Perle SX Series User manual

Page 1
SX
User guide
Part number: 5500037-14
Date: 25 September 2002
Navigating around this manual
Using this on-line manual. See page 5.
Fast contents. See page 7.
Contents. See page 8.
Quick reference. See page 165.
Index. See page 228.

Page 2
Copyright statement
This document must not be reproduced in any way whatsoever, either printed or
electronically, without the consent of:
Perle Systems Europe Limited,
3, Wintersells Road,
Byfleet,
Surrey
KT14 7LF,
UK
Perle reserves the right to make changes without further notice, to any products to improve
reliability, function or design.
Specialix, the Specialix logo, JETSTREAM, JETSTREAM4000, JETSTREAM8500 and
LANSTREAM2000 are trademarks of Perle Systems Limited.
Microsoft, Windows 95, Windows 95, Windows NT Windows 2000 and Internet Explorer are
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Netscape is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation.
Solaris is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the USA and other countries.
Perle Systems Limited, 25 September 2002.

Page 3
FCC Note
The products described in this manual have been found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions in this Guide, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required
to correct the interference at his/her own expense.
EN 55022: 1998, Class A Note
Warning: This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product may cause radio
interference in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.
Caution: The products described in this manual are approved for commercial use only.

SX User guide
Purpose of this manual
Page 4
SX
User guide
About this manual
Purpose of this manual
This manual tells you how to install, configure and use the Perle SX system hardware,
associated drivers and utility software.
Who this manual is for
This manual is aimed at users who want to connect peripherals and terminals to a host using
the Perle SX serial connectivity system. This manual requires a working knowledge of using
personal computers and associated operating systems, as well as experience in installing
host cards and peripherals.
Warning
Dangerous voltages exist inside computer systems. Before
installing host cards in your system, turn off the power supply
and disconnect the mains lead.

SX User guide
Using this on-line manual
Page 5
Using this on-line manual
The following is a brief guide to using this manual on-line.
Document navigation
This manual features document navigation hypertext buttons in the header area as shown in
the next picture;
Hypertext jumps
You can also navigate around this manual by clicking on any cross reference or text in blue
for example, Hypertext jumps.
Jump to Using this on-line manual
Jump to Index
Jump to Quick Reference
Jump to previous location
Jump to front of current chapter
Jump to Contents
Jump to Fast contents
Note
The Fast Contents, Contents and Index entries are all hypertext
jumps into this manual.

Page 6
Revision history
Date Part number Description
January 2000 5500037-10 First issue of new SX+ user manual.
April 2000 5500037-11 Update of manual to include Solaris operating system
November 2001 5500037-12 Re-branding update also including improved cabling section.
July 2002 5500037-13 Re-branding update to use standardised SX product naming.
September 2002 5500037-14 Added in details of 3.3/5V universal PCI card.

Page 7
Fast contents
ABOUT THIS MANUAL ...........................................................................................................4
REVISION HISTORY ..............................................................................................................6
FAST CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................7
CONTENTS ..........................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 2 INSTALLING HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ............................................................24
CHAPTER 3 CABLING INFORMATION .....................................................................................134
CHAPTER 4 QUICK REFERENCE ...........................................................................................165
APPENDIX A SERIAL PORT DEVICE NAMES ............................................................................175
APPENDIX B OBTAINING BAUD RATES ABOVE 38400 ............................................................180
APPENDIX C TRANSPARENT PRINTING ..................................................................................183
APPENDIX D TROUBLESHOOTING .........................................................................................187
APPENDIX E CONTACTING PERLE ........................................................................................221
INDEX ..................................................................................................................................228

Page 8
Contents
ABOUT THIS MANUAL ............................................................ 4
Purpose of this manual ..................................................................................4
Who this manual is for ...................................................................................4
Using this on-line manual ..............................................................................5
Document navigation ................................................................................5
Hypertext jumps ........................................................................................5
REVISION HISTORY ................................................................ 6
FAST CONTENTS ................................................................... 7
CONTENTS ............................................................................ 8

Page 9
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 17
About the SX system ......................................................................................18
System components ......................................................................................19
Host card...................................................................................................19
1.5 metre bus extension cable ..................................................................19
Device concentrators and terminal adaptors ............................................19
Overview of device concentrators and terminal adaptors ............................. 20
Example SXDC8 device concentrator ........................................................... 21
Example MTA8 modular terminal adaptor ..................................................... 22
Example TA4 terminal adaptor ...................................................................... 23

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CHAPTER 2 INSTALLING HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 24
Before you start ...............................................................................................25
Down loading SX drivers from the Perle web site ....................................26
Installing SX under Solaris ............................................................................27
General setup procedure for Solaris .........................................................28
Installing device drivers and utilities..........................................................29
Assigning ISA host card addresses and IRQ levels..................................30
Removing SX drivers and utilities from your system.................................31
Setting up terminals using Admintool........................................................33
Removing SX serial port terminals............................................................37
Installing SX under SCO Open Server ........................................................39
General installation procedure for SCO OpenServer 5.............................40
Upgrading from existing device drivers.....................................................41
Upgrading from Specialix combined driver 2.02 for SCO Unix 3.2.4 ............. 41
Upgrading your current SX device driver ...................................................... 41
Installing device drivers and utilities..........................................................42
Assigning ISA host card addresses and IRQ levels..................................50
Starting the Host Card Configuration utility ................................................... 51
Adding a new host card address ................................................................... 53
Editing a host card address ........................................................................... 55
Removing a host card address ...................................................................... 57
Exiting the Host Card Configuration utility ..................................................... 58
Configuring SX serial ports .......................................................................59
Removing SX drivers and utilities from your system.................................64
Installing SX under SCO UnixWare .............................................................66
General installation procedure for SCO UnixWare ...................................67
Upgrading from existing device drivers.....................................................68
Upgrading from Specialix SI/XIO Svr4 driver v7.01 ...................................... 68
Upgrading from SLXOS SCO UnixWare driver v2.1.0 .................................. 68
Upgrading from SX SCO UnixWare Driver v3.0.x ......................................... 68
Installing drivers and utilities onto your system.........................................69
Assigning ISA host card addresses and IRQ levels..................................73
Starting the Unixware Device Configuration Utility ........................................ 74
Adding a new host card address ................................................................... 76
Editing a host card address ........................................................................... 79
De-activating a host card ............................................................................... 80
Displaying software device driver details ....................................................... 81
Exiting the Device Configuration Utility ......................................................... 82
Configuring serial ports .............................................................................83
Configuring serial ports under SCO UnixWare 2 ......................................88

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Adding new ports ......................................................................................90
Removing SX drivers and utilities from your system.................................92
Installing SX under Windows NT .................................................................93
General setup procedure for Windows NT................................................93
Installing SX under Windows 2000 ..............................................................94
General setup procedure for Windows 2000 ............................................95
Installing device drivers and utilities onto your system .............................96
Adding ISA host cards to the system ........................................................100
Viewing and changing the resources for a device ....................................104
Configuring serial ports .............................................................................107
Installing SX under Linux ..............................................................................109
General installation procedure for Linux ...................................................110
Installing drivers onto your system............................................................111
Installing utilities........................................................................................113
Creating devices for the attached ports ....................................................113
Loading the driver module into the kernel.................................................114
Loading the driver module manually ............................................................. 114
Loading the driver module automatically ....................................................... 115
Installing a Universal 3.3/5V PCI host card ................................................116
Identifying your SX PCI card and slot type ...............................................116
Installation procedure................................................................................117
Installing an ISA host card ............................................................................118
Removing host cards .....................................................................................120
Installing device concentrators ....................................................................121
Installing SX Device Concentrators (SXDCs) ...........................................122
Installation procedure .................................................................................... 122
Joining SXDCs together ................................................................................ 123
Mounting SXDCs ........................................................................................... 125
Installing Modular Terminal Adaptors (MTAs) ...........................................126
Installation procedure .................................................................................... 126
Joining MTAs together ................................................................................... 127
Mounting MTAs .............................................................................................. 129
Installing Terminal Adaptors (TAs) ............................................................130
Installation procedure .................................................................................... 130
Joining TAs together ...................................................................................... 131
Mounting TAs ................................................................................................. 132
Removing Device Concentrators from your system ...............................133

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CHAPTER 3 CABLING INFORMATION 134
Connecting SX host cards to Device Concentrators ...............................135
Device Concentrator top connector pinouts .............................................136
SXDC top connector guide; ......................................................................137
MTA top connector guide ..........................................................................137
TA top connector guide .............................................................................137
RJ45 female SXDC connector pinout .......................................................138
RJ45 female MTA connector pinout..........................................................139
DB25 female SXDC connector pinout.......................................................140
DB25 female MTA connector pinout .........................................................141
DB25 female TA connector pinout ............................................................142
DB25 male SXDC connector pinout..........................................................143
DB25 male MTA connector pinout ............................................................144
SXDC8/PX DB25 parallel female connector pinout ..................................145
Connecting combinations of Device Concentrator types ...................... 146
Connecting a single host card to device concentrators ............................146
Connecting multiple host cards to device concentrators...........................147
Connecting Device Concentrators to terminals .......................................148
Connecting Device Concentrators to modems ........................................149
Connecting Device Concentrators to parallel printers ............................150
Connecting Device Concentrators to serial printers ...............................151
Connecting Device concentrators to host cards ......................................152
Connecting a single host card to device concentrators ............................152
Connecting multiple host cards to device concentrators...........................153
Cable connector pinouts ...............................................................................154
RJ45 male to DB25 male DTE for connection to DCE devices ................154
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 154
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 154
DB25 male to DB25 male DTE for connection to DCE devices................155
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 155
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 155
DB25 female to DB25 male DTE for connection to DCE devices.............156
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 156
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 156
RJ45 male to DB25 female DCE for connection to DTE devices .............157
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 157
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 157
DB25 male to DB25 female DCE for connection to DTE devices.............158

Page 13
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 158
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 158
DB25 female to DB25 female DCE for connection to DTE devices..........159
Cable diagram ............................................................................................... 159
Connector pinout table .................................................................................. 159
DB25 parallel male to Centronics parallel.................................................160
Loopback connector pinouts .......................................................................161
Loopback pinouts for RJ45 female connectors .........................................162
Loopback pinouts for DB25 female connectors ........................................163
Loopback pinouts for DB25 male connectors ...........................................164

Page 14
CHAPTER 4 QUICK REFERENCE 165
Solaris utilities .................................................................................................166
sxisacfg utility............................................................................................166
SCO OpenServer 5 utilities ...........................................................................167
Host Card Configuration utility ..................................................................167
Serial Port Enable utility............................................................................169
SCO UnixWare utilities ...................................................................................172
Device configuration utility ........................................................................172
Serial Manager..........................................................................................173
APPENDIX A SERIAL PORT DEVICE NAMES 175
Under Solaris ...................................................................................................176
Device node details...................................................................................176
Under SCO OpenServer 5 .............................................................................177
Device node details...................................................................................177
DTR and RTS signal information ..............................................................177
Under SCO UnixWare .....................................................................................178
Device node details...................................................................................178
Under Windows NT .........................................................................................179
Device node details...................................................................................179
Under Windows 2000 .....................................................................................179
Device node details...................................................................................179
Under Linux ......................................................................................................179
Device node details...................................................................................179

Page 15
APPENDIX B OBTAINING BAUD RATES ABOVE 38400 180
Introduction to spxbaudmap ........................................................................181
Using spxbaudmap ........................................................................................ 182
APPENDIX C TRANSPARENT PRINTING 183
What is transparent printing? .......................................................................184
Problems with printer output ........................................................................185
The printcap.slx configuration file ...............................................................185
The print.slx configuration file ......................................................................186
APPENDIX D TROUBLESHOOTING 187
Solaris troubleshooting .................................................................................188
Example of normal boot up messages for host cards...............................189
General troubleshooting guide..................................................................190
Solaris error messages .............................................................................191
SCO OpenServer troubleshooting ..............................................................192
Example of a normal boot up messages for host cards............................193
General troubleshooting guide..................................................................194
SCO OpenServer error messages............................................................195
Testing SX ports with Port Diagnostics .....................................................197
Running tests on a port ................................................................................. 198
Performing a write test .................................................................................. 200
Performing a loopback test ............................................................................ 201
Displaying port settings ................................................................................. 202
Displaying modem pin settings ...................................................................... 203
SCO UnixWare troubleshooting ...................................................................204
Example of a normal boot up messages for host cards............................205
General troubleshooting guide..................................................................206
SCO UnixWare error messages ...............................................................207
Windows NT troubleshooting .......................................................................212
General troubleshooting under Windows NT ............................................213
Windows NT error messages....................................................................214
Windows 2000 troubleshooting ...................................................................215
General troubleshooting under Windows 2000 .........................................216
Windows 2000 error messages ................................................................217
Linux troubleshooting ....................................................................................218
General troubleshooting under Linux........................................................218

Page 16
Linux error messages ...............................................................................219
APPENDIX E CONTACTING PERLE 221
Making a technical support query ...............................................................222
Who to contact ..........................................................................................222
Information needed when making a query................................................223
Making a support query via the Perle web page.......................................224
Repair procedure ............................................................................................225
Website RMA (Return Material Authorisation) Form.................................225
Feedback about this manual ........................................................................226
Contacting Perle technical support .............................................................227
INDEX ................................................................................... 228

SX User guide
Page 17
Chapter 1 Introduction
SX
User guide
Chapter 1 Introduction
You need to read
this chapter if you
want to...
You need to read this chapter if you want an introduction to the Perle SX serial connectivity
system.
This chapter provides introductory information about the Perle SX serial connectivity system,
its associated components, driver software and configuration utilities.
This chapter includes the following sections;
•About the SX system on page 18
•System components on page 19

SX User guide
About the SX system
Page 18
Chapter 1 Introduction
About the SX system
The Perle SX Product Range is a high performance, intelligent, expandible connectivity
system for up to 128 serial devices which provides up to 32 ports per host card. The SX
Universal PCI version of the system is based on the Motorola ColdFire processor and offers
superior performance to the previous SX host cards. See also System components on
page 19.
Typical uses of the system include RAS for NT, Internet Service Providers, corporate remote
access, retail EPOS, industrial process control, dial out modems and printing. You can use
the SX system in a wide range of industries including hotel/leisure management, banking
and finance, manufacturing, real estate and telecommunications.
Typically, you use this product because you want a low cost connectivity system optimised
for delivering high performance on multi-user systems and remote access server
environments.
PC server
SX Host
card
RAS connection
Modem
EPOS
Printers
Data collectors
Internet
Dialup client
Dial out connection
Note
SX is 100% compatible with older SX terminal adaptors and device concentrators.

SX User guide
System components
Page 19
Chapter 1 Introduction
System components
This section provides a brief description of the main components of the SX system and
includes the following.
•Host card on page 19
•1.5 metre bus extension cable on page 19
•Device concentrators and terminal adaptors on page 19
Host card
Host cards provide system connection to Device concentrators (SXDCs), terminal adaptors
(TAs) and Modular Terminal Adaptors (MTAs) and are available in ISA and PCI formats. See
also Installing a Universal 3.3/5V PCI host card on page 116, Installing an ISA host
card on page 118 and Removing host cards on page 120 in Chapter 2 Installing
hardware and software.
1.5 metre bus extension cable
A proprietary 1.5 metre bus extension cable is supplied with the host cards which allows you
to link host cards to Device concentrators or terminal adaptors.
Device concentrators and terminal adaptors
Device Concentrators (SXDCs), Terminal Adaptors (TAs) and Modular Terminal Adaptors
(MTAs) are basically serial connection blocks which provide a number of ports depending on
type. See Example SXDC8 device concentrator on page 21, Example MTA8 modular
terminal adaptor on page 22 and Example TA4 terminal adaptor on page 23 for pictures
of typical examples.The range of types available for the SX system are shown in Overview
of device concentrators and terminal adaptors on page 20.
Note
When connecting SX host cards to Device concentrators or terminal adaptors you
should only use the 1.5 metre bus extension cable supplied with your SX host
card. Using any other cable will invalidate your EMC and noise warranty
and may cause system lockups and crashes.
Note
The permitted combinations of device concentrator types are as follows;
SXDC8s to SXDC8s
MTAs to MTAs, and
TA4s/TA8s to TA4s/TA8s

SX User guide
System components
Page 20
Chapter 1 Introduction
Overview of device concentrators and terminal adaptors
Device
Concentrator
Number
of ports Type
For
information
on installing
see...
SXDC8/RJX 8RS232 RJ45 ports with high performance and ESD
protection to 15kV.
See page 122.
SXDC8/DX 8RS232 DB25 female DCE ports with high performance
and ESD protection to 15kV
SXDC8/MX 8RS232 DB25 male DTE ports with high performance and
ESD protection to 15kV. Emulates standard PC COM port
pinouts
SXDC8/PX 81 x DB25 Parallel, 7 x RS232 DB25 female DCE ports
with high performance and ESD protection to 15kV
Refer to table on page 148 for further details.
SXDC8/422 8RS422 DB25 female DCE ports with high performance
and ESD protection to 15kV.
MTA8/RJX 8RS232 RJ45 ports with ESD protection to 15kV. See page 126.
MTA8/DX 8RS232 DB25 female DCE ports with ESD protection to
15kV
MTA8/MX 8RS232 DB25 male DTE ports & surge suppression
Note these pinouts are the same as the SXDC8/MX.
MTA8/PX 81 x DB25 Parallel, 7 x RS232 DB25 female DCE ports
with high performance and ESD protection to 15kV
Refer to table on page 148 for further details.
MTA8/422 8RS422 DB25 female ports
TA4 4RS232 DB25 female ports (/dx pinouts) See page 130
TA8 8RS232 ESD protected to 15kV ports with DB25 female
connectors (/DX pinouts)