Specifications

Overview
79
Basic System Configuration on the
Bench
Overview
This chapter covers the connection of the basic system components into a functioning
system for the first time under controlled conditions in the shop. This step is an important
one when installing new systems. It enables technicians to confirm the basic operability of
the system and to remedy any “teething” problems while the “commuting time” from one
end of the system to the other is still fairly short.
In addition to all of the FSA components that will eventually end up as part of the final
system, you will need enough spare Ethernet® networking hardware to emulate the
system network in your shop.
Connecting the System Elements
When setting up the server(s), consoles, and Station Transponder Units in the shop in
order test their basic configuration, you will need to emulate at least a basic network. This
would involve at least one network switch, as shown in Figure 7 on page 28.
The drawback of doing this (if your actual system is going to be larger and more complex)
is that you will be forced to do an interim address configuration on the units you are
testing and then a final configuration on them before taking them out into the field. In
addition to the extra work of having to set the addresses in multiple units more than once is
the need to keep extra records for the current address to which each unit is actually set.
The other alternative is to acquire enough switches and routers in the shop to emulate the
actual system network “as-built”. If it can be done, this is the preferred solution.