Svc::FprimeRouter
The Svc::FprimeRouter component routes F´ packets (such as command or file packets) to other components.
The Svc::FprimeRouter component receives F´ packets (as Fw::Buffer objects) and routes them to other components through synchronous port calls. The input port of type Svc.ComDataWithContext passes this Fw.Buffer object along with optional context data which can help for routing. The current F Prime protocol does not use this context data, but is nevertheless present in the interface for compatibility with other protocols which may for example pass APIDs in the frame headers.
The Svc::FprimeRouter component supports Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_COMMAND and Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_FILE packet types. Unknown packet types are forwarded on the unknownDataOut port, which a project-specific component can connect to for custom routing.
About memory management, buffers sent by Svc::FprimeRouter on the fileOut and unknownDataOut ports are passed through directly without copying. Receivers of these buffers must return them to Svc::FprimeRouter through the fileBufferReturnIn port when finished processing. The original buffer is not returned to the deframer until this happens.
Custom Routing
The Svc::FprimeRouter component is designed to be extensible through the use of a project-specific router. The unknownDataOut port can be connected to a project-specific component that can receive all unknown packet types. This component can then implement custom handling of these unknown packets. After processing, the project-specific component shall return the received buffer to the Svc::FprimeRouter component through the fileBufferReturnIn port (named this way as it only receives file packets in the common use-case), which will return the buffer to the deframer.
Context Preservation
The FrameContext received on dataIn is restored on the matching dataReturnOut when the buffer's ownership is returned, so context (e.g. vcId) that arrived with a buffer survives the round-trip. This lets a shared router return buffers to their originating uplink path.
Command packets are returned immediately with their received context. fileOut and unknownDataOut behave identically: their port type carries only the buffer, so before handing a buffer off the router records the buffer→context association in a fixed-size table keyed by the buffer's data pointer, then restores it when the buffer returns on fileBufferReturnIn. Keeping the association in the router avoids forcing downstream consumers to handle a context they do not use.
The table capacity is set by FprimeRouterCfg.BufferContextTableSize. It bounds how many buffers can be handed off on fileOut and unknownDataOut awaiting return at once; size it to the buffer pool that feeds dataIn, which is the hard upper bound on outstanding buffers. Because buffers return on a different thread than dataIn arrivals, dataIn and fileBufferReturnIn are guarded input ports so table access is serialized.
The lookup keys on the returned buffer's data pointer, which relies on the standard contract that a consumer returns the same Fw::Buffer it was given (the buffers are drawn from a single uplink pool, so at most one outstanding buffer holds a given data pointer at a time). If a consumer returned a different or offset buffer, the lookup would miss and degrade as below rather than restore a wrong context.
If the table is full on hand-off, or a returned buffer is not found, the router emits a warning event and returns the buffer with an empty context.
Usage Examples
The Svc::FprimeRouter component is used in the uplink stack of many reference F´ application such as the tutorials source code.
Typical Usage
In the canonical uplink communications stack, Svc::FprimeRouter is connected to a Svc::CmdDispatcher and a Svc::FileUplink component, to receive Command and File packets respectively.
Port Descriptions
| Kind | Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
guarded input |
dataIn |
Svc.ComDataWithContext |
Receiving Fw::Buffer with context buffer from Deframer |
guarded input |
dataReturnOut |
Svc.ComDataWithContext |
Returning ownership of buffer received on dataIn |
output |
commandOut |
Fw.Com |
Port for sending command packets as Fw::ComBuffers |
output |
fileOut |
Fw.BufferSend |
Port for sending file packets as Fw::Buffer (ownership passed to receiver) |
guarded input |
fileBufferReturnIn |
Fw.BufferSend |
Receiving back ownership of buffer sent on fileOut and unknownDataOut |
output |
unknownDataOut |
Svc.ComDataWithContext |
Port forwarding unknown data (useful for adding custom routing rules with a project-defined router) |
Requirements
| Name | Description | Rationale | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
| SVC-ROUTER-001 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall route packets based on their packet type as indicated by the packet header |
Routing mechanism of the F´ comms protocol | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-002 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall route packets of type Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_COMMAND to the commandOut output port. |
Routing command packets | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-003 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall route packets of type Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_FILE to the fileOut output port. |
Routing file packets | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-004 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall route data that is neither Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_COMMAND nor Fw::ComPacketType::FW_PACKET_FILE to the unknownDataOut output port. |
Allows for projects to provide custom routing for additional (project-specific) uplink data types | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-005 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall emit warning events if serialization errors occur during processing of incoming packets |
Aid in diagnosing uplink issues | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-006 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall pass through buffers for FW_PACKET_FILE and unknown packet types without copying, and defer returning them to the deframer until they are returned via fileBufferReturnIn |
Efficient memory management | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-007 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall return ownership of all buffers received on dataIn through dataReturnOut |
Memory management | Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-008 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall preserve the ComCfg::FrameContext received on dataIn and restore it on the corresponding dataReturnOut, including across the fileOut/unknownDataOut → fileBufferReturnIn round-trip |
Allows a shared router to return buffers to the correct originating uplink path (e.g. by vcId) |
Unit test |
| SVC-ROUTER-009 | Svc::FprimeRouter shall emit a warning event and return the buffer with an empty context when the buffer-to-context table is full on hand-off, or when a returned buffer is not found in the table |
Graceful degradation without loss of buffer ownership | Unit test |