🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug8.115445.6003@iscsvax.uni.edu>, connelly@iscsvax.uni.edu (Ken Connelly) writes:
> I am assisting in setting up a network attachment (for a terminal server(s)
> and PCs) on a VAX 8650.  I am not particularly familiar with the 8650 and
> unibus architecture.  The system manager at the site is not very
> technically oriented, so is not much help with some of the details.  The
> system has two unibuses (UB0 and UB1 according to SYSGEN SHOW/ADAPTER). 
> The DELUA that we are trying to use is the only network device in the
> system.

  Congratulations! You've found the secret "DELUA in an 86x0" bug! Actually
you could have some other problem(s) as well, but even if that were the case,
you'd probably run into this bug as soon as those were fixed.

  DEC has never _formally_ acknowledged this in any way. There is no FCO doc-
ument describing the fix, and the parts (new ROMs, mostly) for the fix don't
show up in the parts database, while the older parts do. 

  If you have DEC Field Service coverage on your system, then you need to call
them and tell them you have the 8650/DELUA problem.

  The only place I've ever seen DEC admit to this is in the TSM release notes,
which say:

>     5.2  Problems With DELUAs And VAX-8650s
>
>          LAT sessions can be dropped on VAX-8650  machines  that  use  the
>     DELUA Ethernet Controller.  This is seen most when the SHOW SERVER ALL
>     or TEST SERVER ALL command is used.  Until a solution is found to  the
>     problem, Digital recommends that TSM be used on another CPU type or on
>     a 8650 machine  with  a  DEUNA  controller.   If  you  encounter  this
>     problem,  have your field service representative file a CLD report and
>     you will receive the ROMs with the corrected microcode.

> Does the first DELUA have to go in the first unibus?  If the answer is a
> resounding YES, then we may not have any other problems.

  Umm, well, it depends on what you mean by "first Unibus". 86x0's can have
up to 3 Unibuses (Unibii? Unibeasts? 8-) in the base cabinet. The maximum
allowable (with a second SBIA and an expansion cabinet) is *nine*.

  [Note - this assumes that there are 3 Unibuses installed, and that the OS
is VMS V5.5. This certainly isn't the case on your system, so this info may
not be right. You may have UB0 @ N3 and UB1 at N5]

  Normally, the Unibus in the front-end cabinet (with the RL02) is UB0 at
nexus #3. That's where the DELUA would normally go. The built-in Unibus is
UB2 at nexus #5. The slots in there are a little funny. The second Unibus
(UB1 at nexus #4) should be usable as well.

>  %SYSTEM-F-MEDOFL, medium is offline
>                  , unit is active
>                  , line disconnected
>                  , fatal hardware error

  Hmmm. What do the LED's on the DELUA indicate? Normally they're at:

	@@OO ?OOO

  after initialization (@=on, O=off, ?=indicates network activity)

  Feel free to write if you have more questions.

	Terry Kennedy		Operations Manager, Academic Computing
	terry@spcvxa.bitnet	St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
	terry@spcvxa.spc.edu	+1 201 915 9381

> When NETCONFIG attempts to start DECnet, the following displays on the
> terminal:
> 
>   %RUN-S-PROC_ID, identification of created process is 00000124
>   %NCP-I-NMLRSP, listener response - Operation failure
> 
>   %SYSTEM-F-MEDOFL, medium is offline
>                   , unit is active
>                   , line disconnected
>                   , fatal hardware error
>   %NCP-I-NMLRSP, listener response - Unrecognized component, Circuit
>   Circuit = UNA-0


It looks to me like you haven't installed the DECnet "key" to allow the
circuit to activate. Note that this is pre-LMF stuff. The "Key" patches
NETACP.EXE and allow the circuit to come on.


Gary

In article <1992Aug10.234446.3558@spcvxb.spc.edu>, I wrote:

>   DEC has never _formally_ acknowledged this in any way. There is no FCO doc-
> ument describing the fix, and the parts (new ROMs, mostly) for the fix don't
> show up in the parts database, while the older parts do. 

  I have in my hands a DELUA with the "86x0 fix" installed. Here's the info,
in case anyone else needs it:

  The board is an M7521 at CS revision "K1". The firmware EPROMs are 23-465E4
and 23-466E4. There's a _serious_ amount of green wire on the board, and the
Lance chip has been changed on the board. So the changes may require lots more
work than simply changing the EPROMs. However, this should be enough to let
you check if your board is up to rev.

	Terry Kennedy		Operations Manager, Academic Computing
	terry@spcvxa.bitnet	St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
	terry@spcvxa.spc.edu	+1 201 915 9381

In article <1992Aug8.115445.6003@iscsvax.uni.edu>, I wrote:
> General background:  
> 
> I am assisting in setting up a network attachment (for a terminal server(s)
> and PCs) on a VAX 8650.  I am not particularly familiar with the 8650 and
> unibus architecture.  The system manager at the site is not very
> technically oriented, so is not much help with some of the details.  The
> system has two unibuses (UB0 and UB1 according to SYSGEN SHOW/ADAPTER). 
> The DELUA that we are trying to use is the only network device in the
> system.
> 
> First question:  
> 
> Does the first DELUA have to go in the first unibus?  If the answer is a
> resounding YES, then we may not have any other problems.

The answer is no.

> When NETCONFIG attempts to start DECnet, the following displays on the
> terminal:
> 
>   %RUN-S-PROC_ID, identification of created process is 00000124
>   %NCP-I-NMLRSP, listener response - Operation failure
> 
>   %SYSTEM-F-MEDOFL, medium is offline
>                   , unit is active
>                   , line disconnected
>                   , fatal hardware error
>   %NCP-I-NMLRSP, listener response - Unrecognized component, Circuit
>   Circuit = UNA-0
> 
>   %RUN-S-PROC_ID, identification of created process is 00000127

The problem turned out to be an improperly terminated Ethernet (ASTO :-}). 
Using a wrap plug and/or fixing the improper termination solved the
problems.  Thanks to:

  Max Scane             <epamjs@bxsunfsa.epa.ericsson.se>
  Leon Blom             <blb@mh.nl>
  Malcolm J. Rayfield   <MJR059@MIPL5.JPL.NASA.GOV>
  Terry Kennedy         <TERRY@spcvxa.spc.EDU>
  Gary (Rice?)          <riceg@mdcbbs.com>

for your insights and quick responses.
-- 
===========================================================================
Ken Connelly, Systems/Operations Manager         Internet: connelly@uni.edu
Information Systems and Computing Services
University of Northern Iowa                       USWestNet: (319) 273-2357
Cedar Falls, IA  50614-0121                             FAX: (319) 273-3509
As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that elected officials 
should be required to pass a competency test.  Then we wouldn't have any, 
and all would be right with the world!
===========================================================================