Madge Token Ring Switch Software - DeskStream 1.7, January 2004 ================================================================ Contents -------- 1. Introduction 2. DeskStream Release 1.7 a) Software Version Information b) Software Download Information - Important Notes c) Improvements in DeskStream Release 1.7 d) Limitations of DeskStream Release 1.7 3. Madge Support and Contact Information 1. Introduction =============== Important: Refer to the Madge Safety Guide before installing Smart Token Ring switch products. This is included as a manual with your DeskStream. This readme document contains the latest information about the Smart DeskStream Software release 1.7. It includes software version data and release notes. See also the documentation suite for DeskStream which may be downloaded from the Madge Website as mandsm.zip. This includes the following documents: dsm.hlp: Help file 10035009.pdf: DeskStream Getting Started Guide 10037503.pdf: Trueview Ring Manager 10037302.pdf: Trueview Network Management Platform 10037402.pdf: Trueview Device Managers 2. DeskStream Release 1.7 ========================= 2a. Software Version Information Software Version File Name -------- ------- --------- TrueView platform 6.10 trueview.exe Service Manager 2.06 srvtv.exe Alert Manager 6.06 alerttv.exe DeskStream Manager 1.57.5 dsmtv.exe DeskStream Microcode 1.07.00 dsm10700.bin Ring Manager 5.10.03 cmdtv.exe Ring Monitor 5.10.01 ringtv.exe Node Monitor 5.14.04 nodetv.exe Event Monitor 5.10 eventtv.exe IP Discovery 2.01 ipdstv.exe Note that the TrueView manager supplied with this release is a 32-bit application. If you are currently using earlier 16-bit versions of TrueView managers (e.g. Ringswitch Manager), then it is recommended that you upgrade them to 32-bit. Note that the Ringswitch Manager included in this release is also 32-bit. If you do not wish to upgrade your other TrueView managers, install the DeskStream manager into a separate folder and run it as a separate application. 2b. Software Download - Important Notes ======================================= i) Check which version of microcode is currently installed on your DeskStream switches using the terminal screen, or TrueView's Version Table. (The 'Operational Software Image' is the current microcode version.) ii) To upgrade the microcode, double click on the DeskStream icon in the TrueView Discovery window. You will see a picture of the DeskStream. Right click on a red reset button on the right of the DeskStreams to get a pop up menu. (When DeskStreams form a stack you can use any of their reset buttons to download code to the whole stack.) Click on download and browse for the microcode file dsm10700.bin. Then click 'OK'. [Instead of browsing you can use the discovered files. Select 'microcode v1.07.00' from the list. This is the recommended code, shown by .] iii) Wait for the download to finish. Close the download dialog box. The DeskStream status color should now be yellow - indicating the warning condition that new microcode has been downloaded to the DeskStream. Reset the DeskStream by selecting reboot from the pop up menu activated when you click on the red reset button on the right of the DeskStream picture. This upgrades the Operational Software to the new microcode. The DeskStream status color should now be white. 2c. Improvements in DeskStream Release 1.7 ========================================== i) Remote booting performance for client PCs has been improved by reducing the minimum port close time interval. ii) Added support for NetWare Link-Services Protocol (NLSP) frame translation from Ethernet to Token Ring. iii) Added a fix to ensure that NDS traffic is handled correctly when it gets an error response. iv) Added fix from Ringswitch Gigabit frame forwarding to improve BOOTP performance with Bootix remote booting devices. v) Improved Ethernet frame forwarding for encapsulated BPDU frames so they get sent onto Token Ring as source routed frames. This is to ensure they get across an SR only bridge. vi) Added fix for an issue with IPX Resolve name broadcast frames on the Ethernet Translational uplink. (This reduces the possibility of intermittent resets on DeskStreams fitted with Ethernet Uplink modules). vii) Deskstream now supports more than 18 successive telnet sessions on the serial interface. viii) Reboot traps are now sent to multiple Trueview Managers. ix) Support for new flash device hardware fitted to Deskstreams and associated modules from 2004. Note that this support is also backwards compatible with all existing hardware. 2d. Limitations of DeskStream Release 1.7 ========================================= i)Security Issues Any PC plugged directly into a port of the Ethernet module can manage the network irrespective of whether its MAC address is included in the security table or not. The Learn button does not always update the Security Table completely. On pressing the Learn button the Manager updates the table almost immediately while the DeskStream may take up to 7 seconds for all new devices to be learnt. To ensure the full list of nodes is displayed press the Learn button and then the reload button, which will update the list. ii) Port Mirroring and RMON It is not possible to run RMON tables and Port Mirroring on the same unit. If the DeskStream cannot Auto learn a Ring Number and therefore adopts a Ring number of 000, enabling this group will produce the error 'Bad SNMP value'. With Port mirroring set, opening the Spanning tree dialog for the port nominated the 'destination port', causes the dialog to be always waiting for data. This is due to the fact that under these conditions Spanning tree is not applicable since port mirroring removes the port from the internal bridges. Disabling the port mirroring allows the Spanning tree data to be updated again. When an RMON group is enabled on a port, a warning is placed in the Error Condition Table. However, no warning is generated for the Ethernet RMON group when it is enabled on a port on an Ethernet Module. The MAC Data dialog box in Ring Manager does not update correctly. The functional addresses are not retrieved when using a DeskStream as an agent. iii) Downloads Downloading new code using IPX to a DeskStream from an Ethernet workstation via an Ethernet Module or an Ethernet LEC will fail. However if IP is used then the download will work. This is due to an embedded MAC address in the SNMP request sent by TrueView not being converted to noncanonical format. See TrueView online help: 'Specifying an Ethernet address in noncanonical format'. (This help file can be found by searching for 'canonical' in the TrueView help, or via a link from the online help for 'SNMP Authorization' dialog box.) To work around this problem go to the download dialog box, create a Server Alias for the Ethernet workstation with the Node address being that of the workstation but in noncanonical order. This method is TFTP over IPX. The IPX network is that of the network which the workstation exists in, the correct TFTP IPX socket number for the workstation. The IPX network, and Socket details can be found from the Tools Menu --> Services --> Configuration dialog. Once the server alias is created then use the new alias instead of 'Local - TFTP over IPX'. iv) Other Issues Only one Ethernet Module is supported in a stack. The Ethernet Module however can be used in conjunction with other non Ethernet modules, such as the 100Mbps TR (HSTR) and 16/4 TR Fiber modules. Spanning Tree loops can occur in a Source Routed environment when multiple routes to an Ethernet or Ethernet LEC network exist. Read 'Source Route networks: why your Spanning Tree must block on Ethernet' from the DeskStream Online Help. This can be found by selecting the contents page, then selecting 'Using the Smart DeskStream Token Ring Switch' --> 'Installing uplink modules' --> 'Installing a 10/100Mbps Ethernet uplink module' 3. Madge Support and Contact Information ======================================== Visit Madge at http://www.madge.com For technical support go to the website to find the appropriate telephone number or email contact: http://www.madge.com/support ***** End of README *****