XCON: Eicon Tech. X.25 Diagnostic Commands for WinNT & Exchange (149062)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

This article was previously published under Q149062

SUMMARY

The commands documented below are useful for reporting the current configuration and operational status of Eicon Technologies X.25 hardware and "WAN Services for Windows NT" software. These details may be requested by Eicon Technologies or Microsoft technical support when troubleshooting:
  • X.25 hardware and software installation and configuration issues.

    -or-

  • Microsoft Exchange Server X.400 MTA-over-X.25 connectivity issues.

MORE INFORMATION

Eicon Technologies's "WAN Services for Windows NT" diagnostic utilities are installed (by default) into the <drive>:\WSNT subdirectory. The output of these commands can be redirected to a text file using standard MS-DOS redirection syntax, for example:

dir >> dir.txt

If you type the following from the \WSNT subdirectory:

ECMODULE STATS HDLC

the following information appears on your screen:
EiconCard Loadable Module Management Utility
ECMODULE 3.03 Rev. 00
Copyright (c) Eicon Technology Corporation 1995. All Rights Reserved.

HDLC Loadable Module Statistics
Port number: 01                      Port name: NCEMS3X25
T1 expired.......: 0                    Retransmissions..:           0
Underrun.........: 0
Overrun..........: 0
                   Sent     Received                      Sent
Received
SABM.............: 1         0          XID..............: 0         0
DISC.............: 0         0          I................: 74785     74941
UA...............: 0         1          RR...............: 30429     30638
DM...............: 0         0          RNR..............: 0         0
FRMR.............: 0         0          Rejects..........: 0         0
Abort............: 0         0
Bad type.........:           0
Bad CRC..........:           0
Command Completed Successfully.
				

Typically, equal numbers of SABM and UA are expected. Significant numbers of "Abort, Bad Type, Bad CRC, RNR or Rejects" indicates a fundamental problem in the hardware, its configuration, or the link to the other site.

If you type the following:

ECMODULE STATS X25

the following information appears on your screen:
EiconCard Loadable Module Management Utility
ECMODULE 3.03 Rev. 00
Copyright (c) Eicon Technology Corporation 1995. All Rights Reserved.

X.25 Loadable Module Statistics
Port number: 01                      Port name: NCEMS3X25

                     Sent     Received                     Sent
Received
Call      request..: 29        428     Data packets......: 38856     38992
          Confirm..: 424       25      Data segments.....: 68660     68552
Restart   request..: 1         0       Characters........: 3902364
3898174
          Confirm..: 0         1       Receiver Ready....: 35018     35038
Register  request..: 0         0       Receiver Not Ready: 0         0
          Confirm..: 0         0       Diagnostic packets: 0         0
Clear     request..: 29        428     Unknown packets...: 0         0
          Confirm..: 428       29      Rejects...........: 0         0
Reset     request..: 0         0
          Confirm..: 0         0
Interrupt request..: 0         0
          Confirm..: 0         0
Command Completed Successfully.
				

Information similar to the above is indicative of well running X.25 stack.

If you type the following:

ECMODULE STATUS HDLC

the following information appears on your screen:
EiconCard Loadable Module Management Utility
ECMODULE 3.03 Rev. 00
Copyright (c) Eicon Technology Corporation 1995. All Rights Reserved.

HDLC Loadable Module Status
Port number: 01                      Port name: NCEMS3X25
Addressing.................: DTE      Check point timer T1 (msec).: 2900
Link setup.................: Active   Ack delay timer T2 (msec)...: 200
Maximum retry count N2.....: 10       Idle probe timer T3 (msec)..: 15000
Maximum window size K......: 7        Maximum frame size N1 (byte): 144

Protocol state.............: Opened       @09:59:27 Mar 22

Line state.................: Opened       @09:59:27 Mar 22

Trace......................: Off      Trace buffer size (bytes)....: 0
Trace filter (hex).........: 00       Trace entry size (bytes).....: 0
Command completed successfully.
				

The above displays the current configuration and operating status of the X.25 stack at the HDLC [lowest] layer. Note that "Trace" is "Off". Typically, tracing down at the HDLC layer is only performed when troubleshooting X.25 connection [link] problems.

If you type the following:

ECMODULE STATUS X25

the following information appears on your screen:
EiconCard Loadable Module Management Utility
ECMODULE 3.03 Rev. 00
Copyright (c) Eicon Technology Corporation 1995. All Rights Reserved.

X.25 Loadable Module Status
Port number: 01                      Port name: NCEMS3X25
                               Default  Maximum
Window size..................: 2        7
Packet size (bytes)..........: 128      128
Packet format................: Extended Maximum retry count N3......: 3
Restart timer T20 (sec)......: 60       Reset timer T22 (sec).......: 60
Call timer T21 (sec).........: 60       Clear timer T23 (sec).......: 60
Idle timer (sec).............: 0        Acknowledgement timer (msec): 20
Two-way VCs configured.......: 4        Permanent VCs configured....: 0
In-coming VCs configured.....: 0        Out-going VCs configured....: 0
Trace........................: Off      Trace buffer size (bytes)...: 0
Trace filter (hex)...........: 00       Trace entry size (bytes)....: 0
Link activated at............: @09:59:27 Mar 22
Last restart.................: @09:59:27 Mar 22

VC  Local Address  Remote Address  Type     Status
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
No active connection.
Command completed successfully.
				

This command reports many of the critical X.25 layer configuration parameters. Generally, Window size, Packet size, Packet format should match the other party's X.25 configuration to maximize throughput and performance. Note that "Trace" is currently "Off". Tracing at the X.25 is useful when troubleshooting X.25 connectivity issues and sometimes even application issues (for applications that are run across the link).

Eicon Technologies technical support can be reached at (214) 490-3270 (U.S. only), or on the Internet at:

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/28/2005
Keywords:kbusage KB149062