This chapter provides information for configuring the software for the VME/ISA Sync board. Included are procedures that configure the board for the first time and reconfigure the board to change the current setup. Additionally, this chapter describes how to create a system script that configures and starts the board automatically on subsequent system boots.
This chapter contains these sections:
![]() | Note: Throughout this guide, references to “the VME/ISA Sync board” mean “the VME or ISA Sync board.” |
This section provides a procedure for initially configuring the VME/ISA Sync board. It describes downloading files to the board that allow the board to communicate with the host system. Additionally, it describes configuring the board to run the SX.25 and SNA gateway applications.
Following are the major tasks for configuring software so the VME/ISA board can communicate with the host system and ultimately run a synchronous protocol such as X.25 or SNA.
Check your system's hardware and software.
Install the VME/ISA Sync board software on your system.
Create the ASCII configuration files.
Create binary images of the configuration files.
Reset the board.
Download the microcode image file.
Download the configuration files.
Prepare the networking protocol software to use the VME/ISA Sync board.
The first step in configuring the VME/ISA Sync board is to ensure that your system has the correct hardware and software installed:
The VME/ISA Sync board has been installed in the system and the jumpers and other hardware on the board have been configured correctly. Follow the procedure in the VME Sync Board Installation Instructions or the ISA Sync Board Installation Instructions.
The IRIX 5.2 (or later) operating system software is running on your system. For installation instructions, refer to the IRIS® Software Installation Guide, which came with your system.
To use the VME/ISA Sync board for X.25 communications, the SX.25 software is installed on your system. For installation instructions, refer to the SX.25 Administrator's Guide.
To use the VME/ISA Sync board for SNA communications, check that the IRIS SNA SERVER software is installed on your system. For installation instructions, refer to the IRIS® Software Installation Guide and the IRIS SNA SERVER Release Notes.
Follow this procedure to install the VME/ISA Sync board software from the distribution media onto your system:
Power-on your system, open up a shell, and become superuser.
Insert the VME/ISA Sync board CD-ROM and use inst to install the software. For example,
inst -f /CDROM/dist |
Rebuild the kernel by entering the following command at the shell prompt as superuser:
autoconfig -v |
This command announces the presence or absence of all optional boards in the system as follows:
exprobe spaced vc adapter n vc, adapter n exprobe space |
![]() | Note: The variable n indicates the bus or board number. If there are four VME Sync boards installed in the system, there should be four different adapter numbers. |
Reboot the system and continue by creating the configuration files.
All VME/ISA Sync board software utilities are installed in the directory /opt/vcom/bin.
You need an ASCII configuration file for each channel (or port) that is to be active on the VME/ISA Sync board.
Sample configuration files are located in the directory /opt/vcom/etc and are named wan_sample.*. You can rename and copy these files into /var/opt/vcom/cfg or create your own files within /var/opt/vcom/cfg by using a system editor and using the naming conventions and content recommendations as follows.
Each configuration file must be named using the format /var/opt/vcom/cfg/xcf_input.<BoardnumChannel>.
The naming conventions for the configuration files are:
Each file must reside in the directory /var/opt/vcom/cfg.
Each file must use the same basename (that is, xcf_input).
The file extension is determined by the channel location on the board and comprises the board number (0-3) and channel letter (A-D). The channel letter must be uppercase.
For example, the filename for the second port on the third board is named /var/opt/vcom/cfg/xcf_input.2B.
The ASCII configuration files xcf_input.* contain parameters and values in the format PARAMETER=VALUE. Each file must contain these parameters and values:
MAXFRAME=1024 BAUD=0 PHY_IP=DTE SDLC_ENC=NRZ |
These parameters and their values define the behavior of the port. The parameters and their values are case insensitive. Their meaning and permissible values are:
MAXFRAME=1024—Defines the maximum length of the frame. Permissible values are from 134-4104. The default value is 262.
BAUD=0—Defines the baud rate of the channel. This value should be set to 0. Setting this value to 0 causes the board to use the external clock on the modem to set this value. (This is the recommended setting. It should be changed by Silicon Graphics SSEs only.)
PHY_IP=DTE—Defines the channel as a DTE. (This is the recommended setting. It should be changed by Silicon Graphics SSEs only.)
SDLC_ENC=NRZ—Defines the channel as NRZ (non-return to zero). (This is the default setting.) The other permissible value is NRZI (non-return to zero inverted).
After you have made a configuration file for each port on each board that is to be used, continue by running the xcf(1M) preprocessor on these files, as described in the next section.
The xcf(1M) utility processes the configuration information in the xcf_input.* ASCII configuration file and transforms the text into a binary image. Later, this image is downloaded to the VME/ISA Sync board using the vcom_cfg(1M) utility, as described in the section “Downloading the Configuration Files to the Board.”
The location of xcf is /opt/vcom/bin/xcf. The syntax of the xcf command is
xcf [-b Boardnum ] [ -c Channel ]
where:
-b Boardnum | Specifies the board number to be configured. The range of board numbers is 0-3. If this option is not specified, all boards will be configured. | |
-c Channel | Specifies the channel in the range A-D to be configured. If this option is not specified, all channels will be configured. |
The input configuration filename is /var/opt/vcom/cfg/xcf_input.<BoardnumChannel> where Boardnum is the board number (0-3) and Channel is the channel (A-D). For details about creating these files, refer to “Creating the Configuration Files.”
With no arguments, xcf generates 16 binary configuration files: one for each of four boards times the four channels, using the default values.
![]() | Note: These 16 files are created regardless of the number of boards that are present in the system or the number of existing configuration files. |
The xcf command creates output binary image files in the directory /var/opt/vcom/etc. The output filename uses the same suffix as the input filename, and the wancfg basename is used instead of xcf_input. The format of the output filenames is
wancfg.<BoardnumChannel>
![]() | Caution: The files /var/opt/vcom/etc/XNET and /var/opt/vcom/etc/XNET.lck are also created by xcf and are used by the VME/ISA Sync board software utilities to retrieve information about the board configuration. Do not modify or remove either of these files. |
Reset the board using the vcom_rst(1M) command. The location of the vcom_rst command is the directory /opt/vcom/bin. The syntax of the command is
vcom_rst -b Boardnum
where Boardnum specifies the board you want to reset.
Continue by downloading the board microcode image, as described in the section “Downloading the Microcode Image File to the Board.”
Before the board can run, it must have its processing code downloaded from the Silicon Graphics host system. The vcom_vld(1M) command downloads this image file, which, by default, is contained in the file /opt/vcom/mcode/x25.lod. The syntax of the vcom_vld command is
vcom_vld [ -a ] [ -c ] [ mcode_file [ Boardnum ... ]]
where:
-a | ||
-c | configures the board by automatically executing vcom_cfg(1M) |
![]() | Tip: Using the -c option allows you to skip the procedure in the next section, “Downloading the Configuration Files to the Board.” |
mcode_file | the microcode image file, by default, /opt/vcom/mcode/x25.lod | |
Boardnum ... | one or more board numbers to be downloaded. This option must be used if the -a option is omitted |
Following are examples of the vcom_vld command.
Example 1
To load all boards in the system, type
vcom_vld -a
![]() | Note: Be sure to continue to the next section, “Downloading the Configuration Files to the Board,” if you did not use the -c option. |
Example 2
To load and configure all boards in the system, type
vcom_vld -a -c
The board and channel configuration information is contained in binary image files (wancfg.*) that were created with xcf. (Refer to “Creating the Binary Image Files,” for more information.) These files can be downloaded in one of two ways:
Using the -c option to the vcom_vld(1M) command (refer to “Downloading the Microcode Image File to the Board,” for more information).
Using the vcom_cfg(1M) command, as described in this section.
The vcom_cfg utility must be run before any synchronous communication can occur, or to reconfigure ports at any time. The location of vcom_cfg is in the directory /opt/vcom/bin. The syntax of the vcom_cfg command is
vcom_cfg [ -a ]
or
vcom_cfg [Boardnum[Channel]]
where:
-a | loads all ports on all boards | |
Boardnum | loads one or a range of specified boards (0-3) | |
Channel | loads one or a range of specified ports (A-D) |
Once the board software has been configured and downloaded, as described in the preceding sections, a protocol such as X.25 or SNA can be configured to run on the VME/ISA Sync board.
The VME/ISA Sync board can be used in an X.25 network using the optional SX.25 product. The procedure for configuring X.25 to run on the VME/ISA Sync board is fully described in the SX.25 Administrator's Guide.
For SNA networking, the VME/ISA Sync board runs the optional IRIS SNA SERVER software. The procedure for configuring the IRIS SNA SERVER software to run on the VME/ISA Sync board is fully described in the IRIS SNA SERVER Administration Guide.
Occasionally, you may find it necessary to change a board configuration. This could happen, for example, if you wanted to change a parameter within one of the ASCII configuration files or if you decided to change the number of channels you use on a board.
Reconfiguring a board is similar to configuring a board. The following steps outline the procedure. Reference the associated sections if you need a detailed explanation of the step.
Become superuser (root).
Bring down any application (such as SX.25 or SNA) that may be running on the board. Refer to the application's documentation for this procedure.
Terminate the snetd(1M) daemon process. From the shell prompt type
killall snetd
Modify the ASCII board configuration files as described in “Creating the Configuration Files,” if necessary.
![]() | Note: This step is optional. |
Create binary images of the configuration files by running the xcf(1M) preprocessor on the configuration files as described in “Creating the Binary Image Files.”
Reset the board with the vcom_rst(1M) utility as described in “Resetting the Board.”
Run the vcom_vld(1M) utility to download the microcode image to the board's processor as described in “Downloading the Microcode Image File to the Board.”
![]() | Tip: You can use the -c configuration option to the vcom_vld command and skip the next step. |
Run the vcom_cfg(1M) utility to download the configuration files to the board, as described in “Downloading the Configuration Files to the Board.”
Start the snetd(1M) daemon. From the shell prompt type
snetd
Bring up the optional network protocol application such as the SX.25 or IRIS SNA SERVER as described in “Preparing for the Networking Protocol Software.”
A system startup file automatically downloads and configures board software each time the system is rebooted. It assumes the binary configuration files are current and complete, as described in “Creating the Configuration Files.”
![]() | Note: The script contains commands described in the sections “Resetting the Board,” and “Downloading the Microcode Image File to the Board.” Be sure to refer to these sections for the complete command syntax and descriptions. |
The script file is named /etc/init2.d/vcom or /etc/rc2.d/S29vcom.
Following is the contents of an example script:
/opt/vcom/bin/vcom_rst -b 1-4 /opt/vcom/bin/vcom_vld -a -c |
These commands reset and load the microcode and channel configurations to all boards.
![]() | Note: Be sure to use your current configuration parameters in place of the example values listed above. |