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Application Debugging Over Ethernet Using Visual Studio

The simplest setup to do application debugging is to connect your host PC to the Toradex module target by both a USB cable (ActiveSync) and Ethernet. However, there are situations where the USB client port is not available and only Ethernet can be used for debugging - as for example with Windows Embedded Compact 2013

This article describes how to setup the host PC and the target device for this purpose.

One Time Preparation​

Lookup the IP Address of the Toradex Module​

Images released after July 2017​

Newer Toradex Windows CE images show have a built-in tool to prepare the system to accept a debugger connection. Our tool does the same steps as Microsoft describes, we just simplified the process. It can be launched under:
START → Programs → ColibriTools → Start Debugger Client
Once started, the debugger client shows the module's IP address in a message box when the debug client gets started. The message box can be deactivated by setting the following registry key:


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Toradex\Debugger]
"DisplayMode" = "dword:1"    ;Default is 1. 1 = show message box, 0 = show IP on desktop.

The debugger client uses, by default, the Ethernet interfaces directly supported by the module. If you need to use a different interface for application debugging (ex: Wi-Fi or modem connection) you need to add an additional parameter to the registry:


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Toradex\Debugger]
"CheckAdapterName" = "dword:0"    ;Default is 1. 1 = use only standard adapters, 0 = use any adapter that has a valid IP address

Images released before July 2017​

On the target device, either

  • double click on the Ethernet icon in the Windows CE system tray, or
  • open a command prompt and type
    ipconfig

In the default configuration, the target device is setup to get its IP address from a DHCP server. So the address can change after a reboot of the target.

Automatically launch debugger client​

If you want to automatically launch the debugger client on booting the device, you can add it to the init section in the registry like this:


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\init]
"Launch98" = "VSDebugger.exe"

This registry entry is already there in newer images but it is disabled by a "_" prefix.

Prepare Visual Studio 2008 (VS2008)​

  • In VS2008, select the menu
    Tools -> Options ==> Device Tools ==> Devices
  • Select any existing device and press
    Save As...
  • Give the device a reasonable name, e.g.
    Colibri: Ethernet (10.0.1.73)
  • Optionally you can change the Default device to the new device.
  • Select the newly created device and press
    Properties
    to get to the next dialog.
  • Select Transport:
    TCP Connect Transport
    and press
    Configure
  • Select
    Use specific IP address
    and enter the target's IP address
  • Press OK three times to close all open dialogs.

Prepare Visual Studio 2013/2015 (VS2013/2015)​

  • In VS2013/2015 debug settings are project-specific.
  • For native (C/C++) applications:
    • In Visual Studio select:
      Project -> Properties
    • Select:
      Configuration Properties -> Debugging
    • Insert the device's IP address and, if needed, any optional command line argument you need to pass to your application to test it
    • Please notice that if you don't set the IP address there Visual Studio 2013/2015 will prompt for an IP address the first time you'll try to run your application. In our experience this quite often leads to a unrenponsive instance of Visual Studio that should be closed from task manager. It's always better to configure the IP in advance for your projects.
  • For managed (C#/Visual Basic) applications:
    • In Visual Studio select:
      Project -> <project name> Properties
    • Select:
      Debug
    • Insert the device's IP address and, if needed, any optional command line argument you need to pass to your application to test it
  • If you want to deploy your applications permanently on the device choose a deployment path under \FlashDisk.

Not needed on standard image: Copy debug tools to target device​

info

Our most recent Windows Embedded Compact images (for Tegra, iMX6, iMX7 and Vybrid) have the debug tools already included, you find them under:
Start->Programs->Colibri Tools->Visual Studio Debugger

If you can't find this entry or you are building your own image, you have to copy them manually.

Visual Studio 2008​

  • Locate the files. In a standard VS2008 installation, they are here:
    C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\CoreCon\1.0\Target\wce400\armv4i or C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\CoreCon\1.0\Target\wce400\armv4i
  • On a USB flash drive or an SD card, create a folder \AutoCopy
  • Copy the following files into the AutoCopy folder
    • clientshutdown.exe
    • CMAccept.exe
    • ConmanClient2.exe
    • DeviceAgentTransport.dll
    • DeviceDMA.dll
    • eDbgTL.dll
    • TcpConnectionA.dll

Visual Studio 2013/2015​

  • Locate the files. In a standard VS2013/2015 installation, they are here:
    %CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Shared\Embedded Tools\CoreCon\12.0\Target\wce800\armv7\ or %CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Shared\Embedded Tools\CoreCon\14.0\Target\wce800\armv7\
  • On a USB flash drive or an SD card, create a folder \AutoCopy
  • Copy the following files into the AutoCopy folder
    • clientshutdown3.exe
    • CMAccept3.exe
    • ConmanClient3.exe
    • edbgTL3.dll
    • TcpConnectionA3.dll
    • DeviceAgentTransport3.dll

Using Two Ethernet Adapters​

When more than one ethernet adapter is connected to the system, by default only the first (on-module) adapter is available as a debug interface.

The 2nd ethernet adapter can be enabled for debugging by adding a registry key.

The exact value of the multi-string ("AX88772B2","AX8877B1") depends on the module and ethernet adapters you use. The adapters are listed under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm].


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\TCPIP\Linkage]
"Bind"=multi_sz:"AX88772B2","AX8877B1"     ; List all adapter instances

Process for every debug session​

Start the debuging client on the target device​

On toradex default images​

Just click on the following start menu item:

Start->Programs->Colibri Tools->Visual Studio Debugger->Start debugger client

On Custom image or older images​

If you don't find the Start debugger client on the target device you have to do this.

  • Insert the storage device you previously prepared into the target device and boot the module. The files will be copied to the target's root folder.

Visual Studio 2008​

  • Through the Start menu, open a command prompt and type
    conmanclient2
    to start this service. The command prompt will remain blocked.
  • Through the Start menu, open a 2nd command prompt and type
    cmaccept
    to start this service.

Visual Studio 2013/2015​

  • Through the Start menu, open a command prompt and type
    conmanclient3
    to start this service. The command prompt will remain blocked.
  • Through the Start menu, open a 2nd command prompt and type
    cmaccept3
    to start this service.

After you have started CMAccept, you have only 3 minutes to start the debug session on the Visual Studio side!

Start the Debug Session on VS2008​

  • In VS2008, select the menu
    Tools -> Connect To Device...
  • Select the newly generated device and press Connect

VS2008 will start to communicate with the target device. Another dialog should appear and announce a successful connection.

Start the Debug Session on VS2013/VS2015​

Debug session is started automatically when you choose to deploy or debug/run your application.
If you haven't set an IP for your target device, you'll have to insert it when prompted.
We discovered that inserting the IP on first execution/deployment often leads to a non-responsive Visual Studio 2013/2015 instance.
It's better to configure your device's IP in advance as described in the instructions above.



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