+-------------+TM |d|i|g|i|t|a|l| +-------------+ AA-PYRFQ-TE -------------------------------------------------------------------- DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Release Notes Version 5.5 April 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------- As warranted, we change the firmware of this device to make functional enhancements or to correct reported problems. These release notes identify enhancements and changes to the firmware that impact end-user operations. They also contain firmware and software requirements, and list updates in this release as well as known conditions and restrictions that apply to the operation of the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900. Contents ======== Firmware Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Changes in this Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Known Conditions and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Updating the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Simultaneous Downline Upgrade of DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Modules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Module Removal and Insertion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 VNbus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Connecting a Terminal to the Setup Port. . . . . . . . . . . 6 Removing Operational Power Supply from DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 SLIP Server on the OBM Port. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Setup Port Redirect Mode Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Addendum to the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Owners Manual. . . . . 7 Enabling Automatic Connection of VNswitch 900 Modules to One VNbus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Installing or Replacing Network Modules. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adding a New Network Module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Replacing an Existing Network Module with an Identical One. 9 Updating Your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 System. . . . . . . . . . 10 Updating the Chassis Manager Firmware. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Downline Upgrade (DLU) Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Stage 1 - Transferring the Firmware Image. . . . . . . . . . 11 Stage 2 - Verifying the Firmware Image. . . . . . . . . . . 11 Stage 3 - Blasting the New Firmware Image. . . . . . . . . . 12 Stage 4 - Booting the New Firmware Image. . . . . . . . . . 12 Stage 5 - Decompressing the Firmware Image. . . . . . . . . 13 When You Update Your Chassis Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Verifying the Firmware Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 MIB and RFC Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Accessing Online Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Firmware Requirements ===================== DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 firmware version V5.5.0 is required to manage the following versions of network modules. We require that you update your network modules to the latest revision. The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Chassis Manager firmware image name is dmhub550.bin. To obtain a firmware kit, refer to the section titled Accessing Online Information in these release notes. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Product Version Filename ------------------------------------------------------------------ DECbridge90, 90FL 3.9 dewgb390.sys DECconcentrator 900MX 3.4 def6x340.bin DECconcentrator 900TH 3.4 defhu340.bin DECconcentrator 900FH 3.4 defhm340.bin DECmau 900TH 1.2.1 dtmxm121.bin DECrepeater 90FS 2.1.1 defmi211.bin DECrepeater 90TS 2.2.0 defmi220.bin DECrepeater 900GM 2.0.0 dettm200.bin DECrepeater 900TM 2.0.0 detmm200.bin DECswitch 900EE 2.0.0 desbf200.bin DECswitch 900EF 2.0.0 defba200.bin DECswitch 900FO 2.0.0 defbb200.bin PEswitch 900TX 2.0.0 desbf200.bin PORTswitch 900CP 2.2.0 decpm220.bin PORTswitch 900TP 2.1.1 detpj211.bin PORTswitch 900TP/12 1.2.0 detpx120.bin MultiSwitch 600 Stack Director 1.1.0 dlssm110.bin MultiSwitch 612EX 1.1.0 dlmwl110.bin MultiSwitch Hub 624T 1.0.0 dlmr2100.bin MultiSwitch Hub 612TX 1.0.0 dlmt2100.bin VNswitch 900EA 3.0.1 dvnea301.bin VNswitch 900EE 3.0.1 dvnee301.bin VNswitch 900EF 3.0.1 dvnef301.bin VNswitch 900EX 3.0.1 dvnex301.bin VNswitch 900FA 3.0.1 dvnfa301.bin VNswitch 900FF 3.0.1 dvnff301.bin VNswitch 900FX 3.0.1 dvnfx301.bin VNswitch 900LL 3.0.1 dvnll301.bin VNswitch 900XA 3.0.1 dvnxa301.bin VNswitch 900XX 3.0.1 dvnxx301.bin Software Requirements ===================== DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 firmware version V5.5 can be managed by MultiChassis Manager V6.1 or later. clearVISN MultiChassis Manager V6.0 is also acceptable, but should be upgraded to V6.3 as soon as feasible. clearVISN MultiChassis Manager V6.3 is a component of the clearVISN V2.2 product suite. ______________________________________________________________ NOTE The following products can NOT manage Chassis Manager firmware release V5.0 or later: o MultiChassis Manager V5.0, a component of clearVISN V1.0 o Any version of HUBwatch ______________________________________________________________ Changes in This Release ======================= o Occasionally, the MAM would crash when VNswitches were in console mode and the number of messages being sent back to the MAM console write routine would overwhelm the ability of its buffering to keep up. This has been fixed. However, if the output is too great, some characters may still be dropped. o In earlier versions of the alarm table code, chasNumSlotsOccupied and chasPowerConfigNumSupplies were divided into rising and falling alarms while still marked as e_risingOrFalling. The values were changed to either e_rising or e_falling to match thresholds. o Negative values cannot be set for hubAlarmSampleType, hubAlarmStartupAlarm, HubEventType, alarmStartupAlarm, alarmRisingEventIndex, alarmFallingEventIndex, alarmInterval, and eventType. o If modules were connected to the network via a DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900, RMON alarm traps would be sent to trap receivers. However, if modules were connected to the network directly, the traps would not be correctly forwarded to the trap receivers. This problem has been fixed but requires an upgrade of both the module software and the current DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 software. o The following fix was implemented for version 5.2 of the software, not implemented for version 5.4, and resides in the current version: The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 proxy agent firmware cannot issue the Request Group Counters command because of a problem in the DECrepeater 90T-16 that causes the repeater to sometimes reset while processing a Request Group Counters command. As a result, the requests for the following MIB objects will always return a value of zero: - rptrMonitorGroupTotalFrames - rptrMonitorGroupTotalOctets - rptrMonitorGroupTotalErrors - erptrGroupLanTotalOctets The clearVISN MultiChassis Manager does not use these objects, but other network managers may use them. Known Conditions and Restrictions ================================= This section describes the following types of conditions and restrictions for DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Version V5.5 firmware: o Software/firmware Upgrades o Module removal and insertion conditions and restrictions o VNbus o Other miscellaneous Updating the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ------------------------------------ o When updating the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 along with network modules, upgrade the Chassis Manager to V5.5 before upgrading network modules. o clearVISN MultiChassis Manager V6.1 or later manages Chassis Manager V5.3. Chassis Manager V5.5 cannot be managed by MultiChassis Manager V5.0 or any version of HUBwatch. o When you update your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 to version V5.5 from version V4.0 or higher, all nonvolatile data stored in the Chassis Manager is retained. When upgrading from version V3.0 or V3.1, we recommend upgrading to a 4.x version first, and then upgrade to V5.5. This will ensure that your configuration settings are preserved. o If Backplane Auto Healing is enabled, you must disable it before upgrading any network modules. It can be disabled from the clearVISN MultiChassis Manager LAN Interconnect window. If you are running an earlier version of MultiChassis Manager or HUBwatch during the Chassis Manager upgrade, the feature called FDDI Auto Healing must be disabled. o Wait 15 seconds after making LAN connections before doing a Chassis Manager firmware upgrade. This allows the changes to be written to nonvolatile storage. o When using the DECrepeater 900TM with firmware version V1.0G as your IP services module, a Chassis Manager firmware update cannot be performed in-band unless the DECrepeater 900TM has its own IP address assigned. The DECrepeater 900TM with firmware version V2.0 does not have this requirement. Simultaneous Downline Upgrade of DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Modules ---------------------------------------------------------------- Downline upgrades can now be performed for more than one DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 module at the same time. Each upgrade is initiated as described in the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Owners Manual. A downline upgrade of the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 firmware itself can not be performed at the same time as other upgrades. If more than one downline upgrade is in progress, it is difficult to tell which modules the status messages are referring to. Thus, is it important to verify that each module upgrades correctly when all upgrades are complete. You can do this by selecting Downline Upgrade from the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Installation Menu and pressing RETURN a second time. A display will show the name and version identification of each module in the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900. Module Removal and Insertion ---------------------------- You can remove and insert network modules from the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 while the power is either on (hot-swap) or off (cold-swap). Backplane Auto Healing, when enabled, preserves port and LAN configuration information when one network module in a DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 slot is hot-swapped with an identical network module. The Chassis Manager restores the previous connections to the new module. Make sure that all modules are fully up and configured correctly before enabling auto-healing. When Backplane Auto Healing is enabled and you are replacing a network module with one that is not identical, the Chassis Manager removes all backplane connections to the module and deletes its backplane configuration. When Backplane Auto Healing is enabled and you are replacing a module with configurable port groups (such as DECrepeater 900TP or DIGITAL MultiSwitch Hub 624T) with an identical module, the port group configurations are not transferred from the previous module to the current one. Instead, port group configurations are stored in the non-volatile memory of each network module and thus stick with the module, not the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 slot. For purposes of Backplane Auto Healing, a DECswitch 900EF and a DECbridge 900MX are considered to be identical modules, as are a PORTswitch 900FP and a DECrepeater 900FP. VNbus ----- Chassis Manager V5.5 has the ability to automatically connect every VNswitch 900 module in the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 to one VNbus. In V5.5, this feature must be enabled from the setup port console in order for it to be in effect. The section, Addendum to DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Owner's Manual, in these release notes describes how to enable this feature. Note: If Automatic VNbus Connection is enabled, two DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 backplane channels are always reserved for the VNbus. They cannot be used for other LANs, even if no VNswitch modules are present. VNbuses can also be created in the same manner as Ethernet LANs, via the clearVISN MultiChassis Manager LAN Interconnect screen. Connecting a Terminal to the Setup Port --------------------------------------- When connecting a terminal to the setup port, configure the terminal for jump scroll because the Chassis Manager does not support flow control. Removing Operational Power Supply from DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 -------------------------------------------------------------- When removing more than one operational power supply from the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900, wait at least 10 seconds between removing each power supply in order to give the Chassis Manager sufficient time to recalculate available power. SLIP Server on the OBM Port --------------------------- If you are using a DECserver 90TL or a DECserver 90M as a SLIP server on the OBM port, disable AUTOBAUD and enable AUTOCONNECT. Setup Port Redirect Mode Option ------------------------------- Some network modules do not support the Chassis Manager's setup port redirect mode option. Refer to your product documentation for further information. To manage a DECserver 90TL, DECserver 90L+, or DECserver 90M using clearVISN MultiChassis Manager, you must add the modules IP address to the clearVISN MultiChassis Managers Manage Table. Addendum to the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Owner’s Manual ====================================================== This section describes the following topic: Enabling Automatic Connection of VNswitch 900 Modules to One VNbus ------------------------------------------------------------------ Chassis Manager V5.5 has the ability to automatically connect every VNswitch 900 module in the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 to one VNbus. If you desire this feature, you must manually enable it. To do this, first choose the menu option "Product-Specific Options" from the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Installation Menu, available via the setup port. DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ============================================================= DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 INSTALLATION MENU [1] Restart with Factory Defaults [2] Restart with Current Settings [3] Show Current Settings [4] Configure IP ... [5] Dump Error Log [6] Downline Upgrade [7] Configure Out-of-Band Port ... [8] Start Event Display Mode [9] Start Redirect Mode [10] Product-Specific Options ... ============================================================= Enter selection : 10 A Product-Specific Options submenu is displayed. From this, choose "Enable/Disable Automatic VNbus Connection": DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ============================================================= PRODUCT-SPECIFIC OPTIONS [1] Enable/Disable Automatic VNbus Connection [2] Return to Main Menu ============================================================= Enter selection : 1 The following screen is displayed: DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ==================================================================== ENABLE / DISABLE AUTOMATIC VNbus CONNECTION Enabling Automatic VNbus Connection means that certain backplane channelswill be reserved for a VNbus. The channels will be reserved as soon as this feature is Enabled, and will remain reserved until this feature is Disabled. When a VNswitch module is inserted in the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900, it will connect automatically to the VNbus. The Enable function will return an error if backplane channels cannot be reserved due to existing connections. Disabling Automatic VNbus Connection means that no backplane channels will be reserved for a VNbus. Inserting VNswitch modules will not create connections to a VNbus. If any VNswitch modules are connected to a VNbus when the Disable mode is selected, the VNbus will remain until the last VNswitch module is removed from the hub. ==================================================================== Automatic VNbus connection is Enabled. Would you like to Disable it? [N] y Automatic VNbus connection status changed. Press Return for Product-Specific Options Menu ... To confirm that the Automatic VNbus Connection feature is in the state you want, choose the option Show Current Settings from the Installation Menu, and look for the Automatic VNbus Connection status on the second page. An example of that display is at the end of the section entitled Verifying the Firmware Update. Installing or Replacing Network Modules ======================================= This section describes the following tasks: - Adding a new network module - Replacing an existing network module with an identical one Adding a New Network Module --------------------------- When you are adding a new network module, follow these steps: 1. Install the network module by following the product's installation documentation. 2. Make sure that the module contains the latest firmware. Update the module, if necessary. 3. Make sure that Backplane Auto Healing is disabled. 4. Configure the new backplane connections. 5. Enable Backplane Auto Healing, if you desire. Replacing an Existing Network Module with an Identical One ---------------------------------------------------------- When you are replacing an existing network module with an identical one, follow these steps: 1. Do not change the state of Backplane Auto Healing. 2. Remove the existing network module. 3. Replace the network module you removed with an identical module. For example, replace a VNswitch 900EF with a VNswitch 900EF. 4. Ensure that the module contains the latest firmware. Update the module, if necessary. 5. If Backplane Auto Healing was not enabled before you replaced your module or if you had to disable it in order to update the module, you must configure the replacement network module. If Backplane Auto Healing was enabled, all the backplane connections will be restored. Updating Your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 System ============================================ When you are updating your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 system, follow these steps: 1. Update the Chassis Manager firmware to version V5.5. 2. Install clearVISN MultiChassis Manager V6.3 or later. 3. Update all the network modules to the latest firmware using clearVISN Flash Loader or the Downline Upgrade option on the Chassis Manager installation menu. ____________________________________________________________ NOTE Be sure to leave Backplane Auto Healing disabled until all your network modules are updated. ____________________________________________________________ Updating the Chassis Manager Firmware ===================================== You can perform a firmware update to the Chassis Manager in either of two ways: 1. By using the Flash Loader Utility supplied with clearVISN and the firmware consolidated kit. If you are running HUBwatch V4.1 while upgrading the Chassis Manager firmware to V5.0, the HUBloader utility may be used. 2. By selecting the Downline Upgrade option on the Chassis Manager installation menu and the firmware consolidated kit. __________________________________________________________________ NOTE Before performing a firmware update using either of these methods, read through the next section, titled The Downline Upgrade (DLU) Process. The section contains a detailed process description of how the Chassis Manager behaves during and after a firmware update. __________________________________________________________________ For instructions on using Flash Loader to perform an update, refer to the Flash Loader online help. The Downline Upgrade (DLU) Process ================================== The Downline Upgrade Process occurs when you initiate a downline upgrade to the Chassis Manager, either via Flash Loader or the setup port installation menu. The DLU process consists of five stages: o Stage 1 - Transferring the Firmware Image o Stage 2 - Verifying the Firmware Image o Stage 3 - Blasting the New Firmware Image o Stage 4 - Booting the New Firmware Image o Stage 5 - Decompressing the Firmware Image Stage 1 - Transferring the Firmware Image ----------------------------------------- This stage begins when the new firmware image is transferred across the network from the TFTP host and placed into the Chassis Manager's temporary storage buffer. During this stage, the Chassis Manager is functional and can respond to management requests. Because of variances in network configurations (load path, bit rate, and traffic levels), this stage of the DLU process can take up to 10 minutes to complete. At the beginning of this stage, the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following (example) message: -------------------- | Loading SW from | |IP: 16.20.40.155 | -------------------- Stage 2 - Verifying the Firmware Image -------------------------------------- When the TFTP load transfer is complete, the DLU process verifies that the new firmware image has been transferred correctly. During this stage, the Chassis Manager is functional but cannot respond to management requests. The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following message: -------------------- | SW Loaded, | | Checking Image | -------------------- This stage takes approximately 5 seconds to complete. Stage 3 - Blasting the New Firmware Image ----------------------------------------- After the new firmware image is validated, the DLU process blasts the image into the Chassis Manager's nonvolatile Flash memory, replacing the previous firmware image. During this stage, the Chassis Manager is not functional and cannot respond to management requests. The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following message: -------------------- | Image OK, | | Writing Image... | -------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- CAUTION: If power is interrupted during Stage 3 of the DLU process, the firmware image can become corrupted. Do not turn off power to the unit or perform any action that can cause the unit to lose power during Stage 3 of the DLU process. ---------------------------------------------------------- This stage takes approximately 75 seconds to complete. Stage 4 - Booting the New Firmware Image ---------------------------------------- After the Chassis Manager stores the image into flash memory, it boots the new image. Just before booting, the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following message: -------------------- | Image Stored. | | Booting New Image. | -------------------- To boot the new firmware, the Chassis Manager resets, then runs self-test. During this stage, the Chassis Manager is not functional and cannot respond to management requests. During self-test, the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the product name, version identification, and a sequence of numeric codes that identify tests. When self-test completes the Chassis Manager starts the main firmware. At this time, the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following message: -------------------- |Selftest Complete | |Start Main Firmware | -------------------- This stage takes approximately 45 seconds to complete. Stage 5 - Decompressing the Firmware Image ------------------------------------------ The firmware image in Flash memory was transferred and stored in a compressed format. Each time the Chassis is reset or powered up, the firmware must be decompressed into its original form in order to operate. After decompression, the expanded image is verified for correctness. During this stage, the Chassis Manager is not functional and cannot respond to management requests. The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following messages: -------------------- | Decompressing | | Image... | -------------------- -------------------- | Verifying | | Decompression... | -------------------- This stage takes approximately 30 seconds to complete. After the Chassis Manager completes decompression of the new image, it may reset to clear nonvolatile memory configuration settings. This occurs if you are upgrading from a Chassis Manager version prior to V3.0, if you are downgrading from a later major version to an earlier one, or if you are upgrading from a test version of firmware. If a reset occurs during this time, the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Status Display shows the following message, and then repeats the self-test and decompression process. ___________________ |Software Upgraded, | |Configuration Reset| |___________________| After the Chassis Manager completes decompression, the setup port screen displays the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 installation menu, confirming the downline load is complete. When You Update Your Chassis Manager ================================ When you update your Chassis Manager from version V3.0 or later, all nonvolatile data stored in the Chassis Manager is retained. When you update your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 from a version prior to V3.0, or when you downgrade your DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 from a major version to a previous version, all nonvolatile data stored in the Chassis Manager is cleared. You can determine if nonvolatile memory was retained or cleared by selecting the Dump Error Log option from the setup port installation menu. The error log should contain a configuration entry. Two examples follow: SW V4.2.0 -> V5.0.0 Config retained. SW V5.0.0 -> V4.2.0 Config cleared. If you are updating your Chassis Manager from a version prior to V3.0, or downgrading your Chassis Manager, record your backplane LAN configuration before beginning the procedure. When it is complete, re-enter all IP address information and other setup menu data. The clearVISN MultiChassis Manager view will show an initialized backplane. All backplane flexible channel connections are deleted and default backplane connections to the dedicated Ethernet are established. Use your recorded configuration data to restore the backplane configuration. Connections made to the front panel are unchanged. Verifying the Firmware Update ============================= You can verify the firmware update by selecting the Show Current Settings option from the the DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Installation Menu. This option displays the current version of firmware installed in the Chassis Manager. The display shows two screens, one at a time. An example is shown below: DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ==================================================================== DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900,HW=F,RO=V1.1.6,SW=V5.0.0 SysUp : 11 days 18:52:25 29 resets SNMP Read/Write Community : public SNMP Trap Addresses : Not Configured Status of Last Downline Upgrade : 00:40:39 28 resets Load Successful Out-of-Band (OBM) Management RTS : Disabled Interface IP Address Subnet Mask Def. Gateway Other Info --------- ---------- ----------- ------------ ---------- OBM Port 16.20.156.20 255.255.0.0 Speed 9600 bps Hub Slot 6 16.20.156.26 255.255.0.0 16.20.156.56 Active Hub Slot 7 16.20.156.27 255.255.0.0 16.20.156.57 Active Hub Slot 8 16.20.156.28 255.255.0.0 16.20.156.58 Active ==================================================================== ... Press Return Key to Continue ... DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 ==================================================================== Hub Name : DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Hub Serial Num : Hub Location : Hub Contact : Automatic VNbus connection : Disabled ==================================================================== Press Return for Main Menu ... MIB and RFC Information ======================= The DIGITAL MultiSwitch 900 Chassis Manager provides an SNMP proxy agent for DEChub 90 repeaters that do not contain their own SNMP agent. In this configuration, the following MIBs are supported: - IETF repeater MIB, RFC 1516 - DEChub 900 IETF repeater MIB extension - sysGroup of MIB II, RFC 1213 MIB and RFC information can be found online. Refer to the section entitled Accessing Online Information in these release notes for information about retrieving MIBs and RFCs. Accessing Online Information ============================ Documentation Comments ---------------------- If you have comments or suggestions about this document, send them to TechWriting@cabletron.com Online Services --------------- To locate product-specific information, refer to one of the following World Wide Web site http://www.networks.digital.com or http://www.cabletron.com http://www.networks.europe.digital.com http://www.networks.digital.com.au (c) 1999 by Cabletron Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 5005, Rochester, NH 03866-5005 All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. DECswitch, DECbridge, VNswitch, DECconcentrator, DECrepeater, DEChub, clearVISN, and the clearVISN logo are trademarks of Cabletron Systems, Inc. DEC, DIGITAL and the DIGITAL logo are trademarks of Compaq Computer Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.