Chapter 4.

As with any software, the Intel IXP2XXX Product Line Architecture Tool has changed a bit since the book was published. The newer version is based on the Eclipse platform, which is described briefly in Appendix B. Although the look and feel differs, but the new tool's concepts are the same as those described in the book. So, if you're using version 4.2 or later, be aware of these slight differences:

1. Figure 4.9: Instead of creating the pipeline drawing, create the two main components from which the pipeline drawing is derived:
   • First, you must create thread executables and insert tasks into them. The thread executable corresponds to the stage, either the context stage or the functional stage. A context pipe stage that has one task in it. A functional pipe stage has more than one task in it.
   • Then, you must create the dataflow, which represents the packet flow starting from the triangle-shaped data source and going through the thread executables.
   After creating thread executables and dataflow, clicking on the pipeline tab brings up the resulting pipeline drawing. If you click the data source, you see the connectivity of dataflow through the pipeline drawing.
2. Figure 4.12: Microblocks are listed in the lower left of your project. To import a microblock, right click on it and select Import Microblock.
3. Figures 4.17 and 4.18: You should create tasks first, the use them. For imported microblocks, the task drawings are imported as well.