Specifications

CHAPTER 7: Using the Dedicated Serial Ports

CAUTION!

Serial cabling in excess of 50 feet (15.2 m) should be routed with

caution. The maximum cable length depends upon the construction of

the cable and its routing. For extended runs, shielded cable should be

used. Avoid routing near fluorescent lights, air-conditioning

compressors, or machines that may create electrical noise. If you

experience a lot of data errors, use shorter cables. The Affinity’s lowest

data rate is 9600 bps; it cannot be lowered any further to alleviate this

problem.

7.2 The Serial Options Menu

Once you have connected the dedicated terminal or computer running a terminal

emulator to one of the ServSwitch Affinity’s serial ports, make sure the data rate of

the terminal or emulator is set to match that of the Affinity’s port. (If you’re not

sure how to do this for your emulator, refer to its manual or online help for

instructions. If you’re not sure whether the serial port on the Affinity is set to

operate at 9600 bps or 57,600 bps, try 9600 bps first. That is the factory-default rate,

and should be the rate that all of the serial ports on new ServSwitch Affinity Port

Cards start out using.) Then turn on or cycle power to the Affinity. This message

should appear on your screen:

Hit the spacebar within 5 seconds to get serial options menu.

If garbage characters appear instead, your terminal or emulator is set to the wrong

data rate; switch to the other one and cycle power to the Affinity again. When the

message appears as it should, press the spacebar. The serial options menu will

appear after the Affinity finishes displaying its power-up diagnostic messages. This

menu enables you to manipulate certain configuration settings and (if you’re using

a computer rather than a terminal) to perform flash upgrades. The subsections on

the following pages detail the serial menu options:

1. Change starting cpu number..........1

2. Change the serial port baud rate....[current rate,

either "9600" or "57,600"]

3. Receive new main program or kernel from serial port

(this card only)

4. Send this unit’s main program to other units

5. Send this unit’s Kernel to other units

6. Reset Configuration data to factory defaults (this card

only)

7. Save changes made in 1 and 2 (this card only)

8. Exit (restart the unit)

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