[comp.sys.dec] Ethernet controller errors -- need help

barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett) (01/03/90)

	I posted this before but got NO responses.  Can anyone help?

	We have a VAX 8530 running Ultrix 2.0.  Its ethernet board has
been spitting out 10 error messages per minute.  They look like this:

----- EVENT INFORMATION SEGMENT -----

EVENT CLASS                             ERROR EVENT 
OS EVENT TYPE                  104.     CONTROLLER ERROR 
SEQUENCE NUMBER              28290.
OPERATING SYSTEM                        ULTRIX 32 
OCCURRED/LOGGED ON                      Tue Jan  2 11:07:17 1990 EST
SYSTEM ID                 x06FF05AD
OCCURRED ON SYSTEM                      crabcake 

----- UNIT INFORMATION -----

UNIT CLASS                              ADAPTER/CONTROLLER 
UNIT TYPE                               AIE CONTROLLER 
UNIT NO.                         0.
ERROR SYNDROME                          BVP ERROR 

----- BVP ERROR REGS -----

PORT STATUS REG           xBA0400C0
                                        ERROR SUMMARY 
                                        RESPONSE QUEUED 
                                        PORT STATE:           ENABLED 
                                        FREE QUEUE EXHAUSTED 
                                        EXTENDED SELF TEST PASSED 
                                        ADAPTER CAN COMMUNICATE 
                                        SELF TEST DONE 
                                        REGISTER WRITTEN BY ADAPTER 
PORT ERROR REG            x0000000F     FREE QUEUE EXHAUSTD 
                                        PORT #                0.
PORT DATA                 x00000002

	We had our ethernet board swapped, but the messages didn't go
away.  Has anybody else experienced this?  I had to shut off /etc/elcsd
because the error messages were overflowing our disk!!!

                                                        Dan

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grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) (01/03/90)

In article <3830@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> barrett@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dan Barrett) writes:
> 
> 	I posted this before but got NO responses.  Can anyone help?
> 
> 	We have a VAX 8530 running Ultrix 2.0.  Its ethernet board has
> been spitting out 10 error messages per minute.  They look like this:
> 
> OS EVENT TYPE                  104.     CONTROLLER ERROR 
> OPERATING SYSTEM                        ULTRIX 32 
> ERROR SYNDROME                          BVP ERROR 
>                                         FREE QUEUE EXHAUSTED 
> 
> 	We had our ethernet board swapped, but the messages didn't go
> away.  Has anybody else experienced this?  I had to shut off /etc/elcsd
> because the error messages were overflowing our disk!!!

Well there are always those questions where all one can do is guess...

1) When did the problem start?  Gradual or attendent to some other changes?

2) Is the error rate constant or time / workload?

3) Is your network heavily loaded?  What other kinds of machines present?

4) Are you running DECnet and/or TCP?

5) Do you have any intersting ethernet devices or just a wire and transceivers?

6) Do you have any way of evaluating ethernet loading?  Indicator lights for
   jams and collions?  Performance meters ala Sun? Terminal servers which
   accumulate collision statistics?

7) Is there anything you do that affects the error rate?  Things that you
   can unplug or net segment you can isolate?

Anyway, you can tell I don't know, but the error message is suggestive of
something getting swamped or exceeded.  You can play by either reducing
the net load or perhaps you can get DEC to bring by one of those new DEBNI
ethernet controllers to see if that makes the problem go away.  You could
of course any number of system hardware diseases or screaming interrupt
problems...  You might also ask in comp.os.vms since it might be and OS
independent sort of problem...
-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)