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Did you arrive at this page because of NIC failure indications
from running a protocol analysis session?
 Go
to page 5.1.
Did you arrive at this page after troubleshooting a lobe area,
ring station, network file server, MAU/wiring hub, cable, or network peripheral?
Go
to page 5.2.
 Because this procedure is
generic as to the NIC manufacturer, for some of the troubleshooting steps
mentioned on this page, you should also reference the NIC manufacturer's
documentation for any special predefined methods for checking NIC configuration
and for bridge testing.
5.1 Error
indication occurs in a protocol analysis session.
Whether the error is a hard error indicated by a Beacon MAC frame or
a soft error that indicates a possible NIC failure, swap the respective
NIC and rerun another thorough protocol analysis session on the ring.
After swapping the NIC and rerunning the new protocol analysis session,
did the error go away?
Leave the newly replaced NIC in
the ring station or device and record the problem in the network maintenance
and service log.
 Replace the original NIC back into
the ring station or network peripheral. Go to page
15 . Rerun a protocol analysis session on the ring. Sometimes when
you rerun a protocol analysis session, the failure cause becomes more clear
by moving to another Token Ring address. If after you rerun another protocol
analysis session the error does not move to another device and is still
identifying the particular NIC address as a failure cause, troubleshoot
the assigned lobe area for the respective NIC by going to page
2.
5.2 Coming
from lobe area, ring station, network file server, MAU/wiring hub, cable,
or network peripheral page.
Is the failure symptom that led you to this page classified as solid
or intermittent?
Solid.Go to S1.
Intermittent. Go to S2.
S1.
Solid. Thoroughly check all the following areas:
1. Check all NIC hardware/software configuration parameters:
* ·I/O address
* ·IRQ
* ·DMA
* ·Token Ring address
* ·Slot settings (32-, 16-, or 8-bit card)
* ·NIC microcode level
* ·Primary or secondary setting
* Speed settings
2. Check the ring station for the respective NIC for proper NIC software
driver microcode and a good RPL PROM.
3. Check for possible NIC incompatibilities with the particular ring
station, MAU, cable type, or the STP/UTP cabling connector.
Did you find any problems in any of the three areas?
Take the necessary action to resolve
the problem and retest the ring station or network peripheral for proper
operation. If the failure symptom is gone, record the problem in the network
maintenance and service log. If the problem still exists after retesting,
go to the next step .
Run any available NIC diagnostics
from the NIC manufacturer or elsewhere to be conclusive. Whether the diagnostics
pinpoint a failure or not, swap the original NIC in the ring station or
network device and retest the ring station or network peripheral for proper
operation. Go to page 15 and rerun a protocol
analysis session on the ring. If the failure symptom goes away, record
the problem in the network maintenance and service log.
If after rerunning another protocol analysis session an error occurs
with the assigned ring station or network peripheral and the specific failure
symptom does not go away, replace the original NIC and troubleshoot the
assigned lobe area for the respective NIC by going to page
2.
If you definitely feel the
original NIC has a problem, it may be best to keep the newly replaced NIC
in the respective ring station (rather than replacing the original NIC)
before resuming troubleshooting by going to page 2. This is going to be
a judgment call on your part.
S2.
Intermittent. In the case of an intermittent problem with an NIC,
first attempt to run any available NIC diagnostics.
Then regardless of the diagnostic testing results, swap the original
NIC in the ring station or network peripheral and check its general operation.
Also, go to page 15 and rerun a protocol
analysis session on the ring. If the protocol analysis session does not
record any errors associated with the Token Ring address involved, and
the intermittent problem does not reappear, record the problem in your
network maintenance and service log. If after you swap the NIC the failure
symptom still exists, replace the original NIC and troubleshoot the assigned
lobe area for the respective NIC by going to page
2.
If you definitely feel the
original NIC has a problem, it may be best to keep the newly replaced NIC
in the respective ring station rather than replace the original NIC before
resuming troubleshooting by going to the main menu and choosing 2. This
is going to be a judgment call on your part.
November 15, 1996
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