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! d i g i t a l ! I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U
M
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To: Software Support
Date: 24-Jun-82
From: TSG/NCSS
Loc: MR1-2/H22
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
The following is a list of known problems and peculiarities
of DECnet-20 V2.0 and V2.1. As far as possible, they will
be listed is the order in which you might encounter them
during an installation. Techniques to diagnose each
situation will also be mentioned.
1. The most common problem encountered at installation is
broken hardware. At various times the following items have
been broken;
a. Cables - between device and modem, or between modems
b. Modems - broken or switch settings wrong
c. DTE - broken or switches wrong
d. DN20 - mapping hardware, MOS memory
If there appears to be hardware problems, be sure that Field
Service runs the diagnostics for the DN20 and the set of
diagnostics that test data transfer in both directions
ACROSS the DTE. The normal DN20 diagnostic package only
tests the DN20 and reports its findings across the DL11
link. It does not test the DTE.
2. The KMC11's, DUP11's, and DMC11's must have the following
CSR and vector addresses. Be warned, some Field Service
diagnostics run with the devices at different locations.
After diagnostics are run, be sure that FS has set the
devices to the following values.
Device CSR Vector addr
KMC11 160540 540 ;incr by 10
DUP11 160300 570 ;incr by 10
DMC11 160740 670 ;incr by 10
Page 2
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
If the devices are not at these addresses, either the LOAD
NODE command will fail or the DN20 will load but the node
will not come on-line. Watch the job running NETCON with
SYSDPY when you do the LOAD NODE. The load will hang or
fail while reading file DTEMPT.BIN, or the nodename.SYS file
will load, but the DCN:node-TOPOL-?? connect to the
topology task in the DN20 will not be made.
3. The UETP directories must have a USER GROUP 100, otherwise
the UETP certification and verification tests will fail.
When creating DNV2LN.LIN on page 10-36, be sure to use
uppercase input. Also, be sure there are no blank lines in
the file. If these precautions are not taken, the DN20 will
crash during the UETP test.
4. Whenever possible for a first build, take the defaults for
NETGEN. There''l be time enough later to try to tune buffer
sizes, etc. Watch out for the following:
a. You can't configure your nodename.SYS for more devices
than are physically installed on the DN20. If you build
a system image for 2 KDP's and there is only one KDP
installed, CHK11 will fail when it looks for the second
KDP. Check the CHK11 output with SYSERR. If the output
is truncated in SYSERR, the following may let you see
the CHK11 output on a TTY:. While loading do -
COPY DLn: TTY: (where n is the DTE )
b. All node-name and node-numbers in the network (this
includes KL's, DECnet DN20's, and DN200's) must be
unique.
c. Do NOT change the Transmit Password from the default.
It must be DECNET20. When the DN20 node inits to the KL
after being loaded, NETCON expects to see DECNET20.
There is currently no way to change the password on the
KL so if the Transmit Password is changed, the node init
will fail. Watching with SYSDPY, the nodename.SYS file
loads, but the DN20 crashes without every coming
on-line.
If a remote system requires node verification from the
-20, the remote system's Receive Password for the -20
MUST be DECNET20.
d. The default for hardware is 1 KDP (KMC/DUP combination).
To add a second KDP (DUP added to the KMC), do the
following -
NETGEN> EXCLUDE KDP 0
NETGEN> INCLUDE KDP 0
Number of DUP11's on KDP 0: 2
Page 3
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
If you simply do INCLUDE DUP, you will end up with one
KDP and one DUP. You CAN build a system image for LESS
hardware than is on the DN20. This is useful if you
believe that one of the devices may be broken or at the
wrong address and Field Service is not immediately
available. If you suspect a device is broken, try
building a system without it.
e. Don't forget to specify the DTE that you will be
loading across.
f. Do a SAVE to NETGEN to save the configuration file. If
there is a problem and you must contact the hot-line, we
will need to know this information.
5. When the batch job BUILD-ALL completes, check BUILD-ALL.LOG
to be sure that no errors were generated during the
task-build.
6. Run VNP20 on a hardcopy terminal, under PHOTO, or under
PTYCON with logging. The memory map that it produces is
very important for debugging purposes.
7. Be sure that all four NETCON servers are running (SRV:NCU).
If they are not all there, the LOAD may fail with a "line
communications error". ADVISE the line running NETCON, C,
RESET, and restart NETCON. This also clears all requests
from the NCP queue.
It is a good idea not to run NETCON under SYSJOB for this
reason.
8. "Unimplemented NETCON command" - The version of NCPTAB.REL
for linked into OPR and NETCON must be the same.
9. Remove all loop-back connectors from the lines before
LOADing the DN20. If a loop-back connector is left on, the
DN20 will load, you will see
---NODE dn20-nodename ONLINE---
---NODE dn20-nodename OFFLINE---
When the DN20 comes online it sends out node init messages
on all declared lines. If the loop-back connector is on,
the node init message is reflected back to the DN20. The
DN20 sees a node init from a node with the same name as
itself and crashes. This will also happen if another node
in the network has the same nodename.
Page 4
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
a. Check for loop-back plugs on the cables.
b. NCP> DUMP NODE dn20-nodename TO file.DMP
NCP> EX
CONN <DN20-1> ;MAP, STB files for this DN20
RUN MCBDA
MCBDA>file.DMP/STANDARD/LIST:file.STD
MCBDA>/EXIT
Look at file.STD and see if there are two or more
entries in the Node table for the same node name.
10. TEST72 is the pre-packaged procedure for local testing. We
have seen the following:
Device Type/Speed Comments
KMC/DUP EIA < 19.2kb Works, but be careful.
Reboot
the KL, run test. If it
doesn't
work, start at re-boot of
KL.
Remote DMC V.35 TEST72 doesn't work, use -
NCP>SET ST LINE DMC0 MAINT
put loop-back plug on
NCP>LOOP LINE DMC0
Local DMC Loopback testing doesn't
work
for DMC's with integral
modems.
10. Any time you have to unplug a KDP line (to insert a
datascope, add a loop-back connector, connect or disconnect
a modem) do -
NCP> SET STATE LINE KDPxy OFF
There is a problem with the KDP, it will hang the line if
you unplug it when the state of the line is ON. The only
way to recover this line for a DN20 is to re-LOAD the DN20.
For a 2020 system you would have to reboot the system or
force the KMC initialization code to by using MDDT. When
you are done playing with the line, set the state of the
line back ON.
11. Loop-back does not work for a remote 56kb DMC11 (DN21-BB
with integral modem and coaxial cable).
12. Running the UETP loopback testing may jump all over the
DN20. Once the testing is done, reload the DN20 before
trying to do anything usefull with the network.
Page 5
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
If the loop-back test doesn't work and the other DECnet
system is available, try connecting directly to the other
system. There are potential bugs in the test package which
might be avoided. More often than not, the DECnet linkup
between two systems will work when the loop-back test fails.
13. If a remote node won't come on-line, a datascope will show
you if the DDCMP START and STACK messages are being sent and
received successfully. This is useful for isolating bad
cables, modems, and lien drivers.
If the DDCMP STACK and STACK succeed, but the NSP node init
and verification fail, you can then check the node names,
node numbers, and transmit password.
14. The following are known problems with DECnet-20 V2.0.
Patches are available through SIRUS. All the patches have
been incorporated into DECnet-20 V2.1 which has just gone to
SDC.
a. NSP does not handle zero-length records. (NSPSRV, IO)
20-DECNET20-003
b. Monitor dies with RESBAZ BUGHLT. (NSPSRV)
c. AUTO-LOAD fails for DN20. (NETCON)
20-DECNET20-001
d. MCB crashes with garbage in node table. (MCB's NSP)
20-MCB-001
e. Resource allocation failure when using DECnet. NSP
links hang in DI sent in KL and/or MCB. (MCB's NSP)
20-MCB-002
15. If the DN20 crashes unexpectedly, get a dump and run MCBDA.
MCBDA>file.dump/ANALYZE
This output gives an english-language reason for the crash.
Occasionally, this points directly at the problem.
a. Power Fail - doing a dump of a running front-end will
report this.
b. Memory management failure - it even reports the area of
memory.
c. It shows the User AC's and PC, the Kernel's AC's, APR's,
and PC, and shows the module where the failure occured.
With a bit of manuevering, it is possible to find the
instruction in the MCB that failed based on the
information contained here.
Page 6
Subj: Debugging DECnet-20 V2.0/V2.1
Finally, some pointers to keep in mind while doing a
DECnet installation. It also includes some cautions
which, for one reason or another, could not be put into
the manual.
1. Be sure to read the beginning of chapter 9, up to and
including section 9.3, before plowing into the
installation at section 9.4.
2. Allow enough time for installation. Your first DECnet
installation will take longer than usual, because the
procedures will be new to you. In addition, there is
always the possibility of hardware problems which are
uncovered at installation time. These can take time to
diagnose and fix. The manual gives an estimated
installation time of two hours. This is about right if
the hardware is operational and you are familiar with
the procedure. Otherwise, don't be surprised if it
takes longer.
3. If your site has purchased the RJE option, install the
task-to-task software first and make sure it's running
properly before installing the DN200 software. This
limits the number of things you have to look at in case
something goes wrong.
4. If you are building DECnet for a 32K DN20, you will have
to build two front ends. (See the beware file for more
information.) To avoid confusion, build these in two
separate areas, say, <DN20-1> and <DN20-2>.
5. In all cases, read the DECNET.BWR on the DECnet20 SWSKIT
before doing an installation.