-per-cabinet FRAMES_PER_CABINET
number of frames per cabinet (default: 5)
--cabinet-dimensions W H D
cabinet physical dimensions in meters (default: (0.6,
2.0, 0.25))
--cabinet-frame-offset X Y Z
physical offset of the left-top-front corner of the
top frame from the left-top-front corner of a cabinet
in meters (default: (0.085, 0.047, 0.0))
--inter-cabinet-spacing S
physical spacing between each cabinet in meters
(default: 0.0)
--num-cabinets N, -c N
specify how many cabinets to spread the system over
(default: the minimum possible)
--num-frames N, -f N when only one cabinet is required, specifies how many
frames within that cabinet the system should be spread
across (default: the minimum possible)
SpiNNaker BMP connection details:
--bmp CABINET FRAME HOSTNAME
specify the hostname of a BMP to use to communicate
with SpiNNaker boards in the given frame
Parallel, multi-person cable installation¶
To enable multiple people to install the cables in a very large machine
simultaneously, a spinner-proxy-server may be set up which allows multiple
instances of the spinner-wiring-guide tool to be started, one instance per
person (ideally running on seperate computers and headphones).
The server should be started (on a single machine) like so:
$ spinner-proxy-server -n 600 --bmp 0 0 192.168.1.0 ...
Proxy server starting...
Note that the arguments specifying the size of the machine, along with BMP IP addresses for all frames, must be given.
Next, each installer must start the interactive wiring guide, substituting the
ususal --bmp arguments for the hostname of the machine running the proxy
server. In addition the --subset argument (see the documentation) should be used to assign each installer a non-overlapping
portion of the machine.
For example, if the first installer will install all cables within cabinet 0 and between cabinets 1 and 0, the following command would be used to start the wiring guide on their machine:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 600 -l 0.15 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 --proxy hostname --subset 0.*.* 0-1.*.*
If the second installer will install cables in cabinet 1 and going between cabinets 1 and 2, the following command would be used on their machine:
$ spinner-wiring-guide -n 600 -l 0.15 0.3 0.5 0.7 1.0 --proxy hostname --subset 1.*.* 1-2.*.*
...and so on!
Since SpiNNer will install cables staying within cabinets before moving to inter-cabinet cabling, the scheme described above should result in minimal overlap between installers’ activity. An alternative scheme would be for each installer to first complete the wiring within their assigned cabinet and, once complete, restart the tool to guide installation of the cables between cabinets.
Backwards compatibility¶
Options which recreate wiring plans from old versions of SpiNNer can be found here:
Backward Compatible Options¶
The following arguments can be used to create wiring plans equivalent to those produced by old versions of SpiNNer.
Note
These values are only provided for backwards compatibility (i.e. working with
existing systems). It is highly recommended that new systems are built using
the plans generated by --num-boards N.
Old inter-frame spacing¶
Older multi-frame SpiNNaker machines use a different inter-frame spacing of 0.089 meters. Prior to SpiNNer version 2.3.0 this was the default. From Version 2.3.0 onwards a new inter-frame spacing default is 0.133 meters. To use the old inter-frame spacing add the following argument to SpiNNer commands:
--inter-frame-spacing=0.089
spin_103 (3 boards)¶
--triads 1 1 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 1 1
spin_1037 (6 boards)¶
--triads 2 1 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 1 1
spin_104 (12 boards)¶
--triads 2 2 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 2 1
spin_1043 (24 boards)¶
--triads 4 2 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 1 1
spin_105 (120 boards)¶
--triads 8 5 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction columns --folds 1 2
spin_1057 (600 boards)¶
--triads 10 20 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 2 2
spin_106 (1200 boards)¶
--triads 20 20 --transformation slice --uncrinkle-direction rows --folds 4 2