| Dave,
>> 1. Does the DCS90 and the VMS driver support half-duplex?
Currently this has not been implemented, however this should not present a
problem.
The duplex logic is implemented in the modem connect segment of the X.25 produc
There was a bug in there in one of the past implementations, which required
a patch. I think from VMS 7.0 and WANDD 1.1B onwards this was rectified.
The DCS$WANDRIVER passes half duplex to the modem connect code, the modem
connect code then sends the commands to the DCS$ZPDRIVER to set the
appropriate modem signals in the DCS90 firmware.
>> 2. To what extent does it support user protocols using frame mode HDLC?
In the same way as the DSW 42/41, with the exception that there is no
sensemode QIO. All modem signal control remains within the modem connect
entity. A link_up event is detected by an attention AST at the QIO
interface.
>> 3. In frame mode, is the CRC returned in the read buffer? Is the data
>> returned in the buffer if there is a CRC error?
The CRC is not returned in the CRC, it is stripped.
The data is returned in the buffer, when there is a CRC error. I would like
to test this before going to press, but having talked to the project
leader, we both believe it to be the case.
>> 4. Can users write and download their own firmware? Is there
>> documentation on how to develop firmware for the DCS90?
User's can write and load their own firmware. It was one of the original
aims of the product. However we have not fully documented the customer
firmware development aspects of the product. Currently we prefer to
implement any customer protocols in-house.
>> 5. The first example program in Appendix B of user manual appears to be
>> incorrect (for example, it assigns a channel to "frame.wana0"). SS7
>> interface uses "WAN0" for "terminal" and "FRAME.line-name" for
>> "datalink". Is there a correct programming example for frame mode?
Correct in both cases,
the assign is done on the template device WAN0
the io$_create is done on the frame.wan*0, as explained in the UG.
MArco Icardi the project leader is currently working on an example program
that will be delivered to customers in the next kit.
>> 6. What modem connect attributes are used by the DCS90 WAN driver?
>> Which ones will be ignored. Which ones will be supported in future
>> releases?
The modem connect attributes supported are
- protocol
- prefered_buffer_size
Any other attributes will not be accepted by the create QIO. Hdlc
defaults are used as defaults. In answer to the last part of the question,
although the work involved is not great it will depend on customer demand.
If you have any specific requirements, then ask Pierre-Yves.
>> 7. Is there a way to query the DCS90 for its MAC address? Does it have
>> an out-of-band management port?
Yes,
$ mc ncl show llc2 sap dcs_sap link zpa_link remote mac address
this shows the remote mac address associated with the link used between
the DCS90 in question and the current host. There is a configuration
utility which summs this information up for you.
If your question implies a request to the DCS90 itself, the answer is no,
the MAC address is stamped on the case, and must be entered manually by the
person responsible for configuring the DCS90 in the network originally. It
is not quite plug and play.
This product has only just recently hit the market, and so far customers
have only required standard X.25 features, aspects concerning
programmability of the QIO interface although not representing any
particular difficulty (in terms of the standard QIO WANDD interface phase
IV) have been up until now a subordinate priority.
Regards, Neil
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