ptx/LAN V4.7.2 Release Notes


Introduction

These release notes support Version 4.7.2 of the ptx/LAN software intended for use with Symmetry® and NUMA® systems. ptx/LAN consists of hardware and software that can interconnect a variety of data-communication devices to create a local area network (LAN).

Read this document before you install or run this release of ptx/LAN. If you encounter problems with ptx/LAN, refer to the Open Software Defects section for descriptions of known problems with this version of the software.


Product Compatibility

This version of ptx/LAN can be used with the following products:

To determine which versions of layered-software products, such as ptx/TCP/IP and ptx/NFS®, will run with this release of ptx/LAN, refer to the specific product's release notes.


64-Bit Ethernet Incompatible with Quads

The 64-Bit 10/100 EthernetTM PCI board is not supported in Quads. Quads are first generation NUMA hardware. The /etc/showcfg command displays a processor speed of 180Mhz for Quads.

The 64-Bit 10/100 Ethernet PCI board is supported in Squads. Squads are the current NUMA hardware and have processor speeds greater than 180Mhz.


Setting the Speed and Duplex Mode for the 64-Bit Ethernet Card

The 64-bit Ethernet card (identified as AIC 6915 by the ethstat -i command) implements the hardware speed and duplex mode negotiation protocol as specified in the IEEE 802.3u standard. It will correctly select the speed and duplex mode, as specified by the standard, with other switches and devices which also implement this protocol. When connecting to legacy devices that do not implement this protocol (such as the 32-bit Ethernet device identified as RNS 21140A by the ethstat -i command), the speed and duplex mode of the device must be specified manually. Make sure that these settings are the same for the devices at both ends of the cable.

For the 64-bit Ethernet device, the -duplex switch of the /usr/etc/ethadmin command does nothing when the -speed switch is set to auto. If -speed is set to either 10 or 100, then -duplex can be set to full or half. When -speed is set to auto, the device uses the 802.3u protocol to determine speed and duplex mode. When -speed is not set to auto, the speed and duplex mode is forced to the values specified by the /usr/etc/ethadmin command. This is similar in behavior to the Cisco 5500 switch (though the administrative commands are very different).

The /usr/etc/ethadmin command continues to operate as it did before with the 32-bit Ethernet devices.

When connecting a 64-bit Ethernet device to a network, the default speed of auto will normally select the proper speed and duplex mode. However if the device is being used as a CCI link connected to a 32-bit Ethernet device, then the -speed and -duplex modes must be the same for each end of the CCI link. The devices can be manually configured after each boot or changed at run time via the /usr/etc/ethadmin command, or the menu system can be used to set the boot time parameters of the Ethernet Management menu to persist over system boots.


Software Installation

For installation instructions on DYNIX/ptx V4.5.3 or later, refer to the DYNIX/ptx and Layered Products Software Installation Release Notes.


Product Documentation

The following documentation is available on the online documentation CD or at http://webdocs.numaq.ibm.com/:


Problem Reports

The following sections list open and fixed software defects in this release of ptx/LAN:

The numbers in parentheses identify the problems in the IBM problem-tracking system.


Fixed Software Defects in ptx/LAN V4.7.2

The following software defects are fixed in this release of ptx/LAN:

253985
The SysKonnect Gigabit Ethernet adapter did not fail over with lanstandby.
254632
The ptx/EES severity tag for ptx/LAN failover events was INFO instead of WARNING.
254682
A negative value for pe_output_npending caused a panic in the pe driver.
254849
A panic occurred during a ping operation of a ptx/TCP/IP interface that was configured over token ring for "noarp."


Open Software Defects in ptx/LAN V4.7.2

This section lists open software defects in this release of ptx/LAN:

241032
If you do not specify the speed for either the 32-bit PCI or VME fast Ethernet devices, pe and fe respectively, the devices themselves will determine the software speed at which they should run. This software algorithm is not perfect and the device may select the wrong speed.

Workaround. Select the correct speed using either the ethadmin command or the ptx/ADMIN menu system:

/usr/etc/ethadmin -speed [10|100] /dev/net/device

Network Administration => LAN Management => Ethernet Management => Manage Station

To permanently select the speed, even if the system reboots, use the Set Boot Time Parameters menu instead of the Manage Station menu.


ATTENTION

This workaround is not required for the 64-bit Ethernet device.