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Scinet LAN FE (MAC)

System Requirements

SciNet LAN FE provides a network infrastructure for Scitex applications running on Apple Power Macintosh computers. This document describes the procedure for installing the LANC PCI expansion card for PCI Bus and the SciNet LAN FE software.

SciNet LAN FE consists of:

  • Scitex Program To Program Protocol (PTOP)
  • Dynamic configuration
  • File transfer protocol
  • Remote file access protocol

These protocols require a Scitex LANC PCI expansion card in each computer. Only one card can be installed at a time. You can only work with either Ethernet or Fast Ethernet at one time (not with both).

Apple software packages used by SciNet LAN FE are:

  • Apple Shared Library Manager
  • Thread Manager

All those items necessary to run SciNet LAN FE are included in the interface kit.

  • The SciNet LAN FE software interface kit consists of one floppy disk: SciNet LAN FE.

Hardware Requirements

  • Apple Power Macintosh computer or higher.
  • PCI expansion bus architecture.

Software Requirements

System software version 7.5.2 or later.

Network Requirements

LANC PCI supports the following networks:

  • Twisted pair Ethernet (10BaseT) above cat. 3, cat. 4 and cat. 5 cables.
  • Twisted pair Fast Ethernet (100BaseTX) above cat. 5 cables.

Note: The board connectors are Half Duplex, so if your Link Switch or other device is Full Duplex you must switch your device into Half Duplex mode.

Coax cables are not supported.

Installation

Hardware

  1. Switch off your computer and all other devices.
  2. For further safety, unplug the power cord from your computer.
  3. Remove the computer lid.
  4. Choose the PCI expansion slot you wish to use, and remove the metal shield protecting the slot opening. You can use any free PCI slot.
  5. Push out the plastic cover with your thumb, or use a blunt object such as the eraser end of a pencil.
  6. Remove the card carefully from its protective antistatic bag.
  7. Slide the card down into the slot. Align the connector on the bottom of the card, and push the card down firmly to make a good connection.
  8. Attach the cable to one of the two connectors according to whether you want to work in Ethernet or Fast Ethernet (see the figure below).
    Note:     If you need to change between 10BaseT and 100BaseT connections after the computer has been turned on, first modify the physical connection as required, then restart the computer. Only one card can be installed at a time. You can work with either Ethernet or Fast Ethernet at one time (not with both).
  9. Close the computer's lid.
  10. Switch on the computer. Install the software (see the Software section).

Checking the LEDs

If you wish to check that the expansion card is inserted and connected correctly, you can check the LEDs (light emitting diodes) on the card as described below. However, it is not a compulsory part of the installation.

When the expansion card is inserted and connected correctly to either the Fast Ethernet cable or the Ethernet cable on one side and to the Hub/Switch or Hub on the other, one of the following will occur, depending on the connection you have made:

  • the Fast Ethernet LED will light up when you are connected to the Fast Ethernet network.
  • the Ethernet LED will light up when you are connected to the Ethernet network.

Software

  1. Switch on your Apple Power Macintosh computer.
  2. Verify that the LANC PCI board is connected to the network, as described in Hardware.
  3. Insert the SciNet LAN FE diskette in the floppy disk drive. A disk icon, as shown below, is displayed on the desktop.
  4. Double-click on the icon. The following window is displayed:

SciNet LAN FE

  1. Double-click on the SciNet LAN FE Installer icon.
  2. The installer displays a welcome message.

SciNet LAN FE Installer

  1. Click Continue to begin the installation.

The SciNet FE PCI window is displayed, as shown below.

SciNet FE PCI

  1. Click Install to perform the standard installation.
    Note:     Should you wish to uninstall, hold down the Control key to change the window and click on Uninstall to enable this option. The Install button will change to Uninstall.
  1. A warning message is displayed. Click Yes to continue with the installation.


    Installation begins. A message box is displayed showing the progress of the installation.
  1. When the installation is complete, the following message box is displayed:
  1. Click Restart to complete the installation. When the Apple Power Macintosh is restarted, the SciNet device driver icon should appear in the group of device driver icons which appear at the bottom of the screen during startup. If it does not appear at all or appears with a large X, refer to Troubleshooting.

Important: After the cable and the software is installed, you must restart the computer to enable communication. Furthermore, each time you change between an Ethernet and Fast Ethernet connection you must also restart the computer, since the computer only detects the connection change upon start up.

Now you must configure your Apple Power Macintosh computer as a station on the SciNet.

Configuration

SciNet Configuration

This section describes how to configure your Apple Power Macintosh computer as a station on the SciNet.

To configure your Apple Power Macintosh computer, perform the following procedure:

  1. Open the SciNet Configuration control panel.
    It can be found in the Control Panels folder.
    If this is the first time you've installed SciNet LAN FE on this Macintosh, SciNet Configuration displays its control panel, shown in the following figure:

SciNet Configuration

In the Subnet Definition window of the control panel, you can see what type of connection has been made, Ethernet or Fast Ethernet.

If a large X appears in the window, no connection has been made.

If a connection can't be found, you can either select Restart from the Special menu to restart your computer and begin again, or press Start on the SciNet Configuration control panel to try to reconnect. This option will take some six seconds until SciNet reconnects.

If the Subnet Definition window is empty, make sure that the LANC board has been properly installed. See Troubleshooting for more details.

  1. Enter a name for this Apple Power Macintosh.
    In the Station Identity text box, type in a name according to the following criteria:
  • The name can consist of up to five characters.
  • The first character must be a letter and the last character must be a digit.
  • The station name must be unique on your network.
  1. Enter the logical name for the LAN Subnet.
    In the Subnet Definition part of the window, enter your LAN Subnet logical name in the Subnet Name field. This name should contain between one and six characters. The first character must be a letter. The logical name of the subnet is common to all stations connected to it. (Macintosh computers and Scitex workstations).

    Warning:     Make sure you have the same LAN subnet logical name on all your SciNet stations (Whisper, PS/2 and Macintosh).
  2. Choose whether the Apple Power Macintosh is visible to other computers on the SciNet network.
    If sharing is on, other computers on the SciNet network can see your Macintosh.
    By default, Sharing is Off. You should turn it to On to enable your Apple Power Macintosh to be visible to the other stations on the SciNet network.
  3. Choose whether users need to log in to access your Apple Power Macintosh.
    SciNet LAN FE supports access rights as defined by either AppleShare or System 7 File Sharing, when accessed by another Macintosh through SciNet.
    When Yes is selected in the Require AppleShare field, users must enter their usernames and passwords before they can access your Apple Power Macintosh. To allow access without requiring the AppleShare login, follow these steps:
  • Verify that the AppleShare file server is running, or that the File Sharing option in the Sharing Setup control panel is On.
  • Select No in the Require AppleShare login field. If you have File Sharing, the dialog box looks like this:

File Sharing Dialog

  • Enter the requested information, and click OK. This is the same Owner Name and Password as defined in AppleShare's Sharing Setup control panel.
  1. Close the SciNet Configuration control panel.
  2. If you made any changes in the control panel, restart your Apple Power Macintosh.
    If you changed any of the fields in the control panel, SciNet Configuration displays the following message:

Configuration changes will not take place until the next restart

  1. Click OK and choose Restart from the Special menu.
    After your Apple Power Macintosh restarts, you can select SciNet-Look in the Chooser to see all the stations that are connected to your SciNet network and that SciNet applications can access.

SciNet Dynamic/Static Stations

Viewing Dynamic Stations

When your Apple Power Macintosh starts up, it automatically recognizes all the computers which are connected to it. These stations are called dynamic stations.

To view the dynamic SciNet stations connected to your Apple Power Macintosh:

  1. From the Apple menu, select the Chooser option. The Chooser window is displayed:

Chooser

  1. In the Chooser window, click on the SciNet-Look icon as shown in the above figure. The list of dynamic SciNet stations is displayed in the SciNet Stations area.

Defining Static Stations

When your Apple Power Macintosh starts up, it automatically recognizes all the computers which are connected to it, however, stations which are not recognized upon startup, can be defined as static stations using the SciNet Stations control panel.

To define static stations on your Apple Power Macintosh, perform the following procedure:

  1. Click on the SciNet Stations icon to display the SciNet Stations control panel.

SciNet Stations Control Panel

  1. In the Subnet Name text box you will see the name of the currently active subnet. To change this subnet, change the current Subnet name in the SciNet Configuration Control panel, as shown on Scinet Configuration.
  2. In the Station Identity part of the window:
  • In the Station Name field, type in the name of the station.
  • In the Type field, select the station type from the drop-down list. The following types are available: Ripro, Macintosh, Whisper, PS/2.
    When you have entered a station name and type, fields are displayed in which you can define additional static stations, as shown in the figure below:

SciNet Stations Control Panel

  1. Repeat Step 3 to define additional static stations.
  2. When you have completed defining the static stations, click the close box to close the SciNet Stations control panel.
  3. Restart your Mac.

Troubleshooting

Problem: After restarting my Mac, I see the following message:
"SciNet: Subnet [subnet name]. This subnet cannot be used because no Ethernet/Fast Ethernet connection was found. Please check that the board is connected to the network."

Solution:

  • Make sure that the LANC board is properly installed in your Mac.
  • Make sure that the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet cable is properly connected to the LANC board.
  • Make sure that the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet cable is in good working condition.
  • Check that appropriate Ethernet/Fast Ethernet LED is lit.
  • Run the LANC diagnostic application to verify that the LANC board is functioning properly (see Diagnostics).
  • Reinstall the SciNet Installer, as there may be a defective Ethernet driver in the system.

Problem: I cannot see any Subnet name in the SciNet applications.

Solution

  • Verify that the subnet name is configured properly in the SciNet Configuration control panel, as shown in Scinet Configuration.
  • Make sure that the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet cable is properly connected to the LANC board.
  • Make sure that the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet cable is in good working condition.

Problem: I cannot see any stations in the SciNet applications, and SciNet-Look.

Solution

  • Check that appropriate Ethernet/Fast Ethernet LED is lit.
  • Make sure your Macintosh is physically connected to the other SciNet stations (Whisper, PS/2 and other Macintosh computers).
  • Make sure the other SciNet remote stations that you want to see are switched on and that the proper SciNet application is running on each station.
  • Restart your Macintosh.
  • Make sure that the logical subnet name on all the SciNet stations is the same.
  • Make sure you are not connected to your other SciNet stations through a router.

Note: The SciNet stations can be connected through Hubs/Switches, Hubs, bridges, repeaters, etc., but not through routers.

Problem: The following message is displayed:

"SciNet: One or more of the SciNet files are missing, try to reinstall the SciNet LAN software."

Solution

  • Check that the LANC card has been properly installed.
  • Reinstall the SciNet LAN software.
  • Restart, either by selecting restart from the Special menu, or by clicking Start on the SciNet Configuration Control Panel.

Problem: I can see some SciNet stations, but can't see a specific one.

Solution

  • Make sure the other SciNet remote stations that you want to see are switched on, connected properly and that the proper SciNet application is running on each station.
  • Check the configuration on the remote SciNet station.
  • Make sure that the Scitex Fast Ethernet board has been connected correctly to the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet cable and that this cable is connected correctly to the Hub/Switch or Hub.
  • Check that the Ethernet/Fast Ethernet LED is lit up.
  • Make sure that your Mac and the remote SciNet station are not connected through a router.
  • Check the cable which is connected to the remote SciNet station. Do this by trying to connect the remote SciNet station to another SciNet station, preferably one to which your Mac is connected.

Note: Make sure the logical subnet name is the same on your Mac and on the remote SciNet station.

Problem: I cannot establish a connection from the PS/2, or other station, to the Macintosh.

Solution

  • On the Macintosh, open the SciNet Configuration control panel, and make sure that SciNet Sharing is on.
  • Make sure your logical subnet name is the same on the PS/2 and the Macintosh.
  • Make sure that the Macintosh station name that you configured on the PS/2 (through sciutil) is the same name you gave to that Macintosh through the SciNet Configuration control panel on the Macintosh.
  • Make sure your PS/2 is physically connected to the Macintosh, and not through a router.

Problem: My Macintosh hangs (crashes) when I work with the SciNet applications.

Solution

  • Restart your Macintosh, while holding the <shift> key. Open the Memory control panel and make sure that Virtual Memory is Off and Modern Memory Manager is On.

Problem: I can see and connect all my SciNet stations, but I'm getting a very poor data transfer performance.

Solution

  • SciNet LAN FE performs best if you connect your SCSI drive to SCSI bus 0 and use an Apple Power Mac 9500 130 MHz or higher. Other configurations may lead to reduced performance.
  • Close all open control panels, as well as any CPU time-consuming application.
  • The load of the remote SciNet station - disk activities and CPU time - may affect the performance of data transfer.
  • If you are using one segment of an Ethernet line (rather than a Hub/Switch or Hub configuration), simultaneous data transfer on the same segment may significantly affect the performance.
  • Defective hardware - bad cables, faulty hub repeaters, loose cable connections - even though you may be able to connect between the stations, can affect the data transfer rates.
  • Disk access speed - use a disk utility package to check your hard disk access speed. A slow or very fragmented hard disk may cause poor file transfer performance.

Note: The SciNet applications are very friendly; for example, they can run in the background and can simultaneously copy more than one file using several SciNet applications. Because of this, any non-friendly open application may affect data transfer performance. For instance, any open control panel may cause the Finder to grasp a considerable amount of CPU time.

Problem: SciNet/LAN stops working after loading System 7.5.2. SciNet Configuration control panel was moved from the Control Panels folder.

Solution

  • Re-install SciNet/LAN.

Diagnostics for PCI Fast Ethernet

Overview

This section provides instructions for running the Diagnostics for PCI Fast Ethernet. The Diagnostics can run a number of tests (according to your selections) to check the Fast Ethernet card. The Diagnostics window enables you to select the tests to be run and to view the status of failed or passed tests. This chapter also discusses the menu options that are available once the Diagnostics has been opened.«

Starting the PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostics

Following are instructions for running the Diagnostics and a description of the Diagnostics window.

To start the PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostics:

  1. 1. From the System Folder, select SciNet Files.Diagnostic.
    A window opens containing the following:

Note: In addition to the PCI Fast Ethernet icon, there are two other icons representing files which are an integral part of the Diagnostics program.

  1. Double-click on the PCI Fast Ethernet icon to open the Diagnostic System. The PCI Fast Ethernet logo is displayed.

PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostics

The PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostics window is then opened:

PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostic

Tests

The Diagnostics window contains three test groups and one additional option, UTIL, with checkboxes on their left. The tests are arranged in a hierarchical tree structure with the test groups shown on the top level: reset board, HOST MASTER, i960 MASTER, as shown below:

Test Hierarchy

To display the tests contained in a group of tests, click on the (arrow) to the left of a test group. The test hierarchical tree will expand and the tests in that group will be displayed. The popup menu above the tests will display the name of the test group you selected. The following example shows how the HOST MASTER is selected:

Test Hierarchy

When you select a test group, all the tests in that group will be selected and an X will appear in their checkboxes. Tests in a group may contain sub-tests, which will also be selected. You may leave these tests selected or deselect them.

  • To deselect a group of tests, click on the test group.
  • To deselect a test in a group of tests, click on that test.

To return to a higher level in the test hierarchy, click on the popup menu and select the requested level.

To go to a lower level in the test hierarchy, click on the .

Test Hierarchy

Indicators

At the top of the Diagnostics window the following four indicators are displayed:

Loop On: Indicates that the Loop Abort or Loop Until Fail option is selected in the Preferences window.
Stand A: This indicator is not used.
Show R: This indicator is not used.
Step: This indicator is not used.

These indicators represent the preferences set in the Preferences window, as described in Running Looping Tests.

Selecting a Test

The Diagnostics window contains three groups of tests and an additional option. It is suggested that you run the first three tests, reset board, HOST MASTER and i960 Master. The fourth option, UTIL, contains additional debugging tests.

  1. In the Diagnostics window, click on the test you wish to run. An X will appear in the checkbox. Selecting a test group will automatically select all the tests in that group and they will be checked with an X.
  2. Click Start to begin testing.
    "Testing. Please wait..." is shown in the message box.
    The Diagnostics program runs through all the tests in order.
    When Loop mode has been selected, the Diagnostics window displays a counter of pass and fail tests.
    While the tests are running, a progress bar is displayed, as shown below:

Passed Tests

When the last test has been successfully run, the following occurs:

  • A message is displayed in the message bar:
    "Test completed. No errors detected."
  • The message indicator at the top left corner of the Diagnostics window turns green:

Green Pass/Fail Indicator

  • The word "pass" is displayed to the right of the test group in a green frame, as shown below:

Pass

Failed Tests

If a fail was detected, the following occurs:

  • A message is displayed in the message bar:
    "For failures information, press "Error". To select Failures, double-click in the failure list."
  • The message indicator at the top left of the Diagnostics window turns red.
  • The word "Fail" is displayed to the right of the test group in a red frame
  • The Error button becomes active.
  • A list of current failures is shown at the bottom of the Diagnostics window.

PCI Fast Ethernet Diagnostics

Aborting a Test

To abort a test while the Diagnostics is running:

  1. Click on Abort in the Progress Bar window, the Diagnostics window displays the test results. If any test failed, the Error button will be active to indicate that an error has occurred.
  2. Click on the Error button to view the errors that have occurred.

Progress Bar

Running Looping Tests

The Preferences option in the Options menu enables you to specify the looping mode in which the Diagnostics runs the tests.

  1. Select Options from the File menu and select Preferences, to open the Preferences window, as shown below:

Preferences window

  1. The following lists the preference parameters and describes the options of each one:
Loop: Off The Loop option is not activated.
  Until abort The selected tests will run from start to end, over and over, until you abort. If this option is selected, the Loop indicator is yellow when testing begins.
  Until fail The tests will start running until the first test fails. If this option is selected, the Loop indicator is yellow when testing begins.
Mode:   This option is disabled.
Flags:   This option is disabled.
Done:   Click Done to save selections and close this window.

Viewing the Results of a Looping Test

If you have been absent from your workstation while the Diagnostics has been running the tests, you will not have a true indication of the tests that have passed or failed.

A test that may have failed in one round of testing may pass in another and the results shown in the Diagnostics window are those of the current round. So, how are you to know if a test failed in a previous loop? The answer is that once any test has failed, the Error button becomes active and you can press it to see a description of all the tests that have failed.

When testing has finished, the failed tests remain selected. You can easily re-run all failed tests by pressing the Start button, again.

Menu Options

This section discusses each of the menu options in sequence. The following options are available once the Diagnostics has been opened.

File Menu

The File menu has one option only:

Quit Diag
Quits Diagnostics and displays the following window:

Quit

Options Menu

Options Menu

Mode
This option is not implemented. The Diagnostics works in the Expert mode, and all other modes are disabled.

Error Buffer
Displays a list of failed tests.

Error Buffer

Current Failures
Displays a list of failed tests.

Prev & Current Failures
Displays a list of all the tests that failed in previous and current test loops and the number of times each test failed.

List of Total Failures

Information Menu

Help
Shows a short description of the Diagnostics and a list of all the tests.

Information

Messages
Some tests may record information here which may interest a Scitex engineer. This option is usually not needed.

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