Cabletron Systems 9A128-01 manual Fddi Management

Chapter 4

FDDI Management

Configuration; connection policy; station list; and performance

The FDDI menu lets you access windows to view FDDI configuration, connection policy, station list, and performance with respect to the single Station Management (SMT) entity which provides each device’s connectivity to the FDDI FNB backplane.

SMT provides the system management services for the FDDI protocols, including connection management, node configuration, error recovery, statistics collection, and management frame encoding. SMT is comprised of various subcomponent functions, including Connection Management (CMT) and Ring Management (RMT).

The 9A128-01 is also encoded with MAC (Media Access Control) protocol layer information — which you can assign to either FNB 1 or FNB 2. The primary function of the MAC layer is to deliver frames for stations attached to the ring; this involves transmitting frames onto the ring, removing frames from the ring, and repeating frames. Other services provided by the MAC component include providing attached stations with access to the ring in a fair and structured manner, providing address recognition for incoming frames, and generating and verifying frame check sequences. Each ring must have at least one MAC associated with it for correct operation.

The windows that provide information about the FDDI component of the

9A128-01 module are:

•Configuration — This window displays the current configuration of the selected module with respect to its SMT entity, and shows the status of the backplane ring to which it is connected.

•Connection Policy — This window shows the types of connections between the four FDDI PHY (port) types — A, B, M, and S — that will be allowed by the SMT entity.

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