This chapter provides instructions on troubleshooting and solving problems that you might encounter with an ICA card. This chapter discusses the following topics:
Verifying the ICA card Verifying lines on the ICA card Using the ICA diagnostics tests Resolving network problems Reporting problems
For the remainder of this chapter, the term ICA card refers to the basic ICA, the ICAplus, the ICA/RM, the ICA/HS, and the ICAmC cards.
If the ICA card does not work after you installed it, make sure the server recognizes the card. The server keeps a log of status information that includes each recognized network card.
To Check the Log for an ICA Card Entry
1. At the Operator Menu, choose option 10, System Maintenance.
The System Maintenance menu appears.
2. Choose option 4, Save/Display Server Log Report.
3. Choose Server Operating System.
4. Press ENTER at each screen until the entries for server network cards appear.
The server lists each card and its configuration information.
5. To return to the previous menu, press CTRL-C.
If the card is not included in this list, the server could not recognize the card. The most common cause for this is a configuration conflict with another card. Recheck your configuration information.
If the ICA card does not conflict with another card, you can run the diagnostic tests provided on the ICA diskette.
Verifying Lines on the ICA Card
If you get no response on an ICA line, you can:
Make sure the line is assigned properly at the server console If the line is for server-to-host connections, make sure a network administrator has set up the appropriate service and the host administrator has configured the host system for the line
If you still get no response on an ICA line, make sure the line is active by following these steps:
1. Connect a dumb terminal directly to the port.
2. At the console, assign the line as Asynchronous at 1200 bps, Hayes compatible.
The server immediately sends a Hayes modem programming sequence down the line, which you should see on the terminal. It could be garbled due to baud rate incompatibility but, if you see output, the line is active.
Optionally, you can make sure the line is active by following these steps:
1. Connect a modem to the port without connecting the modem phone cable.
2. Assign the line as Asynchronous at 1200 or 2400 bps.
As soon as you assign the line, the server tries to send data to the modem. If the modem lights blink, you know that some information came through the ICA card and down the cable.
If a particular line fails on the ICA card, try moving the option assignment and line speed to another line on the same card. If you do want to try another line on the same card, keep in mind that the ICA card uses one set of hardware logic to drive lines 1 and 2, a second set to drive lines 3 and 4, and a third set to drive lines 5 and 6. When you try another line, use a line from a different set of hardware logic. For example, if line 3 fails, try line 5 or 6.
If you have more than one ICA card installed in the server, move the option assignment and line speed of the failing line to another ICA card. Try swapping the cable of the failing ICA card with that of the working ICA card. If the problem moves with the cable, your cable might be faulty.
The diskette supplied with your ICA card package includes the following two diagnostic programs:
ICAT.COM - A base diagnostic program for testing card components.
ICATLB.COM - A loopback diagnostic program for testing cables and individual ports.
You cannot run these tests while Banyan server software is running on the server. You must shut down Banyan server software and boot the ISA-bus or EISA-bus PC server with DOS to run these diagnostic tests.
Preparing to Run the Diagnostic Tests
Before you run either of the diagnostic tests, you want to determine the following information:
An available memory address range on the server The I/O address of the ICA card The interrupt level of the ICA card
For the ICA/RM card and the ICA/HS card, the diagnostic program requires 16 KB of available PC memory address space. For the basic ICA card and the ICAplus card, the diagnostic program requires 128 KB. You must determine a memory address range in which no hardware device in the PC, such as a LAN card, uses.
To Determine an Available Memory Address Range on the Server
1. From the Operator Menu of the server console, choose System Maintenance.
The System Maintenance menu appears.
2. Choose Configure/Diagnose Server.
The VINES Server Configuration menu appears.
3. Choose Add Cards/Change Card Configuration.
The Add Cards/Change Card Configuration menu appears.
4. Choose DISPLAY memory map.
The Display Memory Map screen displays memory address ranges (in hexadecimal) and the devices that use them.
5. For the ICA/RM card and the ICA/HS card, select a 16 KB blocks of memory from 80000 to DFFFF, for example 80000 to 83FFF. For the basic ICA card and the ICAplus card, select either 80000 to 9FFFF or C0000 to DFFFF memory addresses.
6. Use the Display Memory Map screen to check each memory address range and select the one in which no device appears. Write your choice in the space below:
Memory Address Range:____________________________________
Note: If a device is listed in both of the memory address ranges that the base diagnostic program can use, the diagnostic program will not work unless you can remove the conflicting device from the server.
To Determine the I/O Address and Interrupt Level of the ICA Card
1. From the System Maintenance menu, choose Configure/Diagnose Server.
The VINES Server Configuration menu appears.
2. Choose Add Cards/Change Card Configuration.
The Add Cards/Change Card Configuration menu displays the I/O Address, Interrupt value, and other configuration values for the ICA card.
3. Write down the I/O address and interrupt level in the spaces provided here.
I/O Address:______________________________________________
Interrupt:_________________________________________________
Running the Base Diagnostic Tests
The base diagnostic program tests the synchronous portion of the ICA card.
To Run the Base Diagnostic Tests
1. Insert the DOS boot diskette in the appropriate drive.
2. Shut down and reboot the server.
3. When the DOS prompt appears, remove the DOS boot diskette from the drive and insert the diagnostic diskette from the ICA card package.
4. At the DOS prompt, enter icat.
5. Enter the I/O address of the card to be tested.
6. Enter the memory address range you for the diagnostic program to use.
7. Enter the interrupt level of the card to be tested.
8. Enter the number of passes as a value from 1 to 65000 for the diagnostic program to run.
After you enter the number of passes, the tests start. A status line at the bottom of the screen displays the number of each test and which pass is running. If you want to exit the program before all the tests complete, press CTRL-C at any time.
The tests that the base diagnostic program runs during a single pass are identified by the following number ranges listed in Table 5-1.
Note: There are no tests in the ranges 300 to 399 or 400 to 499.
If the program encounters an error during a pass, the diagnostic program stops and the screen displays a message such as the following example:
Test 40 failed!
expected data= 0
= 579b
= 0
= 8000
= 0
The test returns information in the following fields:
Expected data - Identifies the data that the test writes to memory and expects to read from memory. When you run the test, the diagnostic program writes data to a specific area of memory.
Actual data - Identifies the data the test reads from the same specific area of memory. The test compares this actual data to the expected data.
If the expected data differs from the actual data, a problem exists.
Page - Identifies the memory page in which the test encountered the failure. The ICA card has four memory pages: 0, 1, 2, and 3.
Segment and Offset - Identify the memory address at which the test encountered the failure. To calculate this address, use the following formula:
segment (shifted left) + offset = memory address
Example Sample Memory Address
The memory address from the sample test results above would be 80000 hexadecimal.
When the program encounters an error, make a note of the number of the test that failed, the serial number of the ICA card, and each message that the program displays. Report this information to your support representative.
The following problems occur if you specify incorrect information:
Test 1 fails if the program cannot find the I/O Address. Test 526 fails if the program cannot locate the Interrupt. The program may hang the server if you specify the wrong memory address range.
If you specify the correct information and the test fails, the probable reasons for the failure are as follows:
A memory address conflict exists. Check the card configuration. Hardware cache is enabled. Check the hardware configuration of the server. On EISA-bus PCs, use the EISA configuration utility to check the hardware configuration and disable cache if necessary. On ISA-bus PCs, see the platform vendor's documentation for information on enabling and disabling hardware cache.
Note that the sample test failed due to hardware cache being enabled.
If any of the tests fail, take the following corrective actions:
1. Reboot the server with VINES and check the card configuration.
2. Verify that the card is configured properly and you have noted the correct I/O address, interrupt, and memory address range values.
3. Run the diagnostic program again.
4. Check that the card is properly seated in its slot and run the diagnostic program.
If the test passes, you know that the first test failed because the card was improperly seated in its slot.
5. Remove the ICA cable and run the diagnostic program.
If the card passes the tests, replace the old cable with a new one.
If the card fails all of these tests, replace the card. Call your authorized support representative for replacement parts.
Running Loopback Diagnostic Tests
The loopback diagnostic program tests the asynchronous portion of the ICA card and cable.
To run the loopback diagnostic program tests, you need to attach a loopback connector to the end of each ICA cable line you want to test. This loopback connector must meet the following specifications:
The loopback connector must be a 25-pin sub D connector (Amp p/n 205207-1). The loopback connector must support 7 socket contacts (Amp p/n 88504-9). One double-wire contact is required for either pin 20, 8, or 6. The loopback connector must have an 8-inch, 22-24 gauge stranded insulated wire. This wire must connect pins as illustrated in Figure 5-1.
Note: If you do not have an appropriate loopback connector and you cannot build one from the specifications provided, the loopback diagnostic program will not work.
To run the loopback diagnostic test for the ICA cable and its ports, perform the following steps:
1. Verify that a loopback connector is attached to each of the ICA ports that you want to test.
2. Insert the DOS boot diskette in the appropriate drive.
3. Shut down and reboot the server.
4. When the DOS prompt appears, remove the DOS boot diskette from the drive and insert the diagnostic diskette from the ICA card package.
5. At the DOS prompt, enter icatlb.
6. Enter the I/O address of the card to be tested.
7. Enter the memory address range you for the diagnostic program to use.
8. Enter the interrupt level of the card to be tested.
9. Enter the line number as a value from 1 to 6 of each port on which a loopback connector is attached.
To enter more than one line, separate each number with a comma. For example, to run tests on lines one, two, and three, enter 1,2,3.
When you enter the line number information, the system starts the tests. A status line at the bottom of the screen displays the number of each test. If you want to exit the program before all the tests complete, press CTRL-C at any time.
The test numbers for each line are in the following ranges as shown in Table 5-2.
If the program encounters an error, the diagnostic program stops and the screen displays a message such as the following:
Test 839 failed!
= 0
= a3
= 0
= 0
= e38
The results of this particular test indicate that line 4 failed.
The test returns information in the following fields:
Expected data - Identifies the data that the test writes to memory and expects to read from memory. When you run the test, the diagnostic program writes data to a specific area of memory.
Actual data - Identifies the data the test reads from the same specific area of memory. The test compares this actual data to the expected data.
If the expected data differs from the actual data, a problem exists.
Page - Identifies the memory page in which the test encountered the failure. The ICA card has four memory pages: 0, 1, 2, and 3.
Segment and Offset - Identify the memory address at which the test encountered the failure. To calculate this address, use the following formula:
segment (shifted left) + offset = memory address
When the program encounters an error, make a note of the number of the test that failed and each message that the program displays. Report this information to your support representative.
If you have another ICA card, replace the ICA cable on the card you just tested and run the diagnostic program again. If the test does not fail, you know that the first cable was bad and that the card is probably functioning correctly. If the test fails, report the test number, ICA card serial number, and other information to your support representative.
If you are noticing specific network problems, such as dropped packets, the communication buffer usage on the server might be too high. You want the communication buffer usage on the server not to go above 30 percent. See Monitoring and Optimizing Servers for instructions on adjusting the communications buffer usage.
If you cannot resolve a problem with the ICA card, contact the company from which you purchased the card. If you purchased the card from Banyan, contact the Banyan response center.
Before you contact Banyan, make a copy of the worksheet in Figure 5-2 and fill in the requested information. Banyan needs this information to process your report and give you an RMA (Return Materials Authorization) number, which you need to ship a card to Banyan.
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| Type of Server: _______________________ | VINES Revision: _________________ |
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| Slot # Card Type and Serial Number Problem (Y/N) | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Does the card fail the diagnostics? Yes No | |
| If yes, write down the test number and error information from the screen. | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| ____________________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Have you run the diagnostic loopback tests? Yes No | |
| Are the errors Constant Intermittent? (Check the frequency of MNET errors.) | |
| Application Information | |
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Which line is not working? _______________________ |
Name the option assigned to the line: _______________________ |
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Name of attached modem: _______________________ |
Name of attached CSU/DSU: _______________________ |
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Line speed of assigned line: _______________________ |
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| Tracking Information | |
| Customer support provides you with an Incident and an RMA number, which are used to track the card and your report. For your convenience, note these numbers in the space provided. | |
| Incident # _______________________ | |
| RMA # _________________________ | |
