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Software User's Guide Version 3.4


Configuring and Monitoring the Fast Token-Ring Network

Fast Token-Ring FasTR uses the existing IBM 2216 ATM adapters as fast token-ring adapters. It supports IP routing, DLSw, APPN, and SRB (Source Route Bridging).

This chapter describes FasTR network configuration and operational commands for FasTR. It includes the following sections:


Accessing the FasTR Interface Configuration Process

To display the FasTR config> prompt, enter the network command followed by the interface number of the FasTR interface. For example:

     Config>network 0
     Fast Token-Ring interface configuration
     FasTR Config>

Use the list devices command at the Config> prompt to display a list of interface numbers configured on the router.
Note:Whenever you change a parameter, you must restart the router for the changes to take effect.


FasTR Configuration Commands

This section describes the FasTR configuration commands. Enter the commands at the FasTR config> prompt. Table 27 lists FasTR configuration commands.

Table 27. FasTR Configuration Command Summary
Command Function
? (Help) Displays all the commands available for this command level or lists the options for specific commands (if available). See "Getting Help".
 List   Displays the selected FasTR interface configuration. 
 LLC   Accesses the LLC configuration environment and subcommands. 
 Media   Defaults to fiber. No input allowed. 
 Packet-size   Sets maximum packet-size for FasTR networks. 
 Set   Sets the aging timer for the RIF cache and the physical (MAC) address. 
 Source-routing   Enables or disables source-routing on the interface. 
 Speed   Defaults to 155 Mbps. No input allowed. 
Exit Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

List

Use the list command to display the current configuration for the FasTR interface.
Note:If the MAC address is 0, the default station address is used.

Syntax:
list

Example:
list
Fast Token-Ring configuration:
 
    Packet size (INFO field): 2052
Speed:                    155Mbps
Media:                    Fiber
 
RIF Aging Timer:          120
Source Routing:           Enabled
MAC Address:              000000000000
 

 Packet size   Maximum FasTR packet size. 
 Speed   Speed of the network, 155Mbps. 
 Media   Type of media the network uses, fiber. 
 RIF Aging Timer   Amount of time that the router holds the information contained in the Routing Information Field (RIF). 
 Source Routing   Status of the source-routing feature, enabled or disabled. 
 MAC Address   Configured MAC address that was set with the set physical-address command. If all zeros are displayed, the MAC address is the default address. 

LLC

Use the LLC command to access the LLC configuration environment. See "LLC Configuration Commands" for an explanation of each of these commands.

Syntax:
llc

Example:
llc
LLC config>
Note:If APPN is not included in your router software load, you will receive the following message if you try to use this command:
     LLC configuration is not available for this network.
The LLC configuration environment is only available if APPN is included in the software load.

Media

The default media type is fiber. No input allowed.

Packet-Size

Use the packet-size command to set the maximum packet-size for FasTR networks. Enter the packet-size command followed by the desired number of bytes.
Note:If the packet size is increased, buffer memory requirements will also increase.

Syntax:
packet-size #bytes

Example:
packet-size 4399

Set

Use the set command to set the Routing Information Field (RIF) timer and the physical (MAC) address.

Syntax: set
physical-address
 
rif-timer

physical-address
Indicates whether you want to define a locally administered address for the FasTR interface's MAC sublayer address, or use the default factory station address (indicated by all zeroes). The MAC sublayer address is the address that the FasTR interface uses to receive and transmit frames.
Note:Pressing Return leaves the value the same. Entering 0 and pressing Return causes the router to use the factory station address. The default is to use the factory station address.

Valid values: Any 12-digit hexadecimal address.

Default value: burned-in address (indicated by all zeroes).

Example:
set physical-address
MAC address in 00:00:00:00:00:00 form []?

rif-timer
Sets the maximum amount of time (in seconds) that the information in the RIF is maintained before it is refreshed. The default is 120.

Example:
set rif-timer
RIF aging timer value [120]?  120

Source-routing

Use the source-routing command to enable or disable end station source routing. Source routing is the process by which end stations determine the source route to use to cross source routing bridges. Source routing allows the IP protocol to reach nodes on the other side of the source routing bridge.

This switch is completely independent of whether this interface is providing source routing via the SRT forwarder. The default setting is enabled.

Some stations cannot properly receive frames with a Source Routing RIF on them. This is especially common among NetWare drivers. Disabling source routing in this situation will allow you to communicate with these stations.

Source routing should be enabled only if there are source-routing bridges on this ring that you want to bridge IP packets through. Source routing must also be enabled so LLC test response messages can be returned.

Syntax: source-routing
enable
 
disable

Example: source-routing enable

Speed

The default speed is 155 Mbps. No input allowed.


Accessing the Interface Monitoring Process

To display the token-ring monitoring prompt (TKR>), enter the network command followed by the interface number of the FasTR interface. For example:

     +network 0
     TKR>

Use the list devices command at the Config> prompt to display a list of interface numbers configured on the router.

Follow the procedure described in "Getting Started with Network Interfaces" to access the interface monitoring process for the interface described in this chapter. Once you have accessed the desired interface monitoring process, you can begin entering monitoring commands.


FasTR Interface Monitoring Commands

This section describes the FasTR monitoring commands. Enter commands at the TKR> monitoring prompt. Table 28 lists the monitoring commands.

Table 28. FasTR Monitoring Command Summary
Command Function
? (Help) Displays all the commands available for this command level or lists the options for specific commands (if available). See "Getting Help".
 Dump   Displays a dump of the RIF cache. 
 LLC   Displays the LLC monitoring prompt. 
Exit Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

Dump

When source routing is enabled in the FasTR config> process, you can use the dump command to request a dump of the RIF cache contents.

Syntax:
dump

Example:
dump
MAC address    State     Usage   RIF
0000C90B1A57   ON_RING   Yes     0220

 MAC address   Displays the MAC address of the FasTR interface. 
 State   Displays one of the interface states: 
On_ring - indicates that a RIF was found for a node on the ring.
Have_route - indicates that a RIF was found for a node on a remote ring.
No_route - is displayed for a brief period of time as an explorer frame is sent out and the router is waiting for a return.
Discovering - indicates that the router sent an explorer frame to rediscover the RIF.
St_route - indicates that a route obtained from a Spanning tree explorer.
 Usage   Indicates that a RIF was used in a packet. The number is arbitrary and has no functional significance. 
 RIF   Displays a code that indicates the RIF in hexadecimal. 
Note:The RIF is displayed only if Source Route Bridging is enabled on the FasTR interface.
  • NetBIOS RIF data can be displayed using the following sequence of commands: talk 5, protocol ASRT, name-caching, list cache rifs.
  • Data Link Switching RIF data can be displayed using the following sequence of commands: talk 5, protocol dlsw, list llc2 session all.

LLC

Use the LLC command to access the LLC monitoring prompt. LLC commands are entered at this new prompt. See "LLC Monitoring Commands" for an explanation of each of these commands.

Syntax:
llc

Example:
llc
LLC user monitoring
LLC>

FasTR Interfaces and the GWCON Interface Command

While FasTR interfaces have their own monitoring processes for monitoring purposes, the router also displays complete statistics for installed network interfaces when you use the interface command from the GWCON environment.

Statistics Displayed for FasTR Interfaces

The following statistics display when you enter the interface <net #> command for a FasTR interface from the GWCON environment.

+i 0
 					                                Self-Test   Self-Test  Maintenance
Nt  Nt'  Interface Slot-Port                   Passed      Failed       Failed
0   0    TKR/0     Slot: 1   Port:                   1          1            0
  0
 
  Token-Ring/802.5 MAC/data-link on Fast Token Ring interface
 
  Physical address        000000019100
  Network speed           155 Mbps
  Max packet size (INFO)  2052
  Handler state           Ring open
 
  Hdr Thresh:          0  Bad CRC:             0
  Bad Length:          0  Max Len Exc.:        0
  Rcv Timeout:         0  Fwd Aborts:          0
  Nonzero CPI:         0
 
  Cells Rcvd:          0  NUD Rcvd:            0
  NUD Bad CRC:         0  Bad HEC:             0
 
LCD Events:
  AAL0 No Buf:         0  AAL5 No Buf:         0
  NUD No Buf:          0
  Rx No Sysbuf:        0  Tx No Chrmbf:        0
 
GPDMA Events:
  Tx DMA Error:        0  Rx DMA Error:        0
  Buf Overflow:        0  Virt Mem Res:        0
  Lost Events:         0  Ill. Events:         0
+

The following section describes general interface statistics:
 Nt   Global interface number 
 Nt'   Applies only to dial circuits 
 Interface   Interface name and Number of this interface within interfaces of type intrfc 
 Slot-Port   Slot number and Port number 
 Self-Test: Pass   Number of times self-test succeeded 
 Self-Test: Fail   Number of times self-test failed 
 Maintenance Failed   Number of maintenance failures 

The following section describes the statistics displayed that are specific to the FasTR interfaces:
Physical address Specifies the physical address of the FasTR interface.
Network speed Specifies the speed of the FasTR network that connects to the interface. The Network Speed counter displays the number of packets that the interface can pass per second.
Max packet size (info) Displays the maximum packet size configured for that interface. The Max Packet Size counter displays the maximum length, in bytes, of a packet that the interface transmits or receives. This counter is user-defined.
Handler state Displays the current state of the FasTR handler. The Handler state counter displays the state of the handler after the self-test runs.
Hdr Thresh Packet header thresholds exceeded.
Bad CRC Packets received with bad CRC.
Bad Length Packets received with bad length.
Max Len Exc. Packets received exceeding maximum length.
Rcv Timeout Timeouts on received packet reassembly.
Fwd Aborts Received packets terminated with a forward abort.
Nonzero CPI Packets received with CPI field not set to zero.
Cells Received Cells received (not packets).
NUD Rcvd Non-user data fields received.
NUD Bad CRC Non-user data fields received with bad CRC_10.
Bad HEC Cells received with bad Header Error Check.
LCD Events
AAL0 No Buf AAL0 cells dropped due to lack of pools buffers.
AAL5 No Buf AAL5 cells dropped due to lack of pools buffers.
NUD No Buf Non-user data dropped due to lack of pools buffers.
Rx No Sysbuf Packets received but dropped because no system buffers were available.
Tx No Chrmbuf Transmit packets dropped because no adapter buffers were available.
GPDMA Events
Tx DMA Error Transmit DMAs with errors.
Rx DMA Error Receive DMAs with errors.
Buf Overflow Received packets that exceeded the real buffer size.
Virt Mem Res Virtual Memory resource events, writing cells into virtual memory.
Lost Events Events lost because the receive queue was full.
Ill. Events Unrecognized events.


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