[comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt] Connecting IBM PC RT to Ethernet

rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu (Donald J. Rainwater) (05/04/89)

I have an IBM PC RT running AIX 2.2.1 that I would like to connect to our
Ethernet network.  I've run an Ethernet transceiver drop cable (2 10 meter
sections) to a port on a DELNI, and the RT TCP/IP configuration files
have been properly set up (as far as I can tell).  There are VAXen on the
Ethernet that run SRI Multinet (TCP/IP), and one of them is set up as my
domain name server.

When the RT is started, it tries to configure the ethernet device (net0).
After a period of time, I get a console message saying that net0 has timed
out, and that the device has been removed from the configuration.

Has anyone done what I'm attempting?  Any information would be greatly
appreciated.  Thanks in advance.
-- 
Don Rainwater, University of Cincinnati Computer Center
rainwatr@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
rainwatr@ucbeh.bitnet
rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu

vlruo02@dutrun.UUCP (Ge van Geldorp) (05/04/89)

In article <1667@ucqais.uc.edu> rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu (Donald J. Rainwater) writes:
>When the RT is started, it tries to configure the ethernet device (net0).
>After a period of time, I get a console message saying that net0 has timed
>out, and that the device has been removed from the configuration.

Could it be that the jumper settings on your Baseband adapter don't
match the values given to `devices'? For some reason, the memory address
and interrupt level jumper settings on the adapter as shipped by IBM
don't match the default values used by `devices'. Being a software type,
I changed the `devices' values:
	rsa	from 80000 to 98000
	rea	from 81fff to 99fff
	brsa	from 82000 to 9a000
	brea	from 87fff to 9ffff
	il1	from 9     to 3
Hope this solves your problem.

Ge van Geldorp.
(...!uunet!hp4nl!dutrun!vlruo02 or ...!uunet!hp4nl!dutlru2!ge)

shair@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (05/05/89)

The usual reason that I have seen why net0 times out on
an RT is that the interrupt level set with the jumpers
on the "Baseband Adapter for Ethernet" card is not the same
as the level defined in the "devices" command.
 
 I'm going from memory, but I think that the card is set 
 to level 9 as shipped from our factory (may be marked as
 level 2 just to confuse things) and the default in "devices"
 is level 3.
  
  Bob Shair
  Scientific and Technical Computing Support
  IBM Champaign

francis@hslrswi.UUCP (Francis Demierre) (05/05/89)

In article <1667@ucqais.uc.edu> rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu (Donald J. Rainwater) writes:
>I have an IBM PC RT running AIX 2.2.1 that I would like to connect to our
>Ethernet network.  I've run an Ethernet transceiver drop cable (2 10 meter
>sections) to a port on a DELNI, and the RT TCP/IP configuration files
>have been properly set up (as far as I can tell).  There are VAXen on the
>Ethernet that run SRI Multinet (TCP/IP), and one of them is set up as my
>domain name server.
>
>When the RT is started, it tries to configure the ethernet device (net0).
>After a period of time, I get a console message saying that net0 has timed
>out, and that the device has been removed from the configuration.
>
>Has anyone done what I'm attempting?  Any information would be greatly
>appreciated.  Thanks in advance.
>-- 
>Don Rainwater, University of Cincinnati Computer Center
>rainwatr@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
>rainwatr@ucbeh.bitnet
>rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu

  - check the switches on you Ethernet card to determine the interrupt level
    and the memory address to which it is configured. The values shown below
    in the 'devices' output are working for me and 'il1 9' is a safe 
    interrupt level (it is not to be used exclusively by any devices as far 
    as I know). You could try these values.
    I cannot remember now where the switch positions are described, it is
    probably in the 'Hardware reference Manual' or in one of the Red books

  - Check that the interrupt level selected dos not conflict with another of
    your adapters that want to uses the same level exclusively.
    Required interrupt level are described somewhere under heading 
    "Conflicting Adapter interrupt level". I am sorry to be so vague, but
    I'm writing this from home and do not have any RT books at hand :-).

  - I got some problems when I tried to set the 'inetlen' and 'r_inetlen'
    to a small value (timed out). I recommend to used the values shown below
    in the '/etc/net' file.

  - In the version 2.2.1 of the 'devices' command, it was not possible to set
    the 'il1' value to '9'. You have to manually edit the '/etc/ddi/enet' file
    to set the interrupt value to 9 and to allow interrupt level 9 (see below).
    Then run the devices to set your 'net0' parameters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the description of the adapter 'net0' as shown with the
'devices' command:

					Current		Possible
Name	Description			Choice		Choices

rsa     Bus ROM Start Address		98000		80000 - f8000
rea     Bus ROM End Address		99fff		81fff - f9fff
brsa    Bus RAM Start Address		9a000		82000 - fa000
brea	Bus RAM End Address		9ffff		87fff - fffff
[ ... some text deleted ... ]
noi     Num. of Interupt Levels Used	1		1
il1     Intrpt Level # of 1st Intrpt	9		3,4,5,7,9
si1     1st Interupt Level is Shared  	false		true,false
[ ... some text deleted ... ]
nidl    Net ID Length			2    		1 - 255
nidd	Net ID Displacement		12   		0 - 255
srbt	SLIH Ring Buffer Threshold    	10		0 - 255
[ ... some text deleted ... ]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the content of the '/etc/ddi/enet' file (used to check arguments given
in the 'devices' command as well as to fix the default values) :


default:
[ ... some text deleted ... ]

        il1 = 9 <------------------------------------<manually patched to 9
* Intrpt Level # of 1st Intrpt  * 3,4,5,7,9 <--------<  "            "

[ ... some text deleted ... ]

denet0:
        rsa = 98000
* Bus ROM Start Address         * 80000 - f8000
        rea = 99fff
* Bus ROM End Address           * 81fff - f9fff
        brsa = 9a000
* Bus RAM Start Address         * 82000 - fa000
        brea = 9ffff
* Bus RAM End Address           * 87fff - fffff
        pn = 0
* I/O Port Number on Adapter    * 0,1,2,3

[ ... some text deleted ... ]

il1:
        syschg = none
        vtype = 1
        map = mil1
        display = true
        required = true

[ ... some text deleted ... ]

mil1:
        m3 = 0
        m4 = 0
        m5 = 0
        m7 = 0
        m9 = 0     <--------------------------<Manually added to allow level 9
[ ... some text deleted ... ]
[ EOF ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The '/dev/net0' file:
crw-rw-rwT   1 root     system    22,  0 05 May 14.21 net0

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The '/etc/net' file for 'net0' entry:
* /etc/net

net0:
        netaddr = 1.6.0.5           <--- Your address here
        inetlen = 1518
        r_inetlen = 1518
        rip = input                 <--- It is a new keyword in AIX 2.2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I hope that all this can help you, anyway, you can email me if you have any
other questions, I will try to help.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASCOM Hasler AG  (Tlx: 911392 hsw ch   Phn: +41-31 632111 Fax: +41-31 632182)
Francis Demierre      (UUCP: ...!mcvax!cernvax!hslrswi!francis
Dpt 81B2               Phn:  +41-31 633662 and all above numbers
Belpstrasse 23         Unix mail: francis@hslrswi
CH 3000 Bern 14
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

njs@scifi.UUCP (Nicholas J. Simicich) (05/06/89)

Running diagnostics and looking at your system configuration will tell
you what interrupt level and memory addresses your ethernet card is
set to.  Then you can match that in devices.  So you don't have to
take the box apart and pull the card.  It will also tell you if you
have any other adapters which have overlaps or conflicts in terms of
interrupt levels, and I/O space or AT bus memory overlaps, at least
for your IBM supplied adapters.

Diagnostics will also (look under communications utilities) bounce a
message off of the ethernet, so that you can verify the connections
you have back to the DELNI.

Yes, I know that if diagnostics can do it, devices should..... :-)

-- 
Nick Simicich --- uunet!bywater!scifi!njs --- njs@ibm.com (Internet)

griefer@ibmarc.uucp (Allan D. Griefer) (05/07/89)

In a recent append, rainwatr@ucqais.uc.edu (Donald J. Rainwater) writes...
>...
>When the RT is started, it tries to configure the ethernet device (net0).
>After a period of time, I get a console message saying that net0 has timed
>out, and that the device has been removed from the configuration.
...
Offhand, it sounds as if the plugging on the Ethernet adapter is set
differently from the specification in the devices command.  Check out the
values set by devices by issuing:
  showdev adapt net0
from within devices and printing the results.  Compare the rsa and il1
fields to the interrupt level and starting address on the card.  Note that
rea, brsa, and brea must be consecutive to rsa.

Hope this helps.

Opinions are strictly my own,
Allan D. Griefer,       IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA
BITNET: GRIEFER at ALMADEN              Internet: griefer@ibm.com
UUCP: ...!uunet!ibmarc!griefer

jim@applix.UUCP (Jim Morton) (05/08/89)

In article <934@hslrswi.UUCP>, francis@hslrswi.UUCP (Francis Demierre) writes:
> /etc/net file:
> net0:
>         netaddr = 1.6.0.5           <--- Your address here
>         inetlen = 1518
>         r_inetlen = 1518
>         rip = input                 <--- It is a new keyword in AIX 2.2

Watch the "inetlen" parameters -- I have not been able to use 1518 on my
Sun/VAX/RT network with NFS. I have been using 1500 successfully -- Guy Harris
talked about this issue about a month ago -- at 1518, the packets going
out on the network are too large and the Suns print "ie0: huge packet"
--
Jim Morton, APPLiX Inc., Westboro, MA
UUCP: ...harvard!m2c!applix!jim
      jim@applix.m2c.org

guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) (05/09/89)

>Watch the "inetlen" parameters -- I have not been able to use 1518 on my
>Sun/VAX/RT network with NFS. I have been using 1500 successfully -- Guy Harris
>talked about this issue about a month ago -- at 1518, the packets going
>out on the network are too large and the Suns print "ie0: huge packet"

I was pretty much just guessing that "1518" means they were putting out
Ethernet packets with 1518 bytes of data.  Is this actually the case? If
so, it's a Bad Thing because the Ethernet standard says Ethernet packets
should have at most 1500 bytes of data; in that case, IBM should stop
doing it - end of problem.  (Did the VAXes complain about the packets as
well? If not, it could just be because the Intel 82586 that Sun uses, or
the driver than Sun provides for it, is more willing to complain about
what it thinks of as Bad Things than the VAXes hardware or driver.)