I am using a Dell Precision 5820 Tower running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS that has 4 PCIe DAQ cards in it as well as one AMD RV710 video card (so there is a total of 5 PCIe devices in the Tower). I designed some software that allows me to start and stop any and all of the 4 PCIe DAQ cards at the push of one or more buttons. The issue that I am having involves my system freezing as soon as I run the PCIe devices. More details about how the issue crops up:
After I have finished a complete erase and reinstall of Ubuntu 16.04, the system will freeze once I decide to the run the 4th PCIe DAQ device if the other 3 PCIe DAQ boards are running. The system will be completely operational if I simultaneously run 3 of the 4 PCIe DAQ boards, but as soon as I press the run button for the 4th PCIe device, the system freezes, and stops responding to the mouse and keyboard, forcing me to do a hard shutdown. The PCIe devices do not stop running once the system has frozen. The 4 PCIe DAQ boards continue to operate and behave normally, but I can no longer interact with them as the system doesn't respond to my keyboard or mouse.
Once the system freezes due to the series of events described in the previous bullet, the system will boot and operate without an issue, but will freeze whenever I run any one of the PCIe DAQ devices. Before the system would allow me to run up to 3 devices simultaneously without freezing, but once it has frozen due to the events outlined in the previous bullet, I cannot run any one of the PCIe DAQ devices without the system freezing.
If I completely erase and reinstall Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, I can use up to 3 of the PCIe DAQ boards simultaneously once again.
When the system is frozen it does not respond to the mouse or keyboard. I did get the system to freeze when I had a youtube video playing in the background. This did not cause any issues with the youtube video playing: no interruptions in the audio or video were observed, but the system was not responding to my keyboard or mouse.
Here is further information about my device:
OS: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Memory: 15.4 GiB
Processor: Intel® Xeon(R) W-2123 CPU @ 3.60GHz × 8
Graphics: AMD RV710 (DRM 2.48.0 / 4.9.0-040900-generic, LLVM 5.0.0)
OS Type: 64-bit
Disk: 967.8 GB
Output of lspci:
username@TOWER:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Device 2020 (rev 04)
00:04.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:04.7 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CBDMA Registers (rev 04)
00:05.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E MM/Vt-d Configuration Registers (rev 04)
00:05.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2025 (rev 04)
00:05.4 PIC: Intel Corporation Device 2026 (rev 04)
00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E Ubox Registers (rev 04)
00:08.1 Performance counters: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E Ubox Registers (rev 04)
00:08.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E Ubox Registers (rev 04)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device a2af
00:14.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device a2b1
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device a2ba
00:17.0 RAID bus controller: Intel Corporation C600/X79 series chipset SATA RAID Controller
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device a290 (rev f0)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device a295 (rev f0)
00:1c.6 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device a296 (rev f0)
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device a298 (rev f0)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Device a2d3
00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Device a2a1
00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Device a2f0
00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Device a2a3
00:1f.6 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection (5) I219-LM
02:00.0 PCI bridge: PLX Technology, Inc. PEX8112 x1 Lane PCI Express-to-PCI Bridge (rev aa)
03:00.0 Unassigned class [ffff]: Measurement Computing PCIe-DAS1602/16
04:00.0 PCI bridge: Texas Instruments XIO2001 PCI Express-to-PCI Bridge
06:00.0 PCI bridge: PLX Technology, Inc. PEX8112 x1 Lane PCI Express-to-PCI Bridge (rev aa)
07:00.0 Unassigned class [ffff]: Measurement Computing PCIe-DAS1602/16
16:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCI Express Root Port 1A (rev 04)
16:05.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2034 (rev 04)
16:05.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E RAS Configuration Registers (rev 04)
16:05.4 PIC: Intel Corporation Device 2036 (rev 04)
16:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:08.7 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:09.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:09.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0e.7 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0f.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:0f.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:1d.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:1d.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:1d.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:1d.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E CHA Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
16:1e.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCU Registers (rev 04)
17:00.0 PCI bridge: PLX Technology, Inc. PEX8112 x1 Lane PCI Express-to-PCI Bridge (rev aa)
18:00.0 Unassigned class [ffff]: Measurement Computing PCIe-DAS1602/16
64:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCI Express Root Port 1A (rev 04)
64:05.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2034 (rev 04)
64:05.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E RAS Configuration Registers (rev 04)
64:05.4 PIC: Intel Corporation Device 2036 (rev 04)
64:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2066 (rev 04)
64:09.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2066 (rev 04)
64:0a.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2040 (rev 04)
64:0a.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2041 (rev 04)
64:0a.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2042 (rev 04)
64:0a.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2043 (rev 04)
64:0a.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2044 (rev 04)
64:0a.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2045 (rev 04)
64:0a.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2046 (rev 04)
64:0a.7 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2047 (rev 04)
64:0b.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2048 (rev 04)
64:0b.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2049 (rev 04)
64:0b.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 204a (rev 04)
64:0b.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 204b (rev 04)
64:0c.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2040 (rev 04)
64:0c.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2041 (rev 04)
64:0c.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2042 (rev 04)
64:0c.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2043 (rev 04)
64:0c.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2044 (rev 04)
64:0c.5 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2045 (rev 04)
64:0c.6 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2046 (rev 04)
64:0c.7 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2047 (rev 04)
64:0d.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2048 (rev 04)
64:0d.1 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2049 (rev 04)
64:0d.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 204a (rev 04)
64:0d.3 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 204b (rev 04)
65:00.0 PCI bridge: PLX Technology, Inc. PEX8112 x1 Lane PCI Express-to-PCI Bridge (rev aa)
66:00.0 Unassigned class [ffff]: Measurement Computing PCIe-DAS1602/16
b2:00.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCI Express Root Port 1A (rev 04)
b2:02.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCI Express Root Port 1C (rev 04)
b2:03.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E PCI Express Root Port 1D (rev 04)
b2:05.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Device 2034 (rev 04)
b2:05.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E RAS Configuration Registers (rev 04)
b2:05.4 PIC: Intel Corporation Device 2036 (rev 04)
b2:12.0 Performance counters: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M3KTI Registers (rev 04)
b2:12.1 Performance counters: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M3KTI Registers (rev 04)
b2:12.2 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M3KTI Registers (rev 04)
b2:15.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M2PCI Registers (rev 04)
b2:16.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M2PCI Registers (rev 04)
b2:16.4 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M2PCI Registers (rev 04)
b2:17.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Sky Lake-E M2PCI Registers (rev 04)
b3:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV710/M92 [Mobility Radeon HD 4330]
b3:00.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] RV710/730 HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 4000 series]Output of uname -r:
username@TOWER:~$ uname -r
4.9.0-040900-genericThings I have tried:
-Using a different video card. I have tried a few NVIDIA (NVS 310 & 315, Quadro K620) cards but to no avail. I switched to an AMD card because the NVIDIA and Xorg drivers were thought to be the cause. Switching video cards has not proven to be beneficial.
-Using different video card drivers. I have tried NVIDIA and Xorg (nouveau) drivers with each of the NVIDIA boards I have tried but with no change in system performance.
-Using different kernels. I have tried the following kernels with no success: 4.9.0-040900-generic, 4.10.0-28-generic, 4.13.0-43-generic, 4.6.2. Interestingly enough the 4.6.2 kernel responds to the keyboard when it freezes, but killing the processes using command line does not recover the system.
-Asking Dell about the problem. No one at Dell has any idea what I am talking about.
I have a Dell Precision 5810 that is running Ubuntu 16.04 on the 4.6.2 kernel that runs all 4 of the same DAQ boards simultaneously without an issue. That computer was sold to a customer so I have limited access to it, but I do know it had an NVIDIA K620 video card in it, that it is using the Xorg drivers with that board, that it has Intel Xeon E5-1620 x8 for CPUs. I may have a print out of the lspci for that tower somewhere.
Can any of you shed light onto why my system is freezing when using the 4th PCIe device, and why the system begins freezing when any PCIe device is used following the initial freeze? Any input would be really helpful. I have been having this issue for about 4 months now.
Edit 1
I tried swapping the DAQ boards around to see if the issue with starting the 4th board is related to one board in particular, but the issue has persisted as initially described. I didn't mention this before but the 4 DAQ boards are identical.
Edit 2
I tried entering tty (alt+ctrl+F1) while the Tower was frozen to see if I could run some commands in that console, but tty gets stuck in a login loop. It asks for my login ID but doesn't progress to the point of asking for my password once I submit the login name.
2 Reset to default
