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Diagnostic Commands and Parameters

This chapter covers the following topics:
Sys Diag commands
T1 Line Diag commands
E1 Line Diag commands
BRI/LT Line Diag commands
Host/Dual (Host/6) Port Diag command
Modem Diag parameters

This chapter lists the VT100 interface diagnostic commands provided for WAN lines and ports. To use these commands, you must have sufficient permissions in the active Security profile.

Sys Diag commands

The MAX provides the following system diagnostic commands which appear in the System > Sys Diag menu:

To enter a command, highlight the command in the Sys Diag menu and press Enter.

Note: To use these commands, the operator must have sufficient permissions in the active Security profile.

Restore Cfg

The Restore Cfg command restores a MAX configuration that was saved with the Save Cfg parameter, or transfers the profiles to another MAX. Because the Save Cfg command does not save passwords, the Restore Cfg command does not restore them. Follow these instructions to restore your configuration from backup, proceed as follows:

  1. Verify that the Upload and Edit Security permissions are enabled in the active Security profile.

  2. Verify that the Term Rate parameter in the System profile is set to 9600.

  3. Verify that your terminal-emulation program has a disk-capture feature and an autotype feature, and that its data rate is set to 9600 bps.

  4. Connect the backup device to the MAX unit's control port.

  5. Highlight Restore Cfg and press Enter.

  6. When the Waiting for upload data prompt appears, turn on the autotype function on your emulator and supply the filename of the saved MAX data.

  7. Verify that the configuration data is going to your terminal-emulation screen and is being restored to the target MAX.

    The restore process is complete when the message Upload complete--type any key to return to menu appears on your emulator's display.

Save Cfg

 The Save Cfg command enables you to save the MAX configuration to a file. It does not save Security profiles or passwords.

Note: Using the Save Cfg command to save the configuration and then restoring it from the saved file clears all passwords.

To save your configuration, proceed as follows:

  1. Verify that the Download permission is enabled in the active Security profile.

  2. Verify that the Term Rate parameter in the System profile is set to 9600.

  3. Verify that your terminal-emulation program has a disk-capture feature and an autotype feature, and that is data rate is set to 9600 bps or lower.

  4. Connect the backup device to the MAX unit's control port.

  5. Turn on the autotype function on your emulator, and start the save process by pressing any key on the emulator.

  6. Highlight Save Cfg and press Enter.

  7. Verify that configuration data is being echoed to the terminal-emulation screen and that the captured data is being written to a file on your disk.

    The save process is complete when the message Download complete--type any key to return to menu appears on your emulator's display. The backup file is an ASCII file.

  8. Turn off the autotype feature.

Use MIF

 The Use MIF command opens he Machine Interface Format (MIF) interface. You can also access MIF by setting Console to MIF in the System profile. You can enter Use MIF to switch to the MIF interface either on a local workstation or during a Telnet session.

To return to the standard VT100 interface, press Ctrl-C.

Note: The Use MIF command runs MIF only at the control port that makes the request (not system-wide). Similarly, Ctrl-C restores the standard VT100 interface only at the control port that makes the request.

Sys Reset

The Sys Reset command restarts the MAX and clears all calls without disconnecting the device from its power source. The MAX logs out all users and returns user security to its default state. In addition, the MAX performs Power-On Self Tests (POSTs) when it restarts. The POSTs are diagnostic tests. A system reset of a MAX causes momentary loss of T1 framing (that is, the data-encapsulation format), and the T1 line might shut down. In any event, the feedback from the MAX to the switch is incorrect until T1 framing is reestablished.

To perform a system reset, proceed as follows:

  1. Highlight System Reset and press Enter.

    The MAX prompts you to confirm that you want to perform the reset.

  2. Confirm the reset.

    In addition to clearing calls, the MAX performs a series of POSTs. The POST display appears. If you do not see the POST display, press Ctrl-L. These messages may be displayed:

    While the yellow Fault LED on the front panel remains solidly lit, the MAX checks system memory, configuration, installed modules, and T1 connections. If the MAX fails any of these tests, the Fault LED remains lit or blinks. The alarm relay remains closed while the POST is running and opens upon successful completion of the test, at which time the following message appears:

  3. Press any key to display the Main Edit Menu.

Term Serv

The Term Serv command starts a terminal-server session. The system displays the terminal- server command-line prompt (by default, ascend%). For information about the terminal- server commands, enter a question mark at the prompt. For more details about the terminal- server interface, see the Network Configuration Guide for your MAX.

Upd Rem Cfg

 The Upd Rem Cfg (Upload Remote Configuration) command opens a connection to a RADIUS server to upload the MAX terminal-server banner, list of Telnet hosts, IP static routes, IP address pool, and other configuration information from the RADIUS user file. The MAX retrieves configuration from RADIUS at system startup or by use of this command.

When you highlight Upd Rem Cfg and press Enter, the MAX opens a connection to the RADIUS server and uploads the configuration information.

When you upload this remote configuration information, keep in mind the following information:

T1 Line Diag commands

The MAX provides the following T1 line diagnostic commands, which appear in the Net/T1 > Line Diag menu:

To execute one of the commands, select the command and press Enter.

Line LB1

Line LB1 is a Line LoopBack command for Line 1 in a T1 slot. When you start the line loopback test for a T1 line, a remote device can test the T1 line and the MAX unit's interface to the T1 line. All signals received by the MAX are looped back (behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module) toward the remote device. The remote device can determine the quality of the T1 line by comparing the sent signal to the received signal.

Line LoopBack (LLB) occurs behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module. Drop-and-Insert channels are also looped back. Do not activate LLB when a call is active on the line; doing so disrupts the data flow between the codecs connected to either end of the network line. The MAX responds to both the inband LLB signal and the Facility Data Link (FDL) LLB message. Therefore, a management device can put the MAX into LLB. A management device is a unit, on a T1 line, that measures the line's performance and can send management signals to other devices on the line.

To initiate a loopback test on the first T1 line, highlight Line LB1 and press Enter. After prompting for confirmation, the MAX starts the loopback test and the Alarm LED lights up. When you exit the menu option, the MAX automatically deactivates the loopback.

For related information, see the FDL parameter in the MAX Reference Guide and the FDL Status window in the Administration Guide for your MAX.

Line LB2

Line LB2 is a Line LoopBack command for Line 2 in a T1 slot. When you start the line loopback test for a T1 line, a remote device can test the T1 line and the MAX unit's interface to the T1 line. All signals received by the MAX are looped back (behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module) toward the remote device. The remote device can determine the quality of the T1 line by comparing the sent signal to the received signal.

Line LoopBack (LLB) occurs behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module. Drop-and-Insert channels are also looped back. Do not activate LLB when a call is active on the line. Doing so disrupts the data flow between the codecs connected to either end of the network line. The MAX responds to both the inband LLB signal and the Facility Data Link (FDL) LLB message. Therefore, a management device can put the MAX into LLB. A management device is a unit, on a T1 line, that measures the line's performance and can send management signals to other devices on the line.

To initiate a loopback test on the second T1 line, highlight Line LB2 and press Enter. After prompting for confirmation, the MAX starts the loopback test and the Alarm LED lights up. When you exit the menu option, the MAX automatically deactivates the loopback.

For related information, see the FDL parameter in the MAX Reference Guide and the FDL Status window in the Administration Guide for your MAX.

Switch D Chan

The Switched D Chan command swaps the status of the primary and secondary NFAS D channels. It applies only to T1 lines using NFAS signaling.

Clr Err1

The Clr Err1 command clears the user error event register of Line 1, but does not clear the performance registers for the line. To clear all performance registers for Line 1, use Clr Perf1. To clear all performance registers for Line 2, use Clr Perf2.

Note: Error events have no meaning for D4-framed lines. A D4 line uses the Superframe format to frame data at the physical layer. This format consists of 12 consecutive frames separated from one another by framing bits.

Clr Perf1

The Clr Perf1 command clears all performance registers for Line 1, restarts the current time period, and begins accumulating new performance data.

For related information, see the FDL parameter in the MAX Reference Guide and the FDL Status window in the Administration Guide for your MAX.

Clr Err2

The Clr Err2 command clears the user error event register of Line 2, but does not clear the performance registers for the line. To clear all performance registers for Line 1, use Clr Perf1. To clear all performance registers for Line 2, use Clr Perf2.

Note: Error events have no meaning for D4 lines. A D4 line uses the Superframe format to frame data on the physical layer. This format consists of 12 consecutive frames, separated by framing bits.

For related information, see the FDL parameter in the MAX Reference Guide and the FDL Status window in the Administration Guide for your MAX.

Clr Perf2

The Clr Perf2 command clears all performance registers for Line 2, restarts the current time period, and begins accumulating new performance data.

For related information, see the FDL parameter in the MAX Reference Guide and the FDL Status window in the Administration Guide for your MAX.

E1 Line Diag commands

Diagnostic commands for E1 lines appear in the Net/E1 > Line Diag menu:

To execute one of the commands, select the command and press Enter.

Line LB1

Line LB1 is a Line LoopBack command for Line 1in an E1 slot. When you start the line loopback test for a E1 line, a remote device can test the E1 line and the MAX unit's interface to the E1 line. All signals received by the MAX are looped back (behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module) toward the remote device. The remote device can determine the quality of the E1 line by comparing the sent signal to the received signal.

Line LoopBack (LLB) occurs behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module. Drop-and-Insert channels are also looped back. Do not activate LLB when a call is active on the line. Doing so disrupts the data flow between the codecs connected to either end of the network line. The MAX responds to both the inband LLB signal and the Facility Data Link (FDL) LLB message. Therefore, a management device can put the MAX into LLB. A management device is a unit, on an E1 line, that measures the line's performance and can send management signals to other devices on the line.

To initiate a loopback test on the first E1 line, highlight Line LB1 and press Enter. After prompting for confirmation, the MAX starts the loopback test and the Alarm LED lights up. When you exit the menu option, the MAX automatically deactivates the loopback.

Line LB2

Line LB2 is a Line LoopBack command for Line 2 in an E1 slot. When you start the line loopback test for an E1 line, a remote device can test the E1 line and the MAX unit's interface to the E1 line. All signals received by the MAX are looped back (behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module) toward the remote device. The remote device can determine the quality of the E1 line by comparing the sent signal to the received signal.

LLB occurs behind the MAX unit's CSU repeater or DSX signal-conditioning module. Drop-and-Insert channels are also looped back. Do not activate LLB when a call is active on the line. Doing so disrupts the data flow between the codecs connected to either end of the network line. The MAX responds to both the inband LLB signal and the Facility Data Link (FDL) LLB message. Therefore, a management device can put the MAX into LLB. A management device is a unit, on an E1 line, that measures the line's performance and can send management signals to other devices on the line.

To initiate a loopback test on the second E1 line, highlight Line LB2 and press Enter. After prompting for confirmation, the MAX starts the loopback test and the Alarm LED lights up. When you exit the menu option, the MAX automatically deactivates the loopback.

BRI/LT Line Diag commands

Diagnostic commands for BR/LT lines appear in the BRI/LT > Line Diag > Line N menu:

To execute one of the commands, select the command and press Enter.

Note: Maintenance functions supported by the BRI/LT driver use the BRI-U interface's Embedded Operations Channel (EOC). The EOC transfers data from the exchange to the terminal side and vice versa without occupying either the B or the D channel. The EOC is used to transmit diagnostic function and signaling information, (obtaining the block errors in close to real time or performing line diagnostics such as loopback or corrupt CRC, for example.)

The EOC monitor commands are sent in the M1, M2, and M3 bits of the U superframe. (For more information about usage of the M1, M2, and M3 bits of the superframe, see ANSI T1-601, from ANSI 1991.

The remote U-interface/echo canceller provides internal counters for far-end and near-end block errors. A Near-End Block Error (NEBE) indicates that the error has been detected in the receive direction. A Far-End Block Error (FEBE) identifies errors in the transmission direction.

You can use the block error counters to monitor transmission quality at the U interface. A block error is detected each time when the calculated checksum of the received data does not correspond to the control checksum transmitted in the successive superframe. One block error indicates that one U-superframe has not been transmitted correctly. The block error count does not provide information regarding the number of bit errors in the U superframe, but states only that the CRC failed in that superframe. About every 4 seconds, a daemon running in the MAX obtains the remote block error counter values and displays their cumulative value in the block- error status screens.

The block-error totals are obtained from the remote TA. These cumulative totals are reset when you clear the block-error buffer(s) from the Line diagnostics submenu, or when you restart the MAX. The totals reset to zero when they reach 65535.

Note: See the Block Error status display in the BRI/LT status window of the block-error information displayed.

Line LoopBack

The Line LoopBack command puts the line into loopback mode. When you select the Line LoopBack command and press Enter, the following screen appears:

Select 1 to execute the loopback command. Test frames are sent continuously in the D channel until the command is cancelled. The transmitted frames are each 24 bytes long. The frames differ in content and should cover every possible bit pattern.

Note: Only one loopback test can be performed at a time on the same line. If another user attempts to invoke the loopback command for a line that is already in loopback mode, the following error message appears:

Because UnRq Corrupt CRC acts similarly when requesting the same command to request that the remote end cancel the loopback, UnRq Corrupt CRC is unavailable when the MAX exits loopback mode.

Select the LB Counters status screen to display the number of transmitted frames as opposed to the number of correctly received frames. The MAX continuously sends frames to the remote end. When the MAX receives a frame that matches the transmitted frame in size (and the bytes of the received frame exactly match the bytes in the transmitted frame), it sends out a new frame and increments the receive counter for that frame. When the MAX receives a frame that does not match the transmitted frame, it still sends out a new frame, but does not increment the receive counter for that frame. Also, when the MAX does not receive a frame back, the timeout between two consecutive transmitted frames is about 4 seconds.

Press ESC to cancel the loopback function. The following message appears:

Corrupt CRC

 The Corrupt CRC command causes the BRI-U interface to transmit inverted CRCs, until you cancel the command. When the command is issued, the Far-End Block Error counter should be viewed from the remote TA. The command is used to test the NEBE and FEBE counters, by simulating transmission errors with artificially corrupted CRCs.

Uncorrupt CRC

The Uncorrupt CRC command cancels a previous Corrupt CRC command.

Rq Corrupt CRC

The Rq Corrupt CRC command requests NT1 to corrupt the CRC to artificially simulate transmission errors. The command is used to verify that the block error counters are working, or providing the right information. When you enter the command, check the Near-End Block Error counter.

Rq Uncorrupt CRC

The Rq Uncorrupt CRC command requests NT1 to return to normal.

Clr NEBE

The Clr NEBE command clears the Near-End Block Error (NEBE) counter.

Clr FEBE

The Clr FEBE command clears the Far-End Block Error (FEBE) counter.

Host/Dual (Host/6) Port Diag command

The Local LB command in the Host/Dual (Host/6) > Port N Menu > Port Diag menu tests the Ascend Multiplexing (AIM) port. To execute the command, select it and press Enter.

Note: To use the Local LB command, you must have sufficient permissions in the active Security profile.

The Local LB command activates a local loopback test. In a local loopback test, data originating at the local site is looped back to its originating port without going out over the WAN. It is as though a data mirror were held up to the data at the WAN interface, and the data were reflected back to the originator. The WAN interface is the MAX port that is connected to a WAN line.

The AIM port on the MAX must be idle when you run the local loopback test. It can have no calls online.

Highlight Local LB and press Enter. When the local loopback test is in progress, control moves to the Local LB menu, which presents a set of parameters you can modify. Press Enter to cycle through the parameters in the Local LB menu, and press the selector (>) or Right Arrow key to toggle between the settings for each parameter:

When the loopback screen shows 56K or 64K channels looped back, think of the channels as simulated. The Call Status window displays the loopback serial data rate. You can calculate the data speed by multiplying the number of simulated channels by the data rate. Changes you make take effect immediately, and remain in effect until you end the local loopback test. Terminate the test by pressing the Left Arrow key.

When you end the test, all control signals revert to the state they were in when the test began.

Modem Diag parameters

The MAX provides the following modem diagnostic parameters, which appear in the V.34 (K56) Modem > Modem Config menu:

To set one of the parameters, select the parameter and press Enter.

ModemSlot

You can set the ModemSlot parameter to quiesce a digital-modem slot card. That is, you can disable a digital-modem slot card in the MAX without disrupting existing connections. Active calls are not torn down. When an active call is dropped, that modem is added to the disabled modem list and is not available for use. If all modems are on the disabled list, incoming callers receive a busy signal until the modems have been restored for service. When you re-enable the quiesced modem slot card, a delay of up to 20 seconds can occur before the modems become available for service.

You can specify one of the following values:

To quiesce all the available modems on a slot card:

  1. Open the Mod Config submenu from the Modem profile and select ModemSlot.

  2. Press Enter to disable (quiesce) the slot card, the value is dis slot or
    to disable the slot card and the channel, press Enter again, the value will be
    dis slot+chan).

    For example,

  3. Close the Modem profile.

Note: Booting the MAX restores the quiesced slot to service.

Modem #N (where N=1-8, 1-12, 1-16)

You can set the Modem #N parameter to quiesce a digital-modem. That is, you can disable a digital modem without disrupting existing connections. Active calls are not torn down. If you specify a modem that is currently inactive, the modem is added to the disabled list. If the modem has a call active, it is not added to the disabled list until it drops the call. If all modems are on the disabled list, incoming callers receive a busy signal until the modems have been restored for service. When you re-enable the quiesced modem, a delay of up to 20 seconds can occur before the modem becomes available for service.

You can specify one of the following values:

To quiesce a digital modem:

  1. Open the Mod Config submenu from the Modem profile and select the Modem #N you want to disable. (The modem ports on a slot card are numbered starting with #1 for the leftmost port on the card.)

  2. Press Enter to disable (quiesce) the modem, the value is dis modem or
    to disable the modem and the channel, press Enter again (the value will be
    dis modem+chan).

    For example,

  3. Close the Modem profile.

Note: Booting the MAX restores all quiesced lines, slots, and ports to service.


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