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August 4, 1995
These release notes describe important notes and caveats for Catalyst 1600 Software Release 1.0.
Catalyst 1600 Software version 1.0 comprises the following components:
These release notes discuss the following topics:
TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager supports the following platform:
Table 1 lists the microcode version supplied with the Catalyst 1600 Software version 1.0.
| Module | Version supplied |
|---|---|
| Run-time microcode SRSW103R.BIN | 1.03 |
This section describes warnings and cautions about using the Catalyst 1600 software. The information in this section supplements that given in the section "Release 1.0 Caveats" later in this document. It discusses the following topics:
TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager can manage Catalyst 1600s on the network using either IP or IPX. To manage Catalyst 1600s over IPX only, load an IPX interface.
To manage Catalyst 1600s over IPX and IP over LLC, configure the management station as follows:
Step 1 Load an LLC interface.
Step 2 If you normally use IPX on the network, load an IPX interface.
Step 3 Remove any IP protocols that are running on the management station.
Step 4 Add the following line to the trueview.ini file in the TrueView directory, where ip address is the IP address of the TrueView management station.
[SNMP]
MyIPAddress=ip address
If you use an LLC interface to manage Catalyst 1600s over IPX and IP, configure the following parameters on the management station:
If errors occur when you run Catalyst 1600 Manager, increase the available SAPs and link stations.
For information about configuring LLC SAPs and link stations, refer to the documentation supplied with your network adapter card.
The Catalyst 1600 supports the IBM Spanning Tree algorithm. In the section "Spanning Tree Protocol" in Appendix B, "About Token Ring Switching" of the Catalyst 1600 Token Ring Switch User Guide, it states that the Catalyst 1600 can use IEEE Spanning Tree algorithm. The Catalyst 1600 does not support the IEEE Spanning Tree algorithm.
When you manage the Catalyst 1600 using the serial interface, and enter the show bridge status command to obtain the Spanning Tree Bridge ID, only the MAC address portion of the Spanning Tree Bridge ID is displayed. The complete Spanning Tree Bridge ID consists of the MAC address portion and the Spanning Tree Root Priority.
To obtain the Spanning Tree Root Priority, enter the show bridge characteristics command.
When ports in concentrator interface mode are connected to a device after the bridge test, the Catalyst 1600 may pass the bridge test although another Catalyst 1600 with an identical bridge number exists on the network.
When a port in concentrator interface mode is not connected to a device, a single station message indicates that it is the only node on the ring and it passes the bridge test. If a wiring concentrator such as a CAU, that is already connected to another Catalyst 1600, is subsequently connected to the port that is in concentrator interface mode, the result is two parallel Catalyst 1600 devices with identical bridge numbers. The spanning tree continues to operate correctly despite the duplicate bridge condition.
To correct the problem:
Step 1 Disable source routing on the Catalyst 1600.
Step 2 Enable source routing on the Catalyst 1600.
The bridge test runs, and fails with a duplicate bridge message.
When you use TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager to manage a Catalyst 1600, it is possible to disable the Token Ring switch port that connects the management station to the Catalyst 1600. No warning message is displayed by TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager. Disabling the management connection prevents further management of the Catalyst 1600 from the management station.
To resume management with TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager, either connect to the serial interface and enable the port using the enable port interface, or erase the stored configuration by holding the Reset button and releasing it when the LCD displays the appropriate message.
 | Caution Erasing the stored configuration returns all Catalyst 1600 parameters and the Catalyst 1600 password to the factory default values. |
In certain situations, Token Ring network adapter cards generate aborted frames. A node transmits an aborted frame when it experiences a brief or permanent internal error that interrupts the transmission of the frame. For example, a Token Ring network adapter that operates at a slow bus speed may cause bus timing problems that result in aborted frames. Aborted frames are not visible on the ring.
If the Catalyst 1600 receives aborted frames, it generates a frame with a CRC error on the output port. This is reported as a line error on the ring that is attached to the output port.
If you detect a high frequency of line errors, identify the node that is generating aborted frames.
If you attempt to run TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager or TrueView Alert Manager by running the executable file (RSMAN.EXE and ALERTMAN.EXE respectively), a general protection fault may occur.
To make sure an application runs when you start TrueView, use the Setup program to specify that the application is included in TrueView.
For example, use the Setup program to configure TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager as follows:
Step 1 In Program Manager, click on the Setup icon in the TrueView program group.
The TrueView Configure dialog box is displayed.
Step 2 Click on the Catalyst 1600 Manager for TV entry in the list of modules.
The Catalyst 1600 Manager Settings dialog box is displayed.
Step 3 Set the Include Catalyst 1600 Manager in TrueView check box to on, so that an 'X' appears in the check box.
Step 4 Click on the OK button.
The TrueView Configure check box is displayed.
Step 5 Click on the Exit button to exit Setup and return to Program Manager.
This section describes possibly unexpected behavior by Catalyst 1600 Software Release 1.0.
The following IBM network adapter drivers are not supported by TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager:
Do not run Catalyst 1600 Manager with this combination of IBM network adapter drivers.
TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager uses the SNMP MIB counters IfInOctets and IfOutOctets to calculate the total number of bytes transmitted by the Catalyst 1600. The MIB defines that these are 32-bit counters. The serial management protocol uses a 48-bit counter for the Bytes Transmitted field. The result is that values for the number of bytes transmitted are truncated when they exceed 4296 million in TrueView Catalyst 1600 Manager, or 256 trillion when displayed by a terminal emulator.
When the Telnet interface produces more than one screen of information, the information scrolls off the screen and may be lost. The workaround is to use Control-S or Control-Q to control the output.
If an SNMP management program issues a GET request to the Catalyst 1600, the reply may be formatted as a display string terminated by a null character (ASCII 0). Some SNMP management applications, such as IBM NetView/6000 and HP OpenView, can handle this format correctly. Some management applications may not handle the format correctly.
If beaconing occurs on a port that is configured for concentrator interface mode, no alert is sent to the network management software. No alert is generated for a beaconing recovered state.
When you use the Print command to print information in the Catalyst 1600 Manager Table or Alert Manager Table, the information may be wider than the width of the page.
To make sure the table information fits onto the page, save the information in ASCII text, Lotus 1-2-3 or dBASE III format and open the file using a word processor or spreadsheet application.
In the Table Column Configuration dialog box, which enables you to configure the columns in the Catalyst 1600 Manager Table or Alert Manager Table, you cannot use keystrokes. Use the mouse to configure the table instead.
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