ptx/SYNC V4.4.2 Release Notes


Introduction

These release notes support the ptx®/SYNC V4.4.2 synchronous Wide Area Networking software, which is a prerequisite for all other ptx synchronous data communication products, such as ptx/SNA and ptx/X.25. This software works in conjunction with a Synchronous Communication Controller, or SCC, such as the SCC-P for the NUMA-Q® platform and the SCC-V (also referred to as the Data Communications Processor, or DCP) for the Symmetry® platform.


Product Compatibility

ptx/SYNC V4.4.2 requires DYNIX/ptx® V4.4.4 or later on a NUMA-Q or Symmetry system. ptx/SYNC is a requirement for ptx/SNA V4.5.0 or later and ptx/X.25 V4.4.1 or later.


ATTENTION

On NUMA-Q systems, the sync board is the SBE PCI-360 Intelligent High-Speed Synchronous Serial Communications Adapter, or SCC-P. On Symmetry systems, the DCP board is the VMEbus Synchronous Communication Controller, or SCC-V.



System and Board Configurations

System Type

Board

Supported Configurations

Symmetry

SCC-V (DCP)

Maximum of 16 boards per system

2 RS-422/449 lines up to 64 Kbps and 2 RS-232 lines up to 19.2 Kbps per board

NUMA-Q

SCC-P (pci/SYNC)

4 boards per SQuad up to a maximum of 16 boards per system

1 line up to E1 per board, or

4 RS-232 lines up to 19.2 Kbps per board



Software Installation

To install ptx/SYNC, follow the instructions in the DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4 and Layered Product Software Installation Release Notes. Be sure to rebuild the kernel and reboot the system, as directed in the software installation release notes. It is recommended that the SCC board(s) be installed when the system is brought down to install the newly rebuilt kernel.

After installing the ptx/SYNC software and the SCC board(s), and before using ptx/SNA or ptx/X.25, set up the system, through ptx/ADMIN®, to automatically download the necessary firmware module to the board during boot-up.


After Installing ptx/SYNC on a NUMA-Q System

After you have installed ptx/SYNC and the Synchronous Communications Controller(s), or SCC, and have rebooted the new kernel, set up the system to recognize the proper device name for each SCC and to automatically download a particular firmware module during the boot sequence.

For ptx/SYNC and SCC-P board(s) on NUMA-Q systems:

  1. Invoke the ptx/ADMIN menu system by logging in as the root user and enter the following command:

    # menu
  2. Select the Network Administration menu.

  3. Select the SYNC Setup menu.

  4. Select the Add a Board option. SYNC boards that have not yet been set up are displayed with temporarily assigned names; for example:

                    ptx/SYNC Add a Board menu

    Board Quad
    sync0 0
    sync1 0

    Press S to select an entry
  5. To select the board you plan to set up, highlight the entry with the cursor control keys and press the S key. The Add a SYNC Board screen will be displayed. In this example::

                             addnsync            
    Add a SYNC Board

    Enter the Board number for "sync0" ____

    Quad Number x

    Enter Software(hdlc, sdlc or both) both

  6. Enter a unique board number from 0 to 15 (inclusive). The Quad number is determined by the system and cannot be altered.

    Enter a protocol from the list provided:

    hdlc
    ptx/X.25; does not prohibit ptx/SNA from using the SYNC board.
    sdlc
    ptx/SNA; prohibits ptx/X.25 from using the SYNC board.
    both (default)
    Both ptx/X.25 and ptx/SNA.

    For example, to set up a new SYNC board in Quad0 for both ptx/SNA and ptx/X.25, enter the following information. You will change the temporary board number for sync0 to sync3.

                         addnsync            

    Add a SYNC Board

    Enter the Board number for " sync0 " 3

    Quad Number 0

    Enter Software(hdlc, sdlc or both) both

    To verify that the SYNC board has been added, press the Run key (usually F1) to see confirmation. For example:devctl: Assigned sync0 => sync3Board sync3 has been added.Press Return to continue

  7. The board sync3 (device node /dev/com/sync3) is now set up and will automatically be downloaded at system boot time. Press the Return key to redisplay the SYNC Setup Menu.

  8. To verify that the SYNC board has been set up, select the Configure a Board option from the SYNC Setup Menu to see a list of all the properly set-up SYNC boards. For example:


    Configure ptx/SYNC Board Configuration

    Board Quad Slot Software

    0 2 2 hdlc
    3 0 2 both(hdlc/sdlc)

    To change an entry, highlight the entry and press C.

    To update the information, press the Run key (usually F1).

  9. Exit from the menu system (usually F4 or Ctrl-X).

  10. For the initial download of the firmware to the SCC, either reboot the system or execute the following command as the root user:

    # /etc/rc2.d/S43syncx start

    where x is the number assigned to the board. Each time the system reboots, the board will be downloaded.


    ATTENTION

    This command is downloaded in the background and takes about ten seconds.



After Installing ptx/SYNC on a Symmetry System

  1. Invoke the ptx/ADMIN menu system by logging in as the root user and entering the following command:

    # menu

  2. Select the Network Administration menu.

  3. Select the SYNC Setup menu.

  4. Select the Add a DCP Board option.

            
    adddcp

    Add a DCP Board

    Enter Board Number ___

    Enter Protocol Module Name ___

  5. Press Select (F8 or Ctrl-T) to display the DCP boards that have already been set up for the system, along with a description of which communication protocol is allowed to run on each board.

    For example, suppose you were to set up a DCP board to allow its use by ptx/X.25:


    adddcp

    Add a DCP Board

    Enter Board Number 3

    Enter Protocol Module Name hdlc

  6. Press the Run key (usually F1) to see:Working. . .Press RETURN to redisplay menu.

  7. The DCP board dcp3 (device node /dev/com/dcp3) is now set up and will automatically be downloaded at system boot time. Press the Return key to redisplay the SYNC Setup Menu.

  8. To verify the DCP board setup, select the Display a DCP Board Setup option.

  9. To verify that the DCP board has been set up, select the Display a DCP Board Setup option from the SYNC Setup Menu to see a list of all the properly set up DCP boards. For example:


    Display ptx/SYNC Board Configuration

    Board Module Software

    0 brxsdlc SDLC for ptx/SNA
    1 hdlc Downloadable Software for X.25

  10. Exit from the menu system (usually F4 or Ctrl-X).

  11. For the initial download of the firmware to the SCC, either reboot the system or execute the following command as the root user:

    # /etc/rc2.d/S43dcpx start

    where x is the number assigned to the board. Each time the system reboots, the board will be downloaded.


    ATTENTION

    This command is downloaded in the background and takes about ten seconds.



Problems Fixed in V4.4.2

236247 - 2NC SYS /usr/dcp/init.d GID conflicted between SYNC and BrxKernel.

237243 - LS FUNC: scratch install of sync from CDROM needed HOME defined.

237280 - Enhanced sync_test to run against all lines.

238020 - sync_test did not terminate children properly, causing card hangs.

240976 - SYNC board died while running X.25 stress tests.


Problems Fixed in V4.4.1

232071 - Alternate disk install used chroot Instead of .tfenv).

232528 - SYNC configuration was limited.

232723 - Hardware system could not add SYNC boards from ptx/ADMIN.

232761 - Read buffers submitted to SYNC board always had DBUFSIZE.

233249 - write srv procedure could not be left disabled on allocb() failure.

233340 - Misleading comments in SYNC driver code needed to be rephrased.

233344 - Board code needed to handle level-6 ints so that driver can log it.

233347 - Mismatch between cable and personality module needed to be reported to ktlog/console.

233795 - Could not administer SYNC boards on quads higher than quad3.

234041 - Count of bytes in frames transmit and receive would help in throughtput calculation.

234298 - Bus error or invalid memory reference caused board panic.

234325 - SYNC driver did not support SBE single-window mode.

234519 - SYNC board died after 36 to 48 hours without interrupt.

234826 - Driver must lock MMIO reads or writes during firmware download.

234869 - MMIO writes were not synched with MMIO_SYNC_RMT_MMIO_WRITE macro.

235655 - When submit_buffers() referd to null message pointer, the system panics.

235779 - Need to be able to perform binary file patch on the maximum number of SYNC boards allowed.

236483 - sync_test took device number only with the -c option.


Problem Report Summary

pci/SYNC Boards Cannot Be Added Via menu(1M) on Quads 10 and Higher (243160)

You cannot invoke the ptx/ADMIN menu(1M) module addnsync for pci/SYNC boards in quads above quad9 in a NUMA-Q system. Since addnsync cannot do this operation, you must do it manually.

Workaround: For each pci/SYNC board in quads above quad9, execute the following commands as the root user, where syncX is the temporary name given to the board at boot time after installation of the board and syncY is the desired name for the board (usually these are the same).

# /etc/devctl -n syncX syncY
# cp /usr/admin.ptx/edc/add_ons/dcp/sysload /etc/rc2.d/S43syncY
# cp /usr/admin.ptx/edc/add_ons/dcp/syload /etc/rc2.d/K43syncY
# echo 'syncY:both' >> /usr/dcp/etc/config
# /etc/rc2.d/S43syncY start

pci/SYNC Board May Panic (242586)

When running ptx/SYNC on a heavily loaded system, there is a possibility the pci/SYNC board may panic when used at a lower baud rate. This would be characterized by a failure in data communication and a board panic 127: Can't get buffer message in the ktlog file.

Workaround: The board needs to be re-downloaded via the /etc/rc2.d/S43syncX (where X is the board number) start script or syctl(1M).

SYNC Board Sometimes Does Not Reset Properly as System Boots Up (237020)

From time to time, the SYNC board does not reset properly as the system boots up, and the sync startup script times out.

Workaround: To clear the condition, power off the system and reboot.