System information

Crestron 3-Series Control Systems Reference Guide
Reference Guide – DOC. 7150A 3-Series Control Systems • 75
Frequently Asked Questions (Continued)
QUESTION ANSWER
How do I find the MAC address of my
control system’s Ethernet card?
Use Crestron Toolbox to establish a
communications with the control system as
described on page 6. The MAC address
information is contained in the Ethernet
section of the “System Information” window.
My control system reboots
unexpectedly. I do not know if the
cause is a hardware/software anomaly
or induced externally (power failure). I
have no error logs because the reboot
sequence cleared out the error log.
What do I do?
Use Crestron Toolbox to establish
communications with the control system as
described on page 6. Open a text console
window and type NVRAMREBOOT ON. This
command writes rebooting messages to
NVRAM. If an anomaly exists, this
command saves the error even though the
control system has rebooted. To view the
contents of NVRAM, open the error log as
described on page 21. After the error log
has been captured, turn off the
NVRAMREBOOT command by typing
NVRAMREBOOT OFF
.
Watchdog Protection
Crestron 3-Series processors are equipped with “Watchdog Protection” to monitor
internal registers on the processor as well as software processes.
The hardware watchdog monitors internal registers on a 3-Series Control System that
require periodic writing. If the registers are not being written to as required, the
watchdog sends a message to the error log and reboots the control system.
The software watchdog monitors the processor to ensure that no single process in the
system monopolizes the central processing unit. A 3-Series Control System requires
certain low-level tasks to run on a regular basis. If the control system is so busy that
one of the low-level tasks is held off for a period of time, the watchdog sends a
message to the error log and reboots the control system.
Capturing Watchdog Messages
When either watchdog triggers a reboot, the processor displays information about
what caused the reboot on the serial port and write the information to the error log.
This information allows engineers at Crestron to track down the cause of the reboot.
If a PC is connected to the control system’s serial port, the information can be
received through a serial connection to the control system console.
When a PC is not connected to a control system’s serial port, the NVRAMREBOOT
function can be used to store error logs containing watchdog messages in NVRAM
before the control system reboots.
Unexpected reboots are not considered part of normal operation. If the control
system reboots without apparent reason, please capture the watchdog messages in the
error log to NVRAM using the NVRAMREBOOT feature. All messages contained
in the error log should be forwarded to Crestron for further analysis, as workarounds
may be available to prevent future reboots. This information is greatly appreciated.