Cabletron Systems TRMMIM manual Beacon Configuration

Ring Map

Beacon Configuration

The Beacon Configuration window allows you to enable and configure the parameters for the Automatic Beacon Recovery Process (ABRP). If the Beacon Recovery option is enabled, the TRMMIM will automatically attempt to repair its ring when it detects an unusually high concentration of hard errors that have not been corrected by normal ring recovery procedures. ABRP is a sequential process that is designed to isolate the source of the errors as quickly as possible.

If a frequent occurrence of hard errors is detected, the TRMMIM first determines if the problem is internal or external to the chassis by turning each ring port off to see if the error condition clears. If the beaconing goes away (because it is external to the hub), the TRMMIM enables the Ring In/Ring Out ports at the interval specified in the Ring Port Retry Delay field for the number of times specified in the Ring Port Enable Retry field to see if the beacon condition on the network has cleared. If the beaconing continues after the specified number of retries, the faulty Ring In/Ring Out ports remain disabled.

If the beaconing continues when the Ring In/Ring Out ports are shut off, then the problem is internal to the hub. The TRMMIM individually bypasses each module to isolate the one with the fault (as evidenced by ring recovery on bypass). When the module with the fault is identified, the module is reinserted, and that module’s ports are turned off one by one until the ring recovers again. The last port turned off is considered to be the failing port. Once the failing port is identified, all ports which were previously turned off are turned back on. For devices running older versions of firmware, the failing port will be retried once at a pre-determined interval, and if beaconing continues, remain disabled; for newer firmware versions, the port will be retried at the interval specified in the Station Port Retry Delay field for the number of times specified in the Station Port Enable Retry field. Again, if beaconing continues, the port will remain disabled. Ports disabled by ABRP must be manually re-enabled before they can be used again; this prevents a user from rebooting a problem station which may bring the ring down.

Once ABRP is completed, the TRMMIM generates traps to the remote management workstation which will pinpoint the problem’s cause, including:

•the beaconing adapter’s address

•its NAUN address

•the type of beacon

•the port(s) and/or module(s) bypassed, and

•the duration of the beaconing condition

To launch the Beacon Configuration window and configure beacon recovery parameters:

1.Click on at the top of the Ring Map window.

2.Drag down to Beacon Configuration, and release. The Beacon Configuration window,Figure 3-11, will appear.

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