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Hardware-Assisted Debugging Considerations for a Thin Client

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8/27/2008

This topic discusses debugging hardware considerations for a Windows Embedded CE powered thin client.

Ethernet Debug Port

To debug a thin client, you must have an Ethernet debug port on the standard development board that supports 10/100 megabits per second (Mbps) 10BaseT/100BaseT (802.3). This Ethernet connection differs from the end-user 10/100 Mbps 10BaseT/100BaseT Ethernet connection that you can add to the thin client production device.

When you use a single Ethernet port for debugging, you must add the VMini library to your run-time image. You must also make sure that you set the BSP_NOSHAREETH environment variable to 0. For more information, see Ethernet Debugging Services.

You can use a single Ethernet port when you expect a small amount of debug messages transmitted to Platform Builder. If you expect a larger amount of debug messages, consider adding an additional debug port.

Additional Debug Port

For additional debugging capabilities, you can add a serial debug port or a USB debug port. These debug ports are optional and differs from any other end-user serial ports or USB ports.

To measure performance of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), we recommend that you add two Ethernet ports to your standard development board. Through one port, data is exchanged. Through the second port, debug messages are transmitted. You must attach Ethernet cables to each port and to a network hub that connects either to a local area network (LAN) or to your desktop computer. When you use two Ethernet ports for debugging, make sure that you set BSP_NOSHAREETH to 1.

For more information about debug hardware for thin clients, see Diagnostics and Debugging for Mobile and Embedded Development.

See Also

Concepts

Performance Considerations for the Hardware Components of a Thin Client

Other Resources

Debugging and Testing a Thin Client
Setting or Clearing an Environment Variable (Visual Studio)