ONcore® EtherFlex Module Release Note (RJ-45 10BASE-T, Male AUI, and 10BASE-FB/FL I/O Cards)

Modified: 01/08/98

Release Note for ONcore EtherFlex Module

(RJ-45 10BASE-T, Male AUI, and 10BASE-FB/FL I/O Cards)

Document Number 17-00622-5/July 1996

This release note applies to the 3Com Oncore® EtherFlex Module (Model Number 6104M-MOD) being managed by the 3Com® ONcore Distributed Management Module (DMM) Version v2.2 and later (software prior to Version v2.2 does not support EtherFlex) and the following I/O cards:

o RJ-45 10BASE-T (Model Number 6104D-TPP)

o Male AUI (Model Number 6103D-AUIM)

o 10BASE-FB/FL (Model Number 6102D-FIB)

To display the current software version, enter the SHOW MODULE command.

This release note consists of the following sections:

o Operating Considerations

o Known Problems

o Caution

o Documentation Issues

Operating Considerations

This section describes the following operating issues that exist for the EtherFlex module (with RJ-45, Male AUI, and 10BASE-FB/FL I/O cards installed) being managed by DMM Version v2.2:

o Statistics Issue

o Inaccurate Event Counters

Statistics Issue

Occasionally, the SHOW COUNTER REPEATER and MONITOR REPEATER commands display invalid data. This condition occurs when all counters and source addresses display a value of 0 on a screen but then resume counting again.

To correct this condition, type Ctrl-R at the DMM command line interface.

Inaccurate Event Counters

The following issues exist when using the SHOW COUNTER command:

o Very long events may not be reported accurately.

o In some long multi-repeater networks, short events may occasionally be generated by the repeater.

Known Problems

The following problems exist for the EtherFlex module (with RJ-45, Male AUI, and 10BASE-FB/FL I/O cards installed) being managed by DMM Version v2.2:

o Global Port Changes

o Configuration Change Traps

o 10BASE-FB/FL I/O Card Issues

Global Port Changes

Currently, the media-specific global port settings are not implemented when you use Link Integrity, SQE Test, Squelch, and Auto Polarity commands.

Configuration Change Traps

Currently, the EtherFlex module does not generate all configuration change traps. For example, parameters that are specific to a particular type of media (link integrity enable for RJ-45) do not generate traps. However, parameters that are relevant to all types of media (port mode enable) do generate traps.

10BASE-FB/FL I/O Card Issues

The following conditions exist when a 10BASE-FB/FL I/O card is installed in an EtherFlex module:

o If a port has autosense disabled and its configuration is forced to FL, and you connect this port to an FB transceiver, you might experience initial network disruption. The network automatically resolves this condition.

o If you connect an FB/FL I/O card through fiber cable to a faulty transceiver that allows a transmit jabber to escape and reach the FB/FL I/O card, the I/O card will not completely cut off this receive jabber condition. The jabber reaches the backplane for 12 ms (milliseconds) out of every 500 ms, resulting in a 2.4 percent throughput degradation to the backplane channel.

To fix this problem, replace the faulty transceiver.

A transmit jabber error is an illegal, lengthy frame (possibly infinite in size).

Caution

Read the following caution before you install an EtherFlex Module into your hub.

CAUTION: Do not install an ONcore EtherFlex Module into a hub without I/O cards inserted on the module.

Documentation Issues

This section applies only to the 3Com ONcore EtherFlex Module User's Guide. This section contains additional information as well as clarification to specific areas in the manual. This information will be included in the next revision of the ONcore EtherFlex Module User's Guide.

This section contains the following documentation issues:

o SHOW PORT Command Display

o Port Status LED Indicators

o Port Status LED Troubleshooting

o New General Installation Rules

SHOW PORT Command Display

In Chapter 4, the section titled Status Information, the example for 10BASE-FB/FL I/O card output is incorrect. The correct output is:

Port Status LED Indicators

The following port status information will be added to Table 3-3 in Chapter 3, the section titled Monitoring Port Status Through LEDs:

o 3 blink status has additional information

o 4 blink status has been added

Table 1 EtherFlex Module I/O Card LED Interpretation

LED Name	Color	State	Indication
Port Status/Activity	Green	3 blinks	Port receive jabber error on only a male AUI I/O card and a 10BASE-FB/FL I/O card configured as FB.
		4 blinks	Remote link failure on only 10BASE-FB/FL I/O card configured as FB.

Port Status LED Troubleshooting

Additional information will be added to Table 5-1 in Chapter 5, the section titled Port Status LED Troubleshooting. The status of 4 blinks will be added to this table.

Table 2 Port Status LED Troubleshooting

LED State	Indication	Possible Cause	Corrective Action
4 blinks	Remote Link Failure	The connection is bad between the transmitting port that is reporting the error and the receiving port that is connected to the transmit port.	Check the cable and connections to this module and the directly-connected device.

New General Installation Rules

A section titled General Installation Rules will be added to Chapter 3, Installing the Module and I/O Cards.

This section describes general rules to follow when installing and replacing I/O cards on an EtherFlex module, as follows:

o If you want to remove an I/O card from an EtherFlex carrier module, you must:

-- Disable all ports on that module.

-- Reconfigure the module after you re-install it.

This is because each physical port on the module is associated with a logical port in a top-to-bottom sequence.

For example, if 3 EtherFlex I/O cardsare installed in a hub and each card contains 3 ports (BNC I/O Card), ports 1 to 3 are associated with the top-most I/O card, ports 4 to 6 with the center I/O card, and ports 7 to 9 with the bottom I/O card. If you remove the middle card, the bottom card takes on ports 4 to 6 attributes and ports 7 to 9 no longer exist.

o Install daughtercards on the EtherFlex module before you install I/O cards.

o If you insert different types of I/O cards after configuring the module, you must reconfigure the module if the number of ports or media type changes.

o If you replace an I/O card and the existing I/O card port number and media type remain constant, then the module configuration does not change.

o I/O card ports are numbered sequentially from top to bottom on an EtherFlex module. When you replace or install I/O cards, existing I/O cards installed in the bays below the newly-installed I/O card must be reconfigured.

o When using the SHOW MODULE command, follow these guidelines when numbering the subslot parameters:

-- EtherFlex module occupies subslot 1.

-- Daughtercards occupy subslots 2 and 3.

-- I/O cards in the EtherFlex module occupy subslots 4, 5, 6, and 7 (depending on the type of I/O card installed). Male AUI and Female AUI I/O cards occupy subslots 4 and 6.

EtherFlex modules can occupy any slot in the hub.

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