Software User's Guide Version 3.3

Configuring and Monitoring BSC Relay

This chapter describes the binary synchronous communications (BSC) Relay configuration and operational commands. It also includes a procedure for configuring a BSC interface.

The chapter includes the following sections:

"Basic Configuration Procedure"
"BSC Relay Configuration Commands"
"BSC Relay Monitoring Commands"
"BSC Relay Interfaces and the GWCON Interface Command"

Basic Configuration Procedure

This section outlines a procedure to configure a BSC interface and the BSC Relay protocol. Refer to the configuration commands that are described in this chapter for further configuration information and explanation.

To configure a BSC relay interface and run BRLY over that interface:

Configure an interface as a BSC interface.
1. Enter set data-link bsc at the Config> prompt.
2. Enter the interface number when prompted.
3. Access the BSC interface configuration prompt:
```
Config>network 2
BSC interface user configuration
BSC 2 Config>
```
4. Display the current interface settings using the list command and change, if necessary, using the set command.
5. Repeat until you have configured all of the BSC interfaces you need.
Configure the BRLY protocol.
1. Access the BRLY protocol.
```
Config>protocol brly
BSC Relay protocol user configuration
BSC Relay config>
```
2. Add a group using the add group command.
3. Add a local port using the add local-port command.
4. Add a remote port using the add remote-port command. This identifies the port that is directly connected to the remote side of the serial line and specifies the IP address for the connection.
5. Repeat steps 2b through 2d until you have configured all of the groups, local ports, and remote ports needed.

BSC Relay Configuration Commands

This section describes the BSC Relay configuration commands. This chapter describes both network and protocol parameters for BSC relay.

The BSC Relay configuration commands allow you to specify router parameters for interfaces that transmit BSC Relay frames. Restart the router to activate the configuration commands. Table 74 shows the commands for both the network BSC and protocol BRLY.

Table 74. BSC Relay Configuration Commands Summary

Command Network BSC Protocol BRLY Function
? (Help) yes yes Lists all of the configuration commands or lists the options associated with specific commands.
Add    yes Adds groups, local ports, and remote ports.
Delete    yes Deletes groups, local ports, and remote ports.
Disable    yes Disables groups and ports.
Enable    yes Enables groups and ports.
List yes yes Displays entire BSC Relay, group-specific, and interface configurations.
Set yes    Sets the link parameters and remote station parameters.
Exit yes yes Exits the BSC Relay configuration environment and returns to the CONFIG environment.

Command	Network BSC	Protocol BRLY	Function
? (Help)	yes	yes	Lists all of the configuration commands or lists the options associated with specific commands.
Add		yes	Adds groups, local ports, and remote ports.
Delete		yes	Deletes groups, local ports, and remote ports.
Disable		yes	Disables groups and ports.
Enable		yes	Enables groups and ports.
List	yes	yes	Displays entire BSC Relay, group-specific, and interface configurations.
Set	yes		Sets the link parameters and remote station parameters.
Exit	yes	yes	Exits the BSC Relay configuration environment and returns to the CONFIG environment.

Add

Use the add command to add groups, local ports, and remote ports.

Syntax:

add: group group#
: local-port
: remote-port

group group#

Defines a primary to secondary connection. Each different connection requires a different group number.

Example: add group

Group number: [1]? 1
Group type: [multipoint]

Group number

The group number that you are designating for the group.

Valid values: 1 to 16

Default value: 1

Group type

Specifies the type of BSC connection this group supports.

Valid values: point-to-point or multipoint

Default value: multipoint

local-port

Identifies the interface that you are using as the local port for a specific group. The local port is a connection to a BSC device that is connected directly to the 2210 you are configuring. The following example adds a primary local port.

Example: add local-port

Group number: [1]? 1
Interface number: [0]? 2
(P)rimary or (S)econdary:[S]? p

Group number

The group number for the port. This number must be configured previously using the add group command.

Interface number

The interface number of the router that designates the local port.

Primary or Secondary

Designates the port type, primary (P) or secondary (S).

Default value: S

Station address character

Specifies the character that the system displays for a secondary port. You will be prompted for this only if you configure the local port as a secondary.

Valid values: X'01' to X'FF'

Default value: None
Note: This value is used for display purposes only and identifies a group of secondaries.

remote-port

Identifies the IP address of the port that is directly connected to the serial line on the remote (peer) router. The following example shows the configuration of a remote port as a secondary.

Example: add remote-port

Group number: [1]? 1
IP address of remote router:[0.0.0.0]? 128.185.121.97
(P)rimary or (S)econdary:[S]? s
Remote group number: [1]? 2
Station address character? cd

Group number

The group number for the port. This number must be configured previously using the add group command.

IP address of remote router

Identifies the IP address of the interface that communicates with the remote router.

Primary or Secondary

Designates the port type, primary (P) or secondary (S).

Remote group number

Specifies the group number for the remote port as it is defined at the remote router.

Station Address Character

Specifies the character that the system displays for a secondary port. You will be prompted for this only if you configure the local port as a secondary.

Valid values: X'01' to X'FF'

Default value: None
Note: This value is used for display purposes only and identifies a group of secondaries.

Delete

Use the delete command to remove groups, local ports, and remote ports.

Syntax:

delete: group group#
: local-port
: remote-port

group group#

Removes a group (group#).

Example: delete group 1

local-port group#

Removes the local port for the specified group.

Example: delete local-port

Group number: [1]? 2

Group number: The group number for the local port.

remote-port

Removes the remote port for the specified group.

Example: delete remote-port

Group number: [1]? 1

Group number: The group number for the remote port.

Disable

Use the disable command to suppress relaying for an entire relay group or a specific relay port.

Syntax:

disable: group group#
: port

group group#

Suppresses transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from a specific local group.

Example: disable group 1

port

Suppresses transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from a specific local or remote relay port.

Example: disable port

Group number: [1]? 2
Local or Remote:[local]? remote

Group number: The group number of the port that you want to disable.
Local or Remote: Specifies whether to disable the local or remote port.
Default value: local

Enable

Use the enable command to turn on data transfer for an entire relay group or a specific relay port.

Syntax:

enable: group group#
: port

group group#

Allows transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from the specified group.

Example: enable group 1

port

Allows transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from the specified local port.

Example: enable port

Group number: [1]? 2
Local or Remote: [local]? remote

Group number: The group number of the port that you want to enable.
Local or Remote: Specifies whether to enable the local or remote port.
Default value: local

List (for network BSC)

Use the list command to display the configuration of a specific BSC interface. These commands are entered from the BSC n Config> prompt, where n is the number of the interface.

Syntax:

list

Example:

list
Maximum frame size in bytes:  2048
Encoding:                     NRZI
Idle State:                   Sync
Clocking:                     Internal
Cable type:                   V.35 DCE
Speed (bps):                  2048000
Code:                         ASCII
Checking algorithm:           LRC
Link EOT:                     No
Number of pairs of SYNs:      1

Maximum frame size in bytes: Maximum frame size that can be sent over the link. The maximum frame size must be large enough to accommodate the largest frame and the 15 byte BRLY header.
Encoding: The transmission encoding scheme for the serial interface. Scheme is NRZ (non-return to zero) or NRZI (non-return to zero inverted).
Idle state: The data link idle state: sync or mark.
Clocking: The type of clocking: internal, external.
Cable type: The serial interface cable type.
Speed (bps): Lists the speed of the transmit and receive clocks.
Code: The code type used by this device.
Checking algorithm: The check character scheme for data.
Link EOT: Specifies whether EOT transmissions are combined with poll and select transmissions when the transmissions occur back-to-back.
Number of pairs of SYNs: The number of pairs of synchronization characters the system sends before any data.

List (for protocol BRLY)

Use the list command to display the configuration of a specific group or of all groups. These commands are entered from the BSC Relay config> prompt.

Syntax:

list: all
: group group#

all

Displays the configurations of all groups.

Example: list all

               BSC Relay Configuration
 
 Local   Group        Port          Net    Remote  Station         IP
 Group   Type        Status        Number  Group   Address       Address
 ------  -----  -----------------  ------  ------  -------   ---------------
  1 (E)  MULTI  Local   PRMRY (E)     1
                Remote SCNDRY (E)             1      C1      6.6.6.1
 
  2 (E)  MULTI  Local   PRMRY (E)     1
                Remote SCNDRY (E)             2      C5      6.6.6.2
 
 E = enabled, D = disabled

Note:

The system does not display the remote port's net number at the local port as it is not part of the local group's configuration.

Group Number: Indicates the group number and the status of the group, enabled (E) or disabled (D).
Port Status: Indicates the type of port (local/remote primary/secondary) and its status, enabled (E) or disabled (D).
Net Number: Indicates the interface number of the local port.
Remote Group: The number of the group at the remote router.
Address Character: The address character assigned to one secondary station.
IP Address: Indicates the IP address of the remote port.

group group#

Displays the configuration of a specified group.

Set

Use the set command to configure the BSC interface parameters.

Syntax:

set: cable
: clocking [internal or external]
: code [ebcdic or ascii]
: check [CRC16, LRC or none]
: encoding [nrz or nrzi]
: eotlink [yes or no]
: frame-size
: idle [sync or mark]
: speed bps
: syns number

cable

Sets the cable used on the serial interface. The options are:

RS-232 DTE
RS-232 DCE
V35 DTE
V35 DCE
V36 DTE
X21 DTE
X21 DCE

Use a DTE cable when you are attaching the router to some type of DCE device (for example, a modem or a DSU/CSU).

A DCE cable is used when the router is acting as the DCE and providing the clocking for direct attachment.

clocking [internal or external]

To connect to a modem or DSU, configure external clocking and select the appropriate DTE cable with the set cable command.

To connect directly to another DTE device, configure internal clocking, select the appropriate DCE cable with the set cable command, and configure the clocking/line speed with the set speed command.

Default: external

code [ebcdic or ascii]

Specifies the code type that is used by this BSC device.

Default value: ebcdic

check [CRC16, LRC, or none]

Specifies the checking algorithm that is used by this BSC device. If none is specified, no checking algorithm is used. The data is passed through and if checking is done, it is done by the application.

Default values:

If the code is EBCDIC, the default is cyclic redundancy check (CRC16).
If the code is ASCII, the default is longitudinal redundancy check (LRC).

encoding [nrz or nrzi]

Configures the BSC interface's encoding scheme as NRZ (Non-Return to Zero) or NRZI (Non-Return to Zero Inverted). NRZ is the default.

Example:: set encoding nrz

eotlink [yes or no]

Specifies whether to combine EOT transmissions with poll and select transmissions when the transmissions occur back-to-back.

Default value: yes

frame-size

Configures the maximum size of the frames that the system can transmit and receive on the data link. If this value is set to a value larger than the value specified with the add remote-secondary command, the system changes this value to reflect that maximum. The IBM 2210 generates an ELS message that warns the user. The user will continue receiving this ELS message until it is changed in the SRAM configuration. Valid entries are shown in Table 75.

Note:

The frame size must be large enough to accommodate the largest frame that is received plus a 15-byte BRLY header.

Table 75. Valid Values for Frame Size in Set Frame-Size Command

Minimum Maximum Default
128 8190 2048

idle [sync or mark]

Minimum	Maximum	Default
128	8190	2048

Specifies which character the system sends in between BSC data transmissions.

sync: Specifies that the BSC synchronizing character is sent. (See the syns parameter.)
mark: Specifies that the all ones bits character (X'FF') is sent.

Default value: mark

speed bps

For internal clocking, use this command to specify the speed of the transmit and receive clock lines.

For external clocking, this command does not affect the operation of the WAN/serial line.

Valid Values:
Internal Clocking: 2400 to 2 048 000 bps
External Clocking: 2400 to 6 312 000 bps

Note: If you want to use a line speed greater than 2 048 000 bps when external clocking is configured, you can only do this on:

Interface 1
Port 1 of an 4-port WAN concentration adapter
Ports 1 and 5 of an 8-port WAN concentration adapter

All other WAN ports on the same adapter must be clocked at 64 000 bps or less.

syns

Specifies the number of pairs of SYN characters the system sends before any data. SYNs are the BSC synchronizing characters. (See the idle parameter.)

Accessing the BSC Relay Monitoring Environment

To monitor information that is related to the BSC Relay protocol, access the interface monitoring process by:

At the OPCON prompt, enter the talk command and the PID for GWCON. For example:
```
* talk 5
+
```
The system displays the GWCON prompt (+) on the console. If the prompt does not appear when you first enter GWCON, press Return again.
At the GWCON prompt, enter the configuration command to see the protocols and networks for which the router is configured. For example:
```
+ configuration
```
See page "Configuration" for more sample output from the configuration command.
Enter the protocol BRLY command. For example:
```
+ prot brly
BSC Relay>
```
The system displays the BSC Relay prompt on the console. You can then view information about the BSC Relay ports by entering the BSC Relay monitoring commands.

BSC Relay Monitoring Commands

This section summarizes, and then explains the BSC Relay monitoring commands. The BSC Relay monitoring commands allow you to view parameters for interfaces that transmit BSC Relay frames. The system displays the BSC Relay> prompt for all BSC Relay monitoring commands. Table 76 shows the commands.

Table 76. BSC Relay Monitoring Commands 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".
Clear Clears BSC Relay statistics.
Disable Suppresses groups and ports.
Enable Turns on groups and ports.
List Displays entire BSC Relay and group specific configurations.
Exit Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

Command	Function
? (Help)	Displays all the commands available for this command level or lists the options for specific commands (if available). See "Getting Help".
Clear	Clears BSC Relay statistics.
Disable	Suppresses groups and ports.
Enable	Turns on groups and ports.
List	Displays entire BSC Relay and group specific configurations.
Exit	Returns you to the previous command level. See "Exiting a Lower Level Environment".

Clear

Use the clear command to discard the BSC Relay statistics for all ports. The statistics include counters for packets forwarded, and packets discarded. The command clears local and remote port statistics that is gathered since the last time you restarted the router or cleared statistics.

Syntax:

clear

Example:

clear
Clear all port statistics? (Yes or No): Y

Disable

Use the disable command to suppress data transfer for an entire group or a specific relay port. SRAM (static read access memory) does not permanently store the effects of the disable monitoring command. Therefore when you restart the router, the effects of this command are erased.

Syntax:

disable: group group#
: port

group group#

Suppresses transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from a specific group.

port

Suppresses transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from a specific local or remote port.

Example:

disable port
Group number: [1]? 2
Local or Remote: [local]? remote

Group number: Indicates the group number of the port that you want to disable.
Local or Remote: Specifies whether to disable the local or remote port.
Default value: local

Enable

Use the enable command to turn on data transfer for an entire group or a specific local interface port. SRAM does not permanently store the effects of the enable monitoring command. Therefore when you restart the router, the effects of this command are erased.

Syntax:

enable: group group#
: port

group group#

Allows transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from the specified group.

port

Allows transfer of BSC Relay frames to or from the specified local port.

Example:

enable port
Group number: [0]? 2
Local or Remote: [local]? remote

group number: Indicates the group number of the port that you want to enable.
Local or Remote: Specifies whether to disable the local or remote port.
Default value: local

List

Use the list command to display the configuration of a specific group or of all groups.

Syntax:

list: all
: group group#

all

Displays the statistics of all local groups. See the list group command for a sample output.

group group#

Displays the statistics of a specified group.

Example:

list group 1
                         BSC Relay Configuration
 
  Local   Group        Port          Net    Remote  Station         IP
 Group   Type        Status        Number  Group   Address       Address
 ------  -----  -----------------  ------  ------  -------   ---------------
  1 (E)  MULTI  Local   PRMRY (E)     1
                Remote SCNDRY (E)             1      C1     6.6.6.1
 
 Local port statistics:
   Packets forwarded =       0
   Packets discarded =       0
 
 Remote port statistics:
   Packets forwarded =       0
   Packets discarded =       0

Local Group: Indicates the group number and the status of the group, enabled (E) or disabled (D).
Group Type: Specifies the type of BSC connection this group supports: point-to-point or multipoint.
Port Status: Indicates the type of port (local/remote primary/secondary) and its status, enabled (E) or disabled (D).
Net Number: Indicates the device number of the local port.
Station Address: The character that the system displays for a secondary port.
IP Address: Indicates the IP address of the remote port.
Remote Group: The number of the group at the remote router.
Packets Forwarded: Indicates how many packets the system forwarded for the port.
Packets Discarded: Indicates how many packets the system discarded for the port.

The following example displays the configuration built for Router A in the figure for Sample BRLY Configuration.

Ctrl-P * talk 5 +p brly BSC Console BSC>li all BSC Relay Configuration Local Group Port Net Remote Station IP Group Type Status Number Group Address Address ------ ----- ----------------- ------ ------ ------- --------------- 1 (E) MULTI Local PRMRY (E) 1 Remote SCNDRY (E) 1 C1 6.6.6.1 Local port statistics: Packets forwarded = 0 Packets discarded = 0 Remote port statistics: Packets forwarded = 0 Packets discarded = 0 Local Group Port Net Remote Station IP Group Type Status Number Group Address Address ------ ----- ----------------- ------ ------ ------- --------------- 2 (E) MULTI Local PRMRY (E) 1 Remote SCNDRY (E) 2 C5 6.6.6.2 Local port statistics: Packets forwarded = 0 Packets discarded = 0 Remote port statistics: Packets forwarded = 0 Packets discarded = 0 E = enabled, D = disabled BSC>exit

BSC Relay Interfaces and the GWCON Interface Command

While BSC Relay interfaces have their own monitoring processes, the router also displays complete statistics for installed network interfaces when you use the interface command from the GWCON environment. (For more information on the interface command, refer to "The Operating/Monitoring Process (GWCON - Talk 5) and Commands".)

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