PCI334 PCI Sync/Serial Controller Support Page
The PCI334 Intelligent Synchronous WAN Communications Adapter provides four high performance synchronous/serial channels for WAN connectivity. The adapter is ideally suited for use within SS7 nodes, or as an interface to T1 routers, DSU/CSUs, frame relay access devices, high speed modems, or other high speed communication devices.
The architecture of the PCI334 capitalizes on the intelligence of Motorola's MC68360 QUICC® datacomm processor, enabling it as a specialized communications controller.
This comprehensive suite of WAN communications protocols provides complete WAN connectivity solutions for Frame Relay, HDLC, LAPD, X.25, SS7, and PPP protocols. Operating system support includes Solaris®, Windows NT®, VxWorks® and Linux®.
For the Solaris® environment, the ComLink™ Communications Software provides both a transparent link to all SunLink® protocols, as well as a documented set of driver primitives for developing synchronous/serial related applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Theories and Definitions
- I need to configure my card for an external clock, but I can't find any documentation specific to the card. What jumpers if any do I need to change?
- I bought ComLink software with my PCI334 and now I find out that I also need some other software package to make the card work. I thought this was the driver for the card.
- What is the OPTCLK?
- What is the LED on the PCI334 for, and why is it blinking?
- We recently purchased a PT-PCI334 card from your company, and are unable to see the zsh0 device after loading the driver, ComLink.
- We recently purchased a PT-PCI334 card from your company, and are unable to set the ports up as tty devices under Solaris.
- I can't seem to get the 8 Mbit/sec transfer rate from each of the ports on the card. How can I increase the transfer rate?
Troubleshooting
- Theories and Definitions
- Q: I need to configure my card for an external clock, but I can't find any documentation specific to the card. What jumpers if any do I need to change?
A: There are no jumpers resident on the PCI334 for configuring for an external clock. The configuration of the external clock is done via two programmable registers on the board; RCSL, and TCSL. The PCI334 User's Manual contains information on where and how to control these registers, under the “Clock Steering”, “RCSL Register”, and “TCSL Register” sections.
Q: I bought ComLink software with my PCI334 and now I find out that I also need some other software package to make the card work. I thought this was the driver for the card.
A: ComLink software is only the link between the card and the communications protocol software that you are using. It will create the devices and entries for the OS to know what the card is. The other software packages are used to handle the data transfers.
Q: What is the OPTCLK?
A: If your application requires a receive clock frequency different than that received from the serial interface, a crystal oscillator can be installed (soldered) on the PCI334. The proper location on the card is silkscreened “optional clock”, and can be populated with a surface mount oscillator (SG-615 package) of the desired frequency. When installing the oscillator, please carefully check the orientation and the component height for any interference issues.
Q: What is the LED on the PCI334 for, and why is it blinking?
A: The LED on the card blinks when the protocol software has been initialized. The LED will remain in its current state (either on or off) once a reset is received.
- Q: We recently purchased a PT-PCI334 card from your company, and are unable to see the zsh0 device after loading the driver, ComLink.
A: The pkgadd process on the device driver, ComLink will default to give this card the device name of pzshx, where x is the port #. If you created the pzshx device names, and later want to change them for use with SunLink PPP, you can do that by following these directions:
1. Enter the following command to make a ComLink port look like a Sun HSI card port, creating a soft link: < ln -s /dev/pzsh0 /dev/hih0 >
2. Link the hih clone device to the pzsh clone device via a soft link: < ln -s /dev/pzsh /dev/hih >
3. Run the SunLink PPP installation script and specify /dev/hih0 as the communications device.
Q: We recently purchased a PT-PCI334 card from your company, and are unable to set the ports up as tty devices under Solaris.
A: The PCI334 is a high speed, synchronous serial card. It was not designed to be an asynchronous card, and cannot be set up as a tty port. This card gets configured the same as the Sun synchronous card, and can be set up with the PTI optional driver using Sun’s zshx, or our pzshx device name, where x is the port #.
Q: I can't seem to get the 8 Mbit/sec transfer rate from each of the ports on the card. How can I increase the transfer rate?
A: This is a common misconception with the card. The transfer rate is 8 Mbit/sec across all 4 ports. That means that if you are using 1 port, you can get up to 8 Mbit/sec out of that one port. If you are running two ports, they must split the maximum transfer rate into 2 equal parts; 4 Mbit/sec each. Following through, if you are using all four ports, you will only be able to get up to 2 Mbit/sec out of each port.
