Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

for Sun Solaris

Revised and Expanded Edition

The materials contained within are summary in nature and intended for general information only. Every attempt has been made to assure the accuracy of the information in this guide. However, Aurora Technologies, Inc. makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to this guide, accuracy of information, or fitness for any particular use. Aurora product specifications contained within this document are subject to change without notice.

Copyright 1997, 1998, 2001, Aurora Technologies, Inc., A Carlo Gavazzi Group Company. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America This publication is protected by Federal Copyright Law, with all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated, transmitted, or transcribed in any form or by any means manual, electric, electronic, electromagnetic, mechanical, optical, or otherwise, in whole or in part without prior written consent from Aurora Technologies, Inc. Limitation of Liability Aurora Technologies, Inc. makes NO WARRANTY, EXPRESSED, or IMPLIED, with respect to this manual, and any related items, its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular use. It is solely the purchasers responsibility to determine its suitability for any particular use. Information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Trademark Credits Aurora Technologies, the Aurora logotype, Apollo Multiport, Aries Multiport, Comet Multiport, Galaxy Multiport, Nova Multiport, Saturn Multiport, XP-7R Expansion Chassis, LANMultiServer, WANMultiServer, and ControlTower are trademarks of Aurora Technologies, Inc., A Carlo Gavazzi Group Company. All other registered trademarks and salesmarks are the proprietary property of their respective owners.

Contents

Multiport Serial Connectivity .........................................................1 Some Basics ...............................................................................2 What are the Major Considerations in Selecting a Multiport Serial Connectivity Solution?.....................................................5 Alternative Approaches to Multiport Serial Connectivity..............6 Ethernet-based Terminal Servers ...............................................6 Multiport Serial SCSI Bus Connectivity....................................7 Multiport Serial System Bus Connectivity.................................8 What to Look for in a Multiport Serial, System Bus Connectivity Solution.........................................................................................11 Number of Ports .......................................................................11 Throughput ...............................................................................13 Modem Support........................................................................13 On-Board Processing................................................................14 Data Buffers .............................................................................14 Flow Control ............................................................................15 Device Driver ...........................................................................17 Synchronous Communications.................................................17 Interfaces Supported.................................................................19 CE Certification........................................................................19 PCI - The De Facto Industry Standard I/O Bus............................20 PCI Revision 1.0 and Revision 2.1 ..........................................20 Installing and Configuring a Multiport Serial Controller .............22 Installing Hardware ..................................................................22 Installing the Device Driver .....................................................22 Configuring Ports .....................................................................22 Troubleshooting........................................................................24

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Contents

Advanced Diagnostic Tools ..................................................... 24 Why Installation and Configuration Problems Occur.............. 24 A Closer Look at Serial Interface Standards................................ 25 RS-232 and V.24 ...................................................................... 25 Other Serial Connectivity Standards........................................ 34 Evaluation Check List .................................................................. 37 Aurora Multiport Serial Connectivity Solutions for Sun Solaris . 38 PCI Bus Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86 ............................................................................... 39 PCI Serial Communications Servers for Sun Solaris............... 39 cPCI Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris....... 40 SBus Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86 ............................................................................... 40 SBus Serial Communications Servers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86 ........................................................................................... 41 SBus Printer Peripheral Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86 ........................................................................................... 41 Communications Protocol Software for Sun Solaris ............... 41 Additional Aurora Product Offerings........................................... 42 ControlTower Software for Sun Solaris............................... 42 Networking & Expansion ........................................................ 42 For Additional Information on Aurora Products.......................... 42

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Multiport Serial Connectivity

FIGURE 1.

Typical applications of multiport serial connectivity.

This guide provides an overview of alternative approaches and key considerations for integrating serial communications devices into Sun Solaris and Solaris x86 system environments. It is the intent of this guide to provide the information you need to evaluate alternative multiport serial communications solutions and to determine the best solution for your needs.

Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

Multiport serial connectivity solutions are used for computer-tocomputer communications and to link peripherals to a host system in a distributed computing environment. This includes, but is not limited to, the following serial devices: Modems (synchronous and asynchronous) Data Service Units (DSU) Data entry terminals Serial printers and plotters Instrumentation and data feeds Cash registers and bar code readers Console management Wide-area networking Internet connectivity Remote access Local-area peripheral sharing Shop-floor data collection Process and instrumentation monitoring Print serving

Typical applications include:

Some Basics
What is serial communications? There are two primary forms of serial communications: synchronous and asynchronous. In synchronous communications, data is grouped into blocks. There is a fixed time relationship between characters transmitted as part of a block. Because the receiving device knows it can expect characters at a regular interval, it is not necessary to surround each character with control information. Instead, control information identifies the beginning and end of the block.

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In asynchronous communications, each character is individually packaged between a stop, start, and optional parity bit, which is used by the receiving device to identify the beginning and end of the character. Each character is transmitted as soon as it is available. There is no time relationship between characters. What is a port? A basic definition of a port is an interface through which a device can communicate with the operating system of a computer. There are three basic methods for supporting multiport serial connectivity: Serial port (connects directly to the host system bus), SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) port, and Ethernet-based terminal server What is a serial port? Lets begin by looking at the serial port that comes with Sun SPARC and with virtually all desktop workstations and personal computers. The serial port supports only asynchronous communications. It performs the following basic functions: It converts bits of data received in parallel format from the system bus to a serial data stream and visa versa. It frames each character to include a stop, start, and optional parity bit before transmitting the data in a serial sequence. In receiving mode, it removes the added control information. The above functions are typically performed by a single UART chip (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) which is incorporated on the motherboard. The CPU manages all communications tasks related to processing the flow of data. The physical and electrical interface on the serial port is based on the RS-232/RS-423 standard. Configuring the serial port for a specific device is typically a simple process which can be accomplished in minutes. Solaris provides both graphical and command line administrative tools for configuring ports.

Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

What is multiport serial connectivity? Multiport serial connectivity products are referred to by a variety of names including multiport adapters, multiport controllers, serial adapters, serial controllers, communications servers, terminal servers, serial concentrators, serial multiplexes, and more. However, they all perform the same basic function which is to enable an intelligent device such as a workstation or server to communicate with two or more serial devices.

Serial terminal server and controllers showing various options for connecting peripherals, including octopus (distribution) cables and DB-25 and RJ-45 breakout boxes.
FIGURE 2.

A multiport serial device can take the form of a printed circuit board that resides in the host system, or an external subsystem, with its own power supply, that attaches to a host system or LAN. It can be a dumb controller that depends upon the host CPU to manage all communications functions, or an intelligent processor-based device that off-loads the host CPU of most processing chores. It may support 2 or 256 serial devices. It may support one electrical interface standard or many.

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What are the Major Considerations in Selecting a Multiport Serial Connectivity Solution?
There are seven primary considerations in selecting the best solution for your requirements: Number of ports required Impact on CPU resources Impact on network resources Data integrity Ease of installation and administration Data security Cost per port

Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

Alternative Approaches to Multiport Serial Connectivity

Ethernet-based Terminal Servers
Ethernet-based terminal servers are used for making serial devices available to systems on a network. At first look, the terminal server seems like the ideal solution for multiport serial connectivity. It is host-system independent and all users on the network have equal access to serial devices because the terminal server attaches to the LAN rather than a host system. However, upon closer examination, the terminal server is the least efficient and most expensive solution for connecting serial devices. Bandwidth Contention All data to and from the terminal server to the CPU must travel over the Ethernet network which reduces available network bandwidth. The more serial ports required, the greater the impact on performance. This negatively impacts all users on the network and limits the availability of the LAN for its primary function: local-area computer-to-computer communications. CPU Utilization and Data Packaging An additional problem associated with Ethernet-based terminal servers is the impact on CPU resources. All data transported over the LAN must be packetized. An Ethernet header and trailer (26 bytes) as well as a TCP header and IP header (approximately 40 bytes) are added. Packetizing and decoding protocol data increases the processing burden on the CPU that is sending and receiving data to and from the server. The overhead is minimal when dealing with local-area computer-to-computer communications because the protocol data is a small percentage of the packet being transmitted. However, when data from relatively slow, intermittent serial devices, such as data entry terminals, bar code readers, and most modems is packetized, the data stream cam be composed of more packaging information than actual data. A

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greater percentage of CPU resources must be devoted to the medium rather than the message. Complexity Ethernet-based terminal servers are significantly more complicated to set up and administer than host-based alternatives. If the LAN does not already exist, the time and cost involved in installation of cabling, connectors, and transceivers is an additional consideration. Security Ethernet-based terminal servers require their own security software. This can create problems matching server security to existing network security. And it is one more software package that must be learned, maintained, and administered.

Multiport Serial SCSI Bus Connectivity

SCSI bus-based solutions and serial system bus solutions share many of the same advantages over Ethernet-based terminal servers. There is no added LAN traffic, they are easier to install and administer, they utilize the same security software as the host system, and the cost-per-port is significantly lower than Ethernetbased terminal servers. The SCSI terminal server also offers one advantage over serial system bus solutions: it connects to the host system using an external connection, whereas the serial system bus interface uses a card slot. Unfortunately, SCSI bus-based interfaces share one of the primary shortcomings of the Ethernetbased terminal server. All data must be packetized which increases the number of system interrupts and the processing burden on the host CPU. CPU utilization and data packaging The SCSI bus is optimized to efficiently transport large, continuous bursts of data to and from disks, tapes, CD-ROM drives, and memory. However, the shorter, more intermittent bursts, characGuide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

teristic of most serial communications, do not enable data to be efficiently packetized. The added SCSI data frame can easily exceed the length of the data transmitted. And with Ethernetbased terminal servers, a greater percentage of CPU resources must be devoted to the medium rather than to the message. Maximum cable length Each SCSI controller supports a maximum of seven devices (a disk drive or SCSI terminal server counts as once device). The total cable length from the SCSI bus to each point of termination cannot exceed 12 feet. This includes cabling length within each device (a general rule of thumb is to add one foot for internal cabling with each device). Sun external hard drives come with cables up to four feet long. Therefore, special attention must be given to make sure total cable lengths do not exceed the 12-foot limit -- especially when multiple external disk drives are attached to the SCSI bus. Bandwidth availability An additional concern is bandwidth. The SCSI bus bandwidth is 10 to 20 MBps compared to the SBus I/O bandwidth of 100 to 200 MBps and PCI I/O bandwidth of 132 to 528 MBps. This can be an issue when larger concentrations of serial devices are interfaced to the host system.

Multiport Serial System Bus Connectivity

Serial system bus connectivity is the most widely used method for multiport serial connectivity. Serial devices are connected via cable or breakout box to a single printed circuit board which resides in the host system, or to an external subsystem that is connected by cable to an internal serial I/O adapter card. Serial system bus connectivity offers sever distinct advantages over alternative methods:

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Better network performance A primary advantage of serial system bus connectivity is that data to and from the host system adds no LAN traffic. If 70% of the data is to and from the host system, thats 70% less serial data that must be transported over the LAN. Data originating from, or intended for, other systems is transported to and from the host system, based on network address, using the same methodology as a terminal server. A stand-alone Ethernet-based terminal server sends all its traffic onto the LAN. Better CPU utilization Serial system bus connectivity offers the most direct means to move serial data to and from the CPU. There is no unnecessary packetizing and decoding of data as required by Ethernet- and SCSI-based solutions. Easy installation and administration Serial ports are configured using the same administration tools that are used to configure the native ports on a system. In the Sun Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86 environments, ports are automatically configured by the application, such as kermit, tip, or ttymon, that is being used in conjunction with the device attached to a port. Solaris also provides a graphical interface, admintool, and a command line interface for configuring ports. Security Serial port interfaces are governed by, and adhere to, the same security software as the workstation or server in which they reside. There is no need to add new security software, match server security to existing network security, or learn new security processes.

Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

Low cost-per-port Typically, the cost-per-port for serial system bus connectivity solutions is low. Savings occur because the serial system bus solution takes advantage of the workstations existing operating system, memory, and installation capabilities.

What to Look for in a Multiport Serial, System Bus Connectivity Solution

There are significant differences between serial system bus connectivity solutions in terms of maximum port count, throughput, data integrity, the types of peripherals supported, and impact on host system performance. The following information provides a check list and explanation of key features that you should look for when evaluating alternative serial connectivity products.

Number of Ports
Serial system bus connectivity solutions come in two basic configurations: Serial card All functionality is provided on a single printed circuit board residing in the host system. Connectivity to serial devices is achieved using an octopus cable or connector panel that attaches to the serial card. Serial cards typically come in 2-, 4-, 8-, or 16port configurations.

FIGURE 3.

Multiport Serial Controller and distribution cable. 11

Guide to Multiport Serial Connectivity

Serial I/O adapter and distribution cable A serial I/O interface card resides in the host CPU and is connected via cable to an external subsystem containing logic and its own power supply. The subsystem, which resembles a terminal server, is usually modular and expandable. The base unit typically supports 16 ports and is expandable in 16-port increments to 64, 128, or more ports. There are several advantages to using the serial I/O adapter and subsystem. It supports a higher number of serial devices from a single host-system slot, the subsystems are usually field expandable to accommodate future needs, and are rack mountable for rugged or industrial applications.

FIGURE 4.

Serial I/O adapter and breakout box.

Questions to consider: How many serial devices do you need to support? Do you need future expansion capability?

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Throughput
Multiport serial connectivity solutions are available in a range of maximum data throughput ratings including 56 kbps, 64 kbps, 128 kbps, 256 kbps, and up to T1 speeds for synchronous communications and 38.4 kbps, 57.6 kbps, 115.2 kbps, and 230.4 kbps for asynchronous communications. A maximum throughput rating of 38.4 kbps is adequate for supporting printers, data entry terminals, cash registers, bar code readers and modems operating at under 9.6 kbps. A throughput capability of 115.2 kbps is recommended for applications such as real-time data feeds and with V.34 modems. Under ideal conditions the newest generation of 56 kbps modems can deliver effective throughput above 115.2 kbps when operating at full compression. For this purpose, a product offering maximum throughput of 230.4 kbps is suggested. A second consideration is how throughput is measured. Most manufacturers of multiport serial connectivity solutions rate the maximum throughput of their products based on all lines driven simultaneously, full duplex. Some suppliers rate the throughput of their products based on maximum throughput through one port. A product rated at 115.2 kbps using the latter method may not even deliver 38.4 kbps per port when all ports are driven. Questions to consider: Does the solution you are considering provide adequate throughput for the peripherals you will be attaching?

Modem Support
A minimum of eight signals per port is required to interface a modem to a host computer. Not all serial connectivity solutions can support this requirement which is commonly referred to as full modem support. A serial connectivity solution designed to function as a terminal server may support as few as three signals per port. Some solutions provide modem support on some but not all ports.
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Questions to consider: Does the solution provide full modem support? Does it provide full modem support on some or all ports?

On-Board Processing
Serial connectivity solutions can be broadly divided into two categories: dumb and intelligent. A dumb serial communications controller has little or no processing capability and relies on the host CPU to manage and supervise all I/O activity. An intelligent serial communications controller utilizes an on-board processor to oversee I/O functions that would otherwise have to be performed by the host CPU. It provides more efficient management of I/O processing, resulting in fewer interrupts to the host CPU. Not all serial applications require an intelligent controller. A simple multiport controller will provide satisfactory performance when interfacing a small number of printers or low throughput devices such as data entry terminals. Applications supporting higher port counts and requiring faster throughput will generally benefit from the use of an intelligent serial communications controller. This includes applications such as modem banks, realtime data feeds, and WAN connectivity. Questions to consider: How many serial devices will you be supporting? Are they high- or low-throughput devices?

Data Buffers
A data buffer is a temporary storage device that helps conserve CPU resources on the host system and assure data integrity. A basic serial interface such as the native serial port on a Sun workstation passes data directly to the CPU, one character at a time. The addition of a data storage buffer on a serial interface card enables data to be passed on to the host CPU in blocks rather than

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one character at a time, significantly reducing the number of hostsystem interrupts required for input/output processing. The data buffer also helps assure data integrity by providing a temporary storage area for incoming and outgoing data, ensuring that no information is lost in transit. Dual-ported buffers are important because they provide simultaneous buffering of both incoming and outgoing data. This is important in multiport configurations and should be considered a necessity for synchronous and full-duplex communications. Fullduplex communications decreases the response time and increases the throughput. How large a data buffer do you need? There are no hard and fast rules because of the number of variables involved. As a general rule, the larger the buffer per port, the better. Questions to consider: How many and what type of peripherals are being used? Is the mode of transmission half or full duplex?

Flow Control
Data overflow can occur when a device is receiving data faster than it can process it. For example, a printer can accept data at a faster rate than it can be printed. A buffer provides a partial solution to this problem, but what happens when the buffer nears capacity? Flow control is used to regulate the flow of data from the transmitting device to the receiving device. Flow control is the process used by a receiving device to signal the transmitting device to temporarily stop sending data (and when to resume sending data). It provides the time needed by the receiving device to perform the I/O functions, such as moving data to memory, disk, or a CRT display, without losing incoming data. There are two methods of flow control that are used in asynchronous communications: software and hardware flow control.

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Software flow control Software flow control, which is also known as in-band flow control, enables a receiving device to regulate the flow of data by embedding a special ASCII character in the data stream to the transmitting device. This method of flow control is also called XON/XOFF, referring to the control characters used to regulate data flow. Software flow control provides a reliable means of assuring data integrity for data communications between locally connected devices such as printers and terminal servers. However, it is not recommended for use with modems, in particular, modern modems employing data compression. Hardware (out-ofband) flow control is the preferred alternative. Hardware flow control Hardware flow control provides a more reliable method of flow control for higher throughput and data critical communications requirements. A separate signal (pin) is used to regulate data transmission, enabling an almost instantaneous halt to data flow when requested by the receiving device. Hardware flow control uses an on/off condition on a dedicated lead to regulate flow control. Data is transmitted only if the signal on the line is high. Flow control management In addition to there being two methods of sending instructions to regulate data flow (software and hardware flow control), there are also two methods of managing the execution of the instruction to start or stop data flow. This process, known as flow management, can be executed in software or hardware or a combination of both. On-board hardware flow management provides an extra measure of data integrity by providing the fastest possible response to a hardware or software flow control request to stop data transmission. Most, but not all, serial connectivity solutions support the additional lines needed for hardware control. Only a few solutions

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provide the added capability of on-board management of flow control. Questions to consider: Does your application require hardware flow control? Does the solution you are considering support the required hardware flow control signals? Does the solution you are considering provide on-board hardware flow management?

Device Driver
Serial communications controllers are generally thought of as being hardware devices, however, the hardware is only as efficient as the software that governs its operation. The device drivers the software that manages the flow of data to and from the host system and the serial communications controller. It oversees I/O processing, flow control, and resource management. Every operating system has unique features and idiosyncrasies. Sun Solaris is not an exception. The more efficiently and transparently the device driver is integrated into the operation system environment, the better the resulting performance. Unfortunately, there is no simple means to isolate and evaluate the performance of the device driver. Questions to consider: How long has the product been available with a Sun Solaris SPARC or Solaris x86 device driver? Is this the initial release of the driver? Have there been enhancements to the device driver (i.e., bug fixes) since it was originally released?

Synchronous Communications
Several companies offer serial connectivity solutions supporting synchronous WAN communications. Serial connectivity provides a reliable and cost-effective alternative to LAN-based routers,

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especially when more that one or two synchronous lines are needed and when a significant percentage of the WAN traffic is to and from one workstation or server. The benefits of using serial system bus connectivity for synchronous WAN communications are essentially the same as for asynchronous communications: there is no added LAN traffic, serial connectivity solutions are easier to install and administer, they utilize the same security software as the host CPU, and the costper-port is significantly lower than routers. Synchronous communications requires more sophisticated protocols to govern timing, sequencing, and error detection and correction between communicating devices. Commonly used protocols include Frame Relay, X.25, SNA, PPP, HDLC, and SDLC. A fundamental requirement is the ability of the serial device to support the protocol or protocols you need. Of importance to most Sun system users is the ability to support Sun synchronous communications protocols which include Frame Relay, X.25, SNA, and PPP. These, as well as other software protocols, are available from other sources including some of the companies, such as Aurora, that offer synchronous serial communications products. Another important consideration is the ability of the serial device to provide a sync clock. This is required if the CPU is functioning as a DCE device (see discussion of DTE versus DCE later in this guide). Questions to consider: What protocols need to be supported? Are Sun synchronous communications protocols supported? Are software protocols offered directly by the supplier? Can more than one protocol be supported? Is the serial controller capable of generation the synchronous clock signal?

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Interfaces Supported
RS-232 is, without a doubt, the most commonly used serial interface standard. DB-25, which is defined as the RS-232 standard, and RJ-45 are the most commonly used physical connectors. Depending upon your application, interfaces currently used, and required cabling distances, it may be preferable to use an alternative electrical interface such as RS-422, RS-449, RS-485, EIA530, or V.35. The majority of multiport serial connectivity solutions offered are RS-232 compatible and come with either DB-25 or RJ-45 connectors. Support for one or more of the other interface standards is also available from some suppliers. At least one serial solution provides software-selectable electrical interfaces, allowing each port to be independently configured. Several catalog companies offer interface adapters capable of converting RS-232 to other standards such as RS-485. However, the use of adapters adds to the cost-per-port and increases the number of mechanical connections on each line, thus increasing the potential for signal transmission problems. Questions to consider: What electrical interface(s) is required? What is the preferred physical interface? Do you require support for more than one standard?

CE Certification
An important consideration for businesses purchasing serial connectivity solutions for use in Europe is CE certification. As of January 1996, all electronics products manufactured or sold in Europe must conform to the Electromagnetic Compatibly (CE) Directives of the European Community and European Free Trade Association. The regulations define acceptable levels of emissions and immunity to emissions from other sources.

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CE certification should also be viewed as a desirable requirement by users outside of Europe because the CE directives are more stringent and comprehensive than current United States FCC class B requirements and, therefore, offer an added measure of protection against emissions-related problems. Questions to consider: Is the product to be used in Europe? Will this product be used in an environment where there are potential immunity problems?

PCI - The De Facto Industry Standard I/O Bus

The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) Bus has evolved into the serial I/O bus of choice for Sun Solaris environments. Today, most Intel-based systems offer both PCI bus and ISA/ EISA bus slots. It is expected that soon most PC manufacturers will offer only a PCI bus interface. Sun Microsystems has also introduced systems incorporating PCI bus. While it has pledged to continue support for its proprietary SBus, Sun has committed to adopting the PCI I/O bus standard for its newest workstations and servers.

PCI Revision 1.0 and Revision 2.1

The PCI bus is a high-performance serial I/O bus that provides a processor-independent data path between the CPU and highspeed peripherals. PCI was designed specifically to accommodate multiple high performance cards for graphics, full motion video, SCSI, and high-speed LANs. PCI provides very fast throughput, however it supports only a few devices without the addition of a PCI bridge chip.

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There are two versions of the PCI bus. PCI Revision 1.0, released in 1992, is currently in widespread use by Intel-based PC manufacturers and providers of PCI I/O peripherals. It runs at 33 MHz allowing it to transfer up to 132 MBps over a 32-bit bus. PCI Revision 2.1 (which currently supersedes Revision 2.0) incorporates refinements to the original 33 MHz/32-bit specification and extends the specification to optionally support a 66 MHz implementation employing a 64-bit bus. The 66 MHz/64-bit implementation provides a maximum theoretical throughput of 528 MBps. The higher throughput is particularly important for high-speed video and other real-time applications. Sun has incorporated the PCI Revision 2.1 I/O bus in its new PCI I/O-based systems.

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Installing and Configuring a Multiport Serial Controller

Installing and configuring a multiport controller is a relatively simple and straightforward task. Unlike Ethernet-based terminal servers, which have their own operating system and syntax, serial controllers are typically installed and configured using standard tools provided by the host operating system.

Installing Hardware
The serial controller card is installed in the host computer using the same procedures used to install any card: Power down the host system and install the card into an empty slot taking proper precautions to avoid electrostatic discharge

Installing the Device Driver

Installation of the device driver is accomplished by using the standard installation procedures for the operating system environment. If the serial controller you are considering cant be installed using standard procedures, shop for another product. Sun Solaris 2.x: Install the driver packages using pkgadd.

Configuring Ports
Ports are configured using the same operating system tools used to configure the native ports of the workstation or server.

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FIGURE 5.

Sun Solaris admintool serial ports dialog window

In the Sun Solaris 2.x environment, the application (kermit, tip, ttymon, etc.) sets the port parameters. Solaris also provides a graphical interface, admintool, for configuring serial ports for login, and a variety of utilities for configuring port parameters at the command line level Sun offers verification programs designed to test and verify that a product has been designed to be fully functional with the operating system, install cleanly, provide optimum usability and offer consistent user environment. When possible, select only products that are verified by the manufacturer for use on the platform. Solaris PCI products are tested and certified under Suns compliance testing program - SolarisReady. Compliant products are listed on the Sun web site and are authorized to display the SolarisReady logo on product literature and packaging. For SBus products, its best to stay with manufacturers with known expertise in the SunOS and Solaris SPARC environments. Any quality product should be capable of being installed and configured using standard set up procedures for the operating system environment.

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Troubleshooting
The Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86 environments provide error messages and command line even listings which can be used for problem resolution.

Advanced Diagnostic Tools

Some manufacturers also provide additional advanced tools for analysis and troubleshooting. For example, Aurora includes utilities for easily identifying and reassigning device name assignments, verifying port status and drivers, running hardware diagnostics, and analyzing data transmission problems such as data overruns, parity errors, and frame errors. The native and advanced diagnostic tools provide the information needed for the manufacturers customer support organization, as well as for advanced users, to determine and resolve installation and configuration problems if they should occur.

Why Installation and Configuration Problems Occur

In our experience, there is rarely a problem with a typical installation. Problems are most often encountered when using custom inhouse developed applications and with communications programs using non-standard signal assignments and/or customized cables. Oftentimes the problem is as simple as an incorrectly wired cable. In most cases, the diagnostic tools that Aurora provides enable the user to isolate and resolve the problem.

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A Closer Look at Serial Interface Standards

RS-232 and V.24
Standards perform the important role of helping to assure compatibility between products produced by different manufacturers. The RS-232 specification was originally published in 1969 by the Electronic Industry Association (EIA) as a specification for electrical connectivity between computers and modems. The RS stands for recommended standard. The formal title of the specification is: Interface Between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange. Many countries outside of the US have adopted the Consultative Committee on International Telephony and Telegraphy (CCITT) recommendation, V.42, which is almost identical to RS-232. A primary difference is that the electrical signal specifications are defined in a separate recommendation, V.28. Virtually all the information provided on RS-232 also applies to V.24. RS-232 defines the electrical, functional and mechanical interface between a computer and modem. The term Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) applies to the host computer and the term Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment (DCE) applies to the communications equipment, most typically a modem or DSU. The DTE/DCE concept is important because it defines which signals are used to transmit data in each direction.

FIGURE 6.

RS-232 defines the interface between a DTE and a

DCE device.

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RS-232 is a standard that has become so widely accepted that its usage has expanded beyond what was intended in the original specification. In addition to interconnecting computers and modems, RS-232 has become a de facto standard for directly connecting computers with all types of serial peripheral devices including printers and data entry terminals. However, the RS-232 specification does not specifically address the wiring and control of peripheral devices. This creates potential confusion in a couple of critical areas. Most peripherals such as printers and data entry terminals are internally wired as DTE devices, enabling them to be connected to a modem. Connecting a DTE device directly to a host computer by cable, rather than via a modem, produces a DTE-to-DTE connection. Both devices expect to send and receive data on the same lines, which is not possible. This problem is solved by the use of a special cable called a null modem cable which crosses signals so that both DTE devices think they are talking to a DCE device. A second consideration is that non-modem devices perform different functions and have different auxiliary signal requirements than a modem and may not use of all the lines required by a modem to perform different functions. Many products and cables claim RS-232 compatibility but, in fact, are only partially compatible. According to the RS-232 specification, DTE devices utilize male connectors and DCE devices should utilize female conductors. However, not all manufacturers adhere to this rule. As a result, the gender of the connector should not be relied upon to determine if a device is internally wired as DTE or DCE. For example, the native serial port on a Sun SPARC workstation is a female DB-25 connector even though it is a DTE device. RS-232 cables and connectors The DB-25 connector is the most commonly used connector. Although it has 25 pins, only eight signals are typically used for reconnecting asynchronous modems in the UNIX environment.

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Some peripherals require as few as three signals. A male nine-pin DB-9 connector is used on the native serial port on most Intelbased personal computers because it is smaller than the DB-25 connector and requires less space. Another type of connector that is often used is the RJ-45 connector which is an 8-pin telephone jack.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17

RJ-45 (female)

18 19 20

1 6 7 8 9 2 3 4 5

21 22 23 24 25

DB-9 (male) DB-25 (male)

FIGURE 7.

RJ-45, DB-9, and DB-25 connectors.

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The following two tables identify and provide a brief description of the signals assigned to each pin of the DB-25 and RJ-45 connector. Pin signals for asynchronous and synchronous communications. Signal direction is from the perspective of the DTE device. Pins 15, 17, and 24 are clock signals required for synchronous communications.
TABLE 1. DB-25 Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 15 17 20 24 RJ-45 Pin Number 3 5 1 8 7 6 4 2 V.24 Signal 102 103 104 105 106 107 109 114 115 108/2 113 RS-232 Signal Chassis GND TXD RXD RTS CTS DSR Signal GND DCD TxCin RxCin DTR TxCout Direction None Output Input Output Input Input None Input Input Input Output Output

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TABLE 2. Signal

Pin signal descriptions.

Chassis (Earth) Ground. Allows static discharge. Transmit Data. Sends data to peripheral device. Receive Data. Receives data from peripheral device. Request to Send. Signal asking if peripheral device is ready to receive data. Clear to Send. Signal from the peripheral device indicating readiness to accept data. Data Set Ready. Signal from the peripheral indicating its status. Signal Ground. Provides reference level for other signals. Data Carrier Detect. Signal indicating that the peripheral device has detected a signal from the remote peripheral device over the telecommunications channel. Transmit Data Clock. Input for transmitter signal element timing from a synchronous DCE device. Receive Data Clock. Input for receiver signal element timing from a synchronous DCE device. Data Terminal Ready. Indicates the local device is ready to communicate. Transmit Data Clock. Output for transmitter signal element timing generated by the DTE.

Chassis GND TXD RXD RTS CTS DSR Signal GND DCD

TxCin RxCin DTR TxCout

The following diagrams show commonly used synchronous and asynchronous cabling schemes. DB-25 pin numbers are used in all of the following examples.

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Asynchronous serial cables Modem cables are designed to connect devices that send and receive data on different pins, which is the case when you connect a DCE device to a DTE device. The following diagrams are examples of commonly used interconnection configurations for asynchronous communications.
2 3 4 5 DTE 6 7 8 15 17 20
TXD RXD

Signal GND

2 3 4 5 6 DCE 7 8 15 17 20

FIGURE 8. Asynchronous DTE-to-DCE three-wire cable supporting software (in-band) flow control only. This is the minimum interconnection required for two-way asynchronous communications.

2 3 4 5 DTE 6 7 8 15 17 20

TXD

RXD Signal GND

DTR

2 3 4 5 6 DCE 7 8 15 17 20

FIGURE 9. Two-way asynchronous communications with hardware out-of-band flow control handshaking.

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2 3 4 5 DTE 6 7 8 15 17 20

TXD RXD RTS CTS DSR Signal GND DCD

DTR

2 3 4 5 6 DCE 7 8 15 17 20

FIGURE 10. The eight-pin standard RS-232 DTE-to-DCE connections required for an asynchronous modem.

Asynchronous null modem cables Null modem cables are designed to connect a DTE device to another DTE device. Because both devices are trying to send and receive on the same pin, the wiring of the cable must swap those signals. As a result, there are several different types of null modem cables available. The differences among the three cables are the type of flow control that they support.

TXD RXD

DTE
Sig. GND

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 20

2 TXD RXD 3 4 5 6 7 Sig. GND 8 20

DTE

FIGURE 11. Asynchronous null-modem cable, supporting software flow control only, with its three-wire configuration for XON/XOFF handshaking.

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TXD RXD

DTE

RTS CTS Sig. GND DSR DCD DTR

2 3 4 5 7 6 8 20

2 TXD RXD 3 4 RTS 5 CTS 7 Sig. GND DSR 6 DCD 8 20 DTR

DTE

FIGURE 12. Asynchronous null modem cable supporting hardware handshaking when the peripheral uses the Request to Send (pin 4) signal.

TXD RXD RTS

DTE

DCD Sig. GND CTS DSR DTR

2 3 4 8 7 5 6 20

TXD 2 RXD 3 RTS 4 DCD 8 7 Sig. GND CTS 5 DSR 6 20 DTR

DTE

FIGURE 13. Asynchronous null modem cable supporting hardware handshaking when the peripheral uses the Data Terminal Ready (pin 20) signal.

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Synchronous serial cables Synchronous data communications requires additional pins to carry clock pulses. Normally the DCE device (modem) provides the clock signals on pins 15 and 17. On some synchronous links the DTE device may provide its own clock instead of using the DCE clock. Pin 24 is used for this purpose.
2 3 4 5 DTE 6 7 8 15 17 20
TXD RXD RTS CTS DSR Signal GND DCD TxCin RxCin DTR

2 3 4 5 6 DCE 7 8 15 17 20

Straight-through synchronous modem cable with all standard lines for modem support.
FIGURE 14.

TXD RXD RTS CTS DCD DSR

DTE

DTR Sig. GND clock source TxCin RxCin side TxCout

2 3 4 5 8 6 20 7 15 17 24

2 TXD RXD 3 4 RTS 5 CTS 8 DCD DTE 6 DSR 20 DTR 7 Sig. GND 15 TxCin 17 RxCin

Synchronous null modem cable design for connecting two DTE devices.
FIGURE 15.

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Distance limitations of RS-232 The primary limitation of RS-232 is the specified maximum cable distance of 50 feet at its maximum throughput rating of approximately 20,000 bps. This is typically not an issue when connecting to a modem, but it can be a disadvantage when locally connecting peripheral devices which may requires longer cable runs. The reason for the limitation is potential deterioration of signal quality over distance resulting from signal strength decay, capacitance build-up, and interference. There is a correlation between throughput and distance. Longer cable runs of up to 100 feet or more are commonly used when connecting devices running at less than the maximum throughput rating of the RS-232 specification, or when using shielded cables. Similarly, transmission rates higher than 20,000 bps can be supported with shorter cable lengths or when using shielded cables.

Other Serial Connectivity Standards

RS-232 is unquestionably the most widely-used standard for interconnecting serial devices, however, it is not the only electrical standard. Other standards include: RS-49 (RS-422/RS-423) EIA-530, RS-485, and V.35 RS-449 (RS-422/RS-423 RS-449 was introduced in 1977 as a replacement for RS-232. It was developed to overcome some of the shortcomings of the RS232 standard. However, RS-232 was already so firmly entrenched that RS-449 gained only limited acceptance. RS-499 defines mechanical and circuit specifications, but does not define electrical characteristics. It is intended to be used with either RS-422 or RS-423, which were introduced along with RS449. RS-422 improves upon RS-232 by using a technique called balanced transmission which employs two separate wires with opposite polarity for each signal. Each signal has its own return path 34
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which reduces signal interference, enabling higher data transmission rates and longer cable distances to be supported. RS-423 is more like RS-232. It uses unbalanced signals (also called singleended signals) that share a common signal ground. The RS-229 recommendation defines the use of two connectors. It specifies a 37-pin connector and an additional, optional 9-pin connector. EIA-530 EIA-530 was introduced in the late 1980s as the successor to RS449. However RS-232, RS-449, and RS-530 all continue to be used. One of the major shortcomings of RS-449 was its specification for uncommon connectors, DB-37 and DB-9. EIA-530 provides support for faster data transmission rates and longer cable runs using the standard DB-25 connector. It supports the RS-422 electrical specification which utilizes balanced transmission for higher performance. Although both RS-232 and EIA530 use the same connector, they are not compatible standards. The Electronic Industry Association has adopted the use of EIA instead of RS as a prefix for its standards. This change has been slow in gaining general acceptance. Typically, the older specifications continue to be referred to by the RS designation and the newer specifications by the EIA designation. However, it is not uncommon for a standard to be referred to in either way, e.g., RS-530 or EIA-530. RS-485 RS-485, approved by the Electrical Industry Association in 1983, is in many ways an extension of the RS-422 standard. It is a balanced transmission standard used for multiport communication links. It enables one computer to control up to 64 devices sharing the same line. Because of its multidrop capabilities and general immunity from noise, RS-485 is widely used in industrial applications.
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V.35 The V.35 specification was originally released by CCITT in 1968 as an interface for wide-band communications over modems at 48 kbits per second. It gained wide acceptance by high-speed digital carrier services. Today, it is used for data communications between 20 kbits per second and two Mbps. V.35 uses a mixture of both balanced and unbalanced lines. The high frequency data and clock signals use balanced lines and the lower frequency control signals share a common signal ground. V.35 uses a rather large rectangular 34-pin physical connector. The V.35 specification defines pin assignments. However, many different pin configurations are actually used.

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Evaluation Check List

The following check list is provided for your assistance.
TABLE 3.

Pin signal descriptions.

Feature Aurora Fifteen product families of serial controllers and servers supporting Solaris 2.6 or higher and Solaris x86 2,4,8,16,32,48,64,80,96,112, and 128 Yes. All LANMultiServer & WANMultiServer products. 38.4 & 115.2 kbps, async. 128 & 256 kbps, sync. Yes Yes. Up to 10 MIPS processing power per 4-port increment. Data buffers on all ports. Yes Yes Yes Yes. (All sync products also support async communications. X.25, HDLC, and Sun synchronous communications protocol software RS-232, RS-449, RS-422/485, EIA-530, and V.35 DB-25, RJ-45 Yes Company B

Breadth of product offerings

Number of ports supported Field-expandable products offered? Data throughput available Full modem support? On-board processing? Data buffers Software flow control? Hardware flow control? On-board flow control management? Support for synchronous communications? Synchronous WAN protocols supported Electrical interfaces available Physical interfaces available CE certified?

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Aurora Multiport Serial Connectivity Solutions for Sun Solaris

Aurora Technologies, Inc., A Carlo Gavazzi Group Company, has been a leading supplier of multiport serial connectivity products and console management solutions for the Sun Microsystems market for over 10 years. Aurora is an ISO 9001 registered company. Auroras serial connectivity solutions have been deployed in a wide range of industries, including financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, military/defense, education, and ISPs.

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PCI Bus Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86
Apollo Multiport Aries Multiport Saturn Multiport 4-port 230.4 kbps asynchronous controller, 128 byte FIFO buffer/port

8- and 16-port 115.2 kbps asynchronous controllers 2-, 4-, and 8-port 256 kbps synchronous and 230.4 kbps asynchronous multi-protocol WAN controllers, 128 byte FIFO buffer port

PCI Serial Communications Servers for Sun Solaris

LANMultiServer 2000P Up to 115.2 kbps asynchronous server with optional synchronous line at 64 kbps. Maximum synchronous speed is 256 kbps. (16 to 64 ports) 64 to 256 kbps synchronous and 115.2 kbps asynchronous multiprotocol WAN server (16 to 64 ports) 64 to 256 kbps synchronous and 115.2 kbps asynchronous multiprotocol WAN server. Port selectable electrical interfaces. (16 to 64 ports)

WANMultiServer 3000P

WANMultiServer 3500P

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cPCI Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris

Vanguard 4520CP Vanguard 12000CPR

4-port, 256 kbps synchronous/115.2 kbps asynchronous serial controllers 12-port, 115.2 kbps asynchronous serial controllers

SBus Serial Communications Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86
Saturn Multiport

Nova Multiport Comet Multiport Galaxy Multiport

2-, 4-, and 8-port 256 kbps synchronous/ 230.4 kbps asynchronous multiprotocol WAN controllers, 128 byte FIFO buffer port 16-port 115.2 kbps asynchronous controller 4- and 8- port 115.2 kbps high-speed asynchronous controllers 4- and 8- port 128 kbps synchronous/ 115.2 kbps asynchronous multi-protocol WAN controllers

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Aurora Technologies, Inc.

SBus Serial Communications Servers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86
LANMultiServer 1000 WANMultiServer 3000 38.4 kbps asynchronous server (16-128 ports) Multi-protocol WAN server, 115.2 kbps async/128 kbps sync (16-64 ports) Multi-protocol WAN server with software-selectable electrical interface, 115.2 kbps async/256 kbps sync (16-64 ports)

WANMultiServer 3500

SBus Printer Peripheral Controllers for Sun Solaris and Solaris x86
Starlite 4 serial/2 parallel ports

Communications Protocol Software for Sun Solaris

X.25 and HDLC

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Additional Aurora Product Offerings

ControlTower Console Management System for Sun Solaris
Software application for monitoring and controlling up to 128 Solaris or other serial line console systems from a central location or by remote access.

Networking & Expansion

1U Rack-Mount RJ-45 Interconnect Module (RIM) XP-7R Expansion Chassis 16-, 32-, and 48- RJ-45 port PCI Bus and SBus breakout box 7-slot PCI Bus expansion chassis

Aurora Technologies 10 Mupac Drive Brockton MA 02301 USA Phone: 781.290.4800 FAX: 781.290.4844 E-mail: info@auroratech.com URL: http://www.auroratech.com

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