NVRAM

KAS uses NVRAM to save Retain Variables.

Hardware Type

NVRAM Size Allocation

KAS Simulator

256 Kbytes

PCMM2G

256 Kbytes


  • Part of NVRAM allocation is reserved to store some internal data (144 bytes).
    As a consequence, not all of the complete physical NVRAM is available for the retain variables.

If the size is big enough, KAS updates the non-volatile memory to store the retain variables values.

  • This operation is performed in the background every 20 seconds.
  • The frequency increases to every two seconds when the application is running or when you shutdown the application.

NVRAM Life Expectancy

  • Data Retention: At maximum operating temperature, the data written to the memory is retained for 10 years.
  • Endurance: NVRAM memory has an endurance limit of 1014 read / write accesses.
    • More than 6,000,000 years of being accessed every 2 seconds.

    • Using the retain variables is very cycle time consuming.
    • As a consequence, Kollmorgen strongly recommends to carefully monitor the system load with the TraceTimes command.
    • See Oscilloscope Control Panel.

Verify the NVRAM Space

To calculate NVRAM space, add the size of each retained variable according to the:

  • Data Types
  • Arrays - The numbers of elements in case the variable is declared as an array.

Remember! Add the 144 bytes!

In Figure 1, the total size is: 3684 bits (which is less than 0.5 Kbytes).

Figure 1: Example: Retain variables

Variable

Size / element

Number of Element

Total Size / variable

bLedStatus

1-bit

4

4

Internal data

1152-bits (144 bytes)

N/A

1152

MasterAbsPos

64-bits

1

64

MyString

800-bits (100 bytes)

3

2400

TravelSpeed

64-bits

1

64