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Conference turris::digital_unix

Title:DIGITAL UNIX(FORMERLY KNOWN AS DEC OSF/1)
Notice:Welcome to the Digital UNIX Conference
Moderator:SMURF::DENHAM
Created:Thu Mar 16 1995
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:10068
Total number of notes:35879

9283.0. "2 pair cable for de500-aa?" by CSC32::PITT () Tue Mar 25 1997 16:48

    
    referencing note 8853, where the solution was using a BN24F cable
    instead of the cat 5 twisted pair cable, I'm working on a somewhat
    similar problem, and I had a couple of questions on it. 
    
    Customer is at 3.2g trying to configure a 21140-aa (defpa-aa?) without
    much luck. 
    He's tried 2 controllers on this one system but the results are the
    same. The controller comes up, no link errors, link light is ON, no
    output errors, output packets as expected, the Atlantic hub he is
    connected to indicates that it sees the output packets, but there
    are NO input packets. Everything outbound fails obviously. 
    
    If the customer takes the cable, moves it over to a VMS system (leaving
    the other end in the hub) that comes up fine. 
    
    We tried full duplex, half duplex, 100mb half and full....they all 
    give output errors except the 10mb half duplex which looks like it
    SHOULD be working just fine!!!!
    
    Since he is currently using the 4 pair cable, and note 8853 stated that
    using a 2 pair cable resolved that issue, I am having him try the 2
    pair cable. 
    Since the hub doesn't seem to mind the 4 pair cable (works to the vms
    node) that would mean that it's the de500-aa module that doesn't like it. 
    Is this a 'known' issue?? Is this documented anywhere? Has anyone else
    got one working with a 4 pair cable?? 
    
    thanks!
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9283.1netrix.lkg.dec.com::thomasThe Code WarriorTue Mar 25 1997 19:182
Did you install the required OSF patch for the DE500-AA?

9283.2??CSC32::PITTThu Mar 27 1997 12:0442
    
    The patch for the de500-aa for 3.2g says:
    
    PROBLEM:        (47944)         (Patch ID: OSF375-048)
    ********
    A bug in the DECchip 21140A device used on the DE500-AA controller
    causes
    reporting of bad incoming packets by the device as being without error. 
    
    In most situations, the packet will be discarded by higher-level
    protocols, 
    such as TCP/IP, due to checksum failures.  However, this is not always 
    guaranteed.
    
    The network interface may hang due to the receive process coming to a
    halt
    within the DE500-AA controller.  However, no specific symptoms can be
    predicted if and when the data-corruption occurs.  It should be noted
    that
    the bug has only been observed during heavy receive stress testing, and
    is 
    most likely to occur when the 21140A has poor write access to memory
    through 
    the host bridge.
    
    In this patch, the driver recognizes the condition that a bad packet
    may 
    have been delivered as good one by the device, and takes the
    appropriate
    action (ensures packet is not propogated further into the protocol
    layers).
    
    ----
    
    This is the only de500 patch I can find for 3.2g. Is there another
    patch you're talking about or does this patch fix more than described
    above? In this customer's case, there are NO packets coming in. 
    Plenty of outgoing, nothing incoming. 
    
    thanks  (I'm going to get him this patch anyways...just cause YOU said
    so. 8-}
    
9283.3DE500-AA or DEFPA???SMURF::GILLUMKirt GillumThu Mar 27 1997 17:497
    
    Exactly what kind of device are you worried about here?  The DE500-AA
    or the DEFPA-AA?  
    
    The DE500-AA is Ethernet and the DEFPA is FDDI.  FDDI adapters can't
    talk to Ethernet repeaters.