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PhaserShare


PhaserShare Series B Token Ring card
The PhaserShare Series B Token Ring port conforms to the IEEE 802.5 standard. With thePhaserShare Series B Token Ring card, you can connect the printer directly to a Token Ring network using shielded twisted pair (STP; IBM Type 1) or unshielded twisted pair (UTP; IBM Type 3) cables. Contact your dealer to obtain adapters and cables.

Note: To fully comply with EMI specifications, the use of shielded or screened cables may be required. "Shielded" describes IBM-defined cables used with the DB-9 connector. "Screened" describes cables that are electrically similar to Category 4 UTP, but with an added shield or screen.
When a PhaserShare Series B card is purchased initially with the printer, it is installed at the factory. When a PhaserShare Series B card is purchased later as an upgrade kit, follow the instructions for installing the card under Installing PhaserShare Series B cards in Tektronix Printers.

When a PhaserShare Series B Token Ring card is installed in the printer, the built-in Ethernet connector (twisted pair; 10BaseT) on the printer's rear panel is disabled.

Caution: Before making any Token Ring connections, make sure that the printer is turned off.

Token Ring connections and indicators

 The PhaserShare Series B Token Ring card has the following connections and indicators on the rear panel:

  1. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP; IBM Type 1) connector (DB-9).

    Note: The STP port on the PhaserShare Token Ring card supports cable lengths up to 150 meters (492 feet) from the interface to the MAU (Medium Access Unit), including lobe and patch cables.
  2. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP; IBM Type 3) connector (RJ-45).

  3. Ring speed indicator (yellow); on indicates 16 Mbps; off indicates 4 Mbps.

  4. TX indicator (yellow); blinks while the interface is transmitting.

  5. Connection indicator (green); on indicates that the card is asserting its ring insertion control signal to be inserted into the ring.

  6. RX indicator (green); blinks while the interface is receiving.

Ring speed jumper

 The Token Ring card is equipped with a single three-pin jumper to set the ring speed. The settings are as follows:

For information on setting the jumper, see Setting the ring-speed jumper on the Token Ring card.

Note: If you received your printer with the Token Ring card already installed, you must turn off the printer and remove the card before you change the jumper setting.

Token Ring configuration

 When the Token Ring card is installed in the printer, you can set the Frame Routing from the Phaser 360 printer's front panel. The choices are Transparent (no source routing) or Source Route (use source routing).

Note: If you are attempting to perform any front panel procedure and you don't see the expected menu choices on the front panel display, the front panel may be locked. For information on how to unlock it, see If the front panel is locked.
  1. Press the Menu button; the front panel displays Help Pages.

    Note: When you are in the menu, if the front panel is not used for 5 minutes, the printer returns to the Ready state.
  2. Press the right (---->) or left (<----) arrow buttons until the front panel displays Network Settings.

  3. Access the menu of Frame Routing choices:

    1. Press the right arrow button (---->) until the front panel displays Token Ring.

    2. Press the Menu button; the front panel displays the first of two Frame Routing choices.

  4. Select the desired Frame Routing: Transparent or Source Route:

    1. Press the right arrow button (---->) until the Frame Routing choice you want is displayed.

    2. Press the OK button to enter your choice into the printer. The front panel briefly displays Selected, then returns to the display of the frame type name.

  5. To return the printer to normal operation, press the Exit button until the front panel displays Ready. You must reset the printer for the change to take effect. For more information, seeResetting the Printer.

When you have the Frame Routing set, you may want to set other Token Ring parameters. The following table lists all of the Token Ring parameters.

Token Ring parameters

Parameter Description Choices
Network Address

Token Ring Address (by default, this is a bit-swapped version of the printer's Printer ID, and it is a unique address on the network). You can supply a Locally Administered Address.

Any valid Token Ring address between 40.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx and 7F.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.

Speed

This read-only parameter reports the ring speed set by the jumper on the card.

4 Mbps or 16 Mbps.

Early Token Release

The printer releases the token at the end of the last byte transmitted (not applicable at 4 Mbps).

Enabled (default)

Disabled

Frame Routing

Token Ring source routing.

Transparent (no source routing)

Source Route (use source routing)

Adapter Status

This read-only parameter reports the status of the Token Ring card.

The report is in two parts, separated by a comma:

Adapter status, Details

Adapter status reports the condition of the Token Ring card. Details reports additional information.

Adapter status:

Adapter Initializing. The card is starting up.

Adaptor Open. The card is connected to the network.

Adapter Closed. The card is not connected to the network.

Adapter Fault. The card is defective.

Details:

Ring OK. Ready for network communication.

Fault. Internal error; the card is defective.

Cable Disconnected. The cable is not connected to the card.

Ring Error. There is a problem on the network.

Removed by network management. The network administrator has disabled the connection.

Route Cache Size

The number of entries in the source route table.

10 to 300.

Route Cache Timeout

The time in seconds that an entry remains in the source route table before being updated.

5 to 65535.

Broadcast

Used when broadcasting to all network nodes.

Changes the default frame type for source route broadcasts. Broadcast is ignored if Frame Routing is set to Transparent.

NOTE: Some protocols (for example, IP and ARP) always use all routes, so they are not affected by this parameter.

Single Route. The printer uses single-route broadcasts for most source route broadcasts.

All Routes. The printer uses all-routes broadcasts for all broadcasts.

Unknown Route

Used when the printer is searching for a route to a specific network node.

Changes the default frame type for source route broadcasts. Unknown Route is ignored if Frame Routing is set to Transparent.

NOTE: Some protocols (for example, IP and ARP) always use all routes, so they are not affected by this parameter.

Single Route. The printer uses single-route broadcasts for most source route broadcasts.

All Routes. The printer uses all-routes broadcasts for all broadcasts.

There are several ways to configure the Token Ring parameters:

Whichever method you use, you must reset the printer before the changes take effect. For more information, seeResetting the Printer.

Using the PostScript utility files TOKNCFG.PS and Configure Token Ring

You can use the following files to configure the printer for Token Ring networks from PCs and Macintosh computers:

To configure your printer for Token Ring using one of these files, you must edit the file and send it to the printer. When you edit the file, you need to supply the information listed in the table Token Ring parameters. The comments in the file provide more information.

  1. To use the Token Ring configuration file, first open the file using any text editor.

  2. Make the appropriate changes to the file according to the instructions contained in the file.

  3. Send the file to the printer by any convenient method. Use a parallel, NetWare, TCP/IP, or TokenTalk connection.

  4. If you send the file to the printer from a PC over a parallel connection, you must add Control-D characters to the beginning and end of the file. You can use the batch file ADDCTRLD.BAT to do this. The files ADDCTRLD.BAT, CTRLD.PS, and TOKNCFG.PS must all be in the same directory. Copy the files to your hard disk before you begin. To use ADDCTRLD.BAT to add Control-Ds to the file TOKNCFG.PS, type the following command:

    ADDCTRLD TOKNCFG.PS

  5. You must reset the printer before the changes take effect. For more information, seeResetting the Printer.

Using the config-TokenRing script

 The UNIX shell script config-TokenRing is provided with the printer's network utilities software. The script creates a PostScript file containing the Token Ring parameters. You set the Token Ring parameters by sending the PostScript file to the printer.

Before performing this procedure, you must install the script on your host computer. If you have not already installed the file, see Extracting files from unix.tar. Your host spooling system must also be configured (see Configuring a host).

  1. Make sure that the printer is connected to the network. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) requires that the printer be connected on the same physical network segment as the host. You will be using the arp command later in this procedure.

  2. Log in.

  3. Run the script config-TokenRing:

    1. Change (cd) to the bin subdirectory in the directory where you placed your printer's network utilities.

    2. Type the name of the script, redirecting the output to a file. Type:

      config-TokenRing > filename

  4. Enter the Token Ring parameters when prompted by the script.

  5. When the script is finished, log in as root.

  6. Make an entry into the host's ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) table defining the printer's Printer Name/Token Ring address pair. In general, this requires a command corresponding to one of the following syntax examples:

    arp -s printer-name Token-Ring-address (for BSD systems)

or

arp -s ether printer-name Token-Ring-address (for System V)

See the documentation for your host system for specifics of this command.

  1. Turn on the printer.

  2. Use the host spooling system (for example, lpr or lp) to send the file you created in Step 3b to the printer. This stores the Token Ring information in the printer's internal memory, where it is retained over a reset or power cycle.

  3. You must reset the printer before the changes take effect. For more information, seeResetting the Printer.

Using the PhaserShare Administrator to configure Token Ring

  1. In the PhaserShare Administrator Main window, select the desired printer from the Printer List.

  2. Click the Configure Printer button; this displays the Configure Printer dialog box.

  3. In the Configure Printer dialog box, click the Token Ring tab.

  4. In the Token Ring tab, set the Token Ring parameters as desired.

  5. Click OK.

  6. You are prompted to reset the printer. You must reset the printer before the changes take effect. For more information, seeResetting the Printer.

For more information on the PhaserShare Administrator, see PhaserShare Administrator Software for NetWare Networks.

Using PhaserLink software to configure Token Ring

For information on connecting to your printer via PhaserLink, see Accessing printer information from a browser. For general information on PhaserLink software, see PhaserLink Software: the Printer's Information Link.

  1. From the printer's home page, click the Configuration button; this displays the View and Configure Settings page.

  2. From the View and Configure Settings page, click View and Configure Interface Settings; this displays the View and Configure Interface Settings page.

  3. From the View and Configure Interface Settings page, click View and Configure PhaserShare Settings (Token Ring card); this displays the View and Configure PhaserShare Settings page for Token Ring.

  4. Enter your settings into the fields for Token Ring Address, Speed, and Bridging. If you make an error, you can click Restore Initial Form Values and start again.

  5. When you are finished entering the settings, enter the Validation Password and click the Do/Apply button. If you are not sure of the password, contact your system administrator.

  6. You must reset the printer before the changes take effect. For more information, see Resetting the Printer.

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