Comtrol Multiport Modems User Manual

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Windows XP Operating System

Device Driver Installation and

Configuration

Trademark Notices

Comtrol, RocketModem, and RocketPort are trademarks of Comtrol Corporation.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Comtrol Corporation makes no representations or warranties with regard to the contents of this document or to the suitability of the Comtrol product for any particular purpose. Specifications subject to change without notice. Some software or features may not be available at the time of publication. Contact your reseller for current product information.

Document Number: 2000285 Rev. C

Overview ................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Driver Requirements ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Locating Current Drivers ................................................................................................................................. 5

Hardware Installation Documentation............................................................................................................ 5

Driver Features ................................................................................................................................................. 6

Upgrading Your Operating System to Windows XP ....................................................................................... 6

Installing the Device Driver.............................................................................................................................. 7

Installation Procedures..................................................................................................................................... 7

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation).................................................................................................. 9

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found) .................................................................. 15

Changing or Configuring Device Properties.................................................................................................. 19

Configuring Port Properties ........................................................................................................................... 21

Removing the Adapter and Driver ................................................................................................................. 24

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices...................................................................................................... 25

Installing Non-Plug and Play Devices ........................................................................................................... 25

Comtrol Tools...................................................................................................................................................... 33

Installing the Utilities (Windows 2000 and Windows XP) ........................................................................... 33

Using Test Terminal ....................................................................................................................................... 35

Using Port Monitor ......................................................................................................................................... 38

Using Peer Tracer ........................................................................................................................................... 43

Troubleshooting and Technical Support ..................................................................................................... 45

Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................... 45

Before calling Technical Support ................................................................................................................... 45

Technical Support ........................................................................................................................................... 46

Index ..................................................................................................................................................................... 47

Table of Contents 3

Table of Contents

Page blank to accommodate double-sided printing.

4 Table of Contents

Overview

Hyperlinks within the document are underscored and blue; URLs or external hyperlinks are underscored and red

Driver Requirements

The RocketPort or RocketModem adapter (ISA, PCI, Universal PCI, or CompactPCI bus types supported) requires at least one host server running Windows

Locating Current Drivers

The latest driver can be located for your product by using the links to the web site or directly to the ftp site:

• Downloads Page on the web site (http://support.comtrol.com/download.asp

• ftp://ftp.comtrol.com/RPort/Drivers/

• ftp://ftp.comtrol.com/RModem/Drivers/

You can also use the device driver on the Comtrol CD shipped with your product. To install the driver from the CD, use the menu program, and copy the driver files to your hard drive and then go to Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation) Page 9.

Note: Always check the web or ftp sites to make sure that you have the current

XP.

driver and documentation.

)

Hardware Installation Documentation

For hardware specific information or the product overview, see the Hardware

Installation documents that are available on the Comtrol CD shipped with your

product or download the current version from the ftp/web site:

• Downloads Page on the web site (http://support.comtrol.com/download.asp

• ftp://ftp.comtrol.com/

Overview 5

RPort/HW_Doc/

RModem/HW_Doc/

)

Driver Features

This section provides information that you may need to install a device driver for a RocketPort or RocketModem adapter (ISA, PCI, Universal PCI, or CompactPCI bus types supported).

The driver supports up to 128 RocketPort and/or RocketModem ports per server.

Note: The critical limit is the number of ports your server can support. In most

The driver also allows you to intermix RocketPort and RocketModem ports within the same system.

applications, this is defined by the number of RAS port supported, which is typically 256 ports per primary server.

Upgrading Your Operating System to Windows XP

If you are upgrading your operating system to Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. Before upgrading your operating system, remove the driver from the Windows 95/98, Windows NT, or Windows 2000 operating system using the appropriate manual (if necessary).

2. Turn off the system, remove the boards, and carefully set them aside.

3. Upgrade your system to the new Windows XP operating system.

4. Install the adapters and turn on the system. If you need information about reinstalling adapters, see Hardware Installation Documentation

5. Go to the Installation Procedures

on Page 7 to continue the installation.

on Page 5.

6 Overview

Installing the Device Driver

The following subsections discuss driver installation and removal. It also discusses adapter and port configuration. If you have installation problems, see

Troubleshooting

Installation Procedures

The following subsections discuss installation procedures for a variety of installations. In many installations, Windows XP detects the adapter and installs the default driver automatically. In some installations, you may need to upgrade the default driver in the Windows XP system with the driver shipped on the Comtrol CD to support a particular model.

on Page 45.

Existing Installations

Install the Hardware

Automatic Driver Installation

If you have a RocketPort or RocketModem installed and configured in your system, make sure that you upgrade the driver before installing any new RocketPort or RocketModem adapters. See Locating Current Drivers the latest driver.

Use Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation) driver in the system. After updating the driver, install the new hardware and the driver should automatically install the new adapter.

The first step to installing a PCI RocketPort or RocketModem adapter, is to install the adapter. For hardware installation procedures, see Hardware Installation

Documentation on Page 5.

Note: Make sure that you install new adapters one at a time to minimize

installation problems.

If the driver installs automatically, you may need to configure the device or port properties for your applications using the appropriate subsections:

• Configuring Device Properties

• Configuring Port Properties

Note: If you are unsure as to whether the adapter has installed automatically,

check the Device Manager to verify that the RocketPort or RocketModem adapter displays.

(Comtrol Adapters) on Page 20

on Page 21

on Page 9 to upgrade the existing

on Page 5 for

Installing the Device Driver 7

Access the Device Manager

You can access the Device Manager many different ways. If you are unfamiliar with accessing the Device Manager, you can use this method:

1. Open the Start button, right-click on My Computer, and select Manage.

2. Select the Device Manager.

3. Open the Multi-port serial adapters entry (click [+] to expand the list).

Manual Driver Installation

You may need to install a new driver version for a particular model because the Found New Hardware Wizard appears. If that is the case, a driver is available on the Comtrol CD shipped with the product or using Locating Current Drivers Page 5. See Found New Hardware Wizard Installation

(Driver Not Found) on Page

15, to continue the installation.

If you want to update the default driver to the latest released driver, use

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

on Page 9, to disable the default

driver and install the latest released version.

8 Installing the Device Driver

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

Use this procedure if you want to upgrade the driver in the Windows XP operating system in an existing installation.

1. Unzip the file into a new subdirectory, for example: \Comtrol. See Locating

Current Drivers on Page 5 if you need a device driver.

2. Access the Device Manager and right-click on the adapter that you want to disable.

(Page 8), open the Multi-port serial adapters entry,

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

3. Select Disable from the list and then select Yes when queried, Do you

really want to disable it?

4. Double-click on the disabled device, and select the Driver tab.

Installing the Device Driver 9

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

5. Select the Update Driver button.

6. Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and the Next button.

10 Installing the Device Driver

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

7. Select Don’t search, I will choose the driver to install and the Next button.

8. Select the Have Disk button.

9. Browse to the location of the driver file that you extracted in Step 1

and then

select the OK button.

Installing the Device Driver 11

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

10. Select the device from the list and select the Next button to install the driver with the default settings.

11. Select the Continue Anyway button on the Hardware Installation dialog box.

12. Select the Finish button to complete the driver installation process.

12 Installing the Device Driver

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

13. Select Next if you want to enable the adapter.

14. Select Finish to complete the process of enabling the adapter.

15. You can close this window or configure adapter or COM port properties using the Main Setup and Options tabs. For configuration procedures, see

Changing or Configuring Device Properties on Page 19

or Configuring Port Properties on Page 21.

Installing the Device Driver 13

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

16. Close the Device Manager.

14 Installing the Device Driver

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found)

If the operating system finds the adapter but not the driver, use the following procedure when the Found New Hardware Wizard appears.

1. Copy the latest device driver to your hard drive and unzip it to a temporary location. If you want to use the latest released device driver, see Locating

Current Drivers on Page 5.

2. Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and the Next button.

3. Select Don’t Search, I will choose the driver to install and the Next button.

Installing the Device Driver 15

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found)

4. Select the Have Disk button.

5. Select the Browse button.

6. Locate the directory where the driver files are located and select Open.

16 Installing the Device Driver

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found)

7. Select the OK button.

8. Select the Next button to start the installation process.

9. Select the Continue Anyway button to continue the driver installation.

Installing the Device Driver 17

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found)

10. Select the Finish button and refer to the appropriate product.

RocketPort:

The new driver is now installed and the system will start to configure the default COM Ports. When it is done, you may need to use the following subsections to configure the adapter for your environment.

• Configuring

Device Properties (Comtrol Adapters) on Page

• Configuring Port

Properties on

Page 21

RocketModem: The new driver is now installed and the system will start to configure the default modem ports. Windows XP notifies you of these actions in the lower right hand side of the screen.

When it is done, you may need to use the following subsections to configure the RocketModem for your environment.

• Configuring

Device Properties (Comtrol Adapters) on Page

• Configuring Port Properties

• To use this modem or modems with RRAS, see the RRAS Configuration

Overview for Windows XP document, which can be located in the RRAS_Doc

subdirectory.

11. Connect the serial devices to the ports. If the device is a plug and play device, Windows XP will automatically detect and install the driver or drivers for your devices.

If the device connected to the RocketPort serial ports is not a plug and play device, see Configuring Non-Plug and Play

on Page 21

Devices on Page 25.

18 Installing the Device Driver

Changing or Configuring Device Properties

You can change the adapter’s name and starting COM port number by accessing the Main Setup tab. To change device properties, see Changing the Adapter Name

or the Starting COM Port Number on Page 20.

In addition, you can configure the following device properties using the Options tab. See Configuring Device Properties procedure.

• Verbose event log for diagnostic purposes

• Scan rate to adjust latency for timing-critical applications

• Enable RS-485 mode (if an RS-232/485 convertor is attached)

Changing or Configuring Device Properties

(Comtrol Adapters) on Page 20 for the

Access the Main Setup Tab

Before you can change or configure any port or device properties, you must access the Main Setup tab.

1. Access the Device Manager (Page 8), right-click the adapter that you want to access, and, select Properties.

2. Select the Main Setup tab.

Note: Select the Help button if

you need detailed information about procedures or use contextsensitive help for any field.

Installing the Device Driver 19

Changing the Adapter Name or the Starting COM Port Number

Configuring Device Properties (Comtrol Adapters)

Use the following procedure to change the adapter name or the starting COM port number for the adapter.

1. Access the Main Setup Tab

(Page 19).

2. Highlight the device name and select the Properties button.

3. After making your changes, select the OK button and follow any other driver prompts.

Use the following procedure to configure the adapter Device Properties.

1. Access the Main Setup Tab

(Page 19) and select the Options tab.

2. Enable the features you want to use.

a. Verbose Event Log. Select

this check box to cause longer messages to be sent to the Windows XP Event Log. This added information can be useful when debugging communications and configuration problems.

b. Scan Rate. Use this

droplist to set the driver servicing rate. As a general rule this is changed only if you are driving ports at rates in excess of 230.4 Kbps. For example, if you are using a RocketPort OctaCable running at 460.8 Kbps, select 4 ms. If you are running a RocketPort Plus at 921.6 Kbps, select 2 ms.

c. To use RS-485 mode, you must have an external RS-232/485 convertor

attached to the RocketPort adapter port. Otherwise, leave this box blank.

20 Installing the Device Driver

Configuring Port Properties

You can configure specific port properties for this adapter with these options:

• Override and lock baud rate to a specific value

• Timeout on transmit data on port close

• Map CD to DSR

• Map 2 stop bits to 1

• Wait on physical transmission before completing write

• Emulate modem hardware RING signal

• Clone all Comtrol ports for board

Use the following procedure to access the Port Properties.

1. Access the Main Setup Tab (Page 19), select the port you want to configure from the Configuration list, and select Properties.

Configuring Port Properties

2. Enable the features you want to use.

a. Override and lock baud rate

to: This option lets you lock selected ports to specific baud rates.

You can select a value from the drop list or enter the appropriate value.

After you do so, no matter what baud rate is selected in a host application, the actual rate used is the rate specified here.

Note: Not all rates are

supported by all Comtrol products. See the hardware documentation to determine if the adapter supports the desired rate. To use rates above 230.4 Kbps, you must also reset the scan rate (Page 20

Installing the Device Driver 21

Configuring Port Properties

b. Timeout on transmit data on port close: Use this droplist to select the length

of time to wait for data to clear the transmit buffer after a host application has closed the port. This is typically used with peripheral devices such as printers, to give the data sufficient time to flush through the system.

c. Map CD to DSR: This option is used in installations where there is no

connection to the port’s DSR input. Select this check box to cause the CD input to appear as DSR to the host application, and to perform hardware handshaking with CD rather than DSR. This is ignored if flow control is not enabled via IOCTL_SERIAL_SET_HANDFLOW.

d. Map 2 stop bits to 1: If the application you use is hard-coded to use two stop

bits and you receive framing errors, select this check box to map 2 stop bits to 1 bit. Otherwise, leave this box unchecked.

e. Wait on physical transmission before completing write: This option forces all

write packets to wait until the transmit data has physically completed the transmission before returning completion to the host application. The default mode (check box not selected) is to buffer the data in the transmit hardware buffer, and return completion as soon as the packet is in the buffer.

f. Emulate modem hardware RING signal: Select this check box to emulate the

ring indicator signal. If this feature is enabled, the driver monitors the data stream and outputs a software RI whenever the RING AT command is received.

g. Clone: If this check box is not selected, changes apply to the selected port

only. If this check box is selected, changes apply to all ports on this board.

h. Defaults: Select this to return to the driver default values.

3. Select the OK button after configuring this port or select the Clone check box to set all of the port to these characteristics.

22 Installing the Device Driver

Resetting RocketModem Modems

1. Access the Main Setup Tab (Page 19), select the port you want to reset from the Configuration list, and select Properties.

The Modem tab appears if the selected port is a Comtrol modem product.

2. Select the Modem tab.

Installing the Device Driver 23

Removing the Adapter and Driver

3. Select the Reset button to reset the selected modem to its default (power-on) state.

Note: This resets only the

modem on the selected modem port, on the selected adapter. This option cannot be used to reset non-Comtrol modems.

4. To use this modem or modems with RRAS, see the RRAS

Configuration Overview for Windows XP document, which

can be located in the RRAS_Doc subdirectory.

Removing the Adapter and Driver

Use the following procedure to remove the existing device driver in your operating system.

1. Access the Device Manager

(Page 8) and open the Multi-port serial adapters

entry.

2. Right-click on the adapter that you want to uninstall.

3. Select Uninstall and Yes to completely remove the adapter.

4. Exit the Device Manager, turn off the system, and REMOVE the adapter from the system before re-applying power.

24 Installing the Device Driver

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

After installing the hardware and driver for Windows XP, you can use this discussion to configure non-plug and play modem COM ports.

Note: RocketModem models install automatically because they are plug and play

Installing Non-Plug and Play Devices

Use the following procedure to install non-plug and play devices.

1. If you have not so yet, connect the device to a RocketPort port and turn on the

2. Open the Control Panel.

devices. Other plug and play modems will install automatically.

device.

3. Go to the appropriate subsection to install non-plug and play modems or printers:

• Installing Modems

• Installing Printers

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices 25

on Page 26

on Page 30

Installing Modems

Installing Modems Use the following procedure to install non-plug and play modems.

1. If you have not done so yet, connect the modem (or modems) to the desired RocketPort port (or ports) and turn on the modem (or modems).

Note: This may take a few minutes, depending upon your system and the

number of modems you are installing.

2. Open the Control Panel and select the Phone and Modem Options icon.

3. Select the Modems tab.

26 Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

4. Select the Add button.

5. Select Don’t detect my modem. I will select it from a list and Next.

Installing Modems

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices 27

Installing Modems

6. Select an appropriate standard modem model and the Next button.

Note: If you have a driver from the modem manufacturer, select Have Disk and

browse to the location of the driver.

7. Highlight the port or ports on to which you have connected modems.

28 Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

Installing Modems

8. Select the Finish button to complete the modem installation.

9. Configure modem properties as necessary. For assistance, use the Windows XP help system.

10. To use this modem or modems with RRAS, see the RRAS Configuration

Overview for Windows XP document, which can be located in the RRAS_Doc

subdirectory.

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices 29

Installing Printers

Installing Printers Use the following

procedure to install a non-plug and play printer.

Note: If you want to

install a plug and play printer, connect the printer to the appropriate serial port and the driver should automatically install. If it does not automatically install, use the following procedure as a guide with the printer manufacturers documentation.

1. Open the Control Panel and select the Printers and Faxes icon.

2. Select Next when this screen appears.

3. Select the Local printer attached to this computer item..

30 Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

Installing Printers

4. Select the COM port that corresponds to the port to which the printer is connected.

5. Select the Manufacturer, Printer type, and then select Next.

Note: If you have a

driver from the printer manufacturer, select Have Disk and browse to the location of the driver.

6. Optionally, enter a printer name and select Next.

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices 31

Installing Printers

7. Select Yes if you want to print a test page.

8. Select the Finish button to complete the installation.

9. Close the Printer and Faxes control panel.

32 Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

Comtrol Tools

This section discusses the following utilities that are installed with most Comtrol drivers for Microsoft operating systems:

• Test Terminal program (wcom32.ex e), which can be used to troubleshoot communications on a port-by-port basis (Using Test Terminal

• Port Monitor program (portmon.exe), which checks for errors, modem control, and status signals (Using Port Monitor you with raw byte input and output counts.

• Peer Tracer program (peer.exe), which traces driver events (Using Peer Tracer on Page 43).

Note: If you are using a device driver for the Windows 2000 or Windows XP

operating system, you may need to download and install these utilities.

Installing the Utilities (Windows 2000 and Windows XP)

You can download the latest Comtrol Utility package from ftp://ftp.comtrol.com/

Utilities/ or locate the Utilities directory at the root of your Comtrol CD.

Use the following procedure to install the Comtrol Utilities:

1. Run the self-extracting utility file. You c an opt i ona l ly change the path that you want to extract the files.

Note: Allow WinZip to run the

COM_util.exe file to start the Utilities installation.

on Page 38). In addition, it provides

on Page 35).

The file name may be different than the illustration.

2. Select the Next button to begin the Comtrol Utilities installation.

Comtrol Tools 33

Installing the Utilities (Windows 2000 and Windows XP)

3. Select the Next button to install the Utilities in the default subdirectory.

4. Select the Next button to begin the installation.

5. Select the Finish button to complete the Utilities installation.

34 Comtrol Tools

Using Test Terminal

WCOM32 is a terminal program that enables you to open a port, send characters and commands to the port, and toggle the control signals.

Note: WCOM32 will not work on ports used by RAS if Remote Access Service is

running or any other application is using the port. If you are using RAS,

you must stop the service before starting WCOM32 to test RAS COM ports. To test ports that are not used by RAS, you do not need to stop RAS.

Follow these steps:

1. Start Test Terminal (wcom32.exe) from the Comtrol program group for your product.

Product

RocketModem and RocketPort

DeviceMaster RTS, RocketPort Serial Hub ia, and RocketPort Serial Hub Si

Operating

System

Windows 98, Windows NT

Windows 2000, Windows XP

Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP

Program Group

Comtrol RocketPort RocketModem Test Terminal

Comtrol Utilities Wcom32 wcom32.exe

Comtrol NS-Link Test Terminal

2. Select the OK button if this screen appears:

3. From the Port menu, select Open Port. A list of possible COM port numbers displays.

4. Select the COM port you want to test.

If the COM port does not exist or if it is currently being used by another program, a Create File Error message displays.

Comtrol Tools 35

Testing a Comtrol Device

If the COM port is available, a terminal window appears:

Note: Notice the <loop> button in the terminal window. If this option is

activated, it is green and uppercase ( ), the COM port internal loopback feature is activated, and the data is returned by the COM port

hardware. If this option is deactivated, it is gray and lowercase ( ), the internal loopback is deactivated, and the data is sent out of the COM port.

Testing a Comtrol Device

Use the following procedure to test the Comtrol device.

1. Place a loopback plug on the COM port that you are testing. Make sure all connectors are seated firmly and that the loop button is off.

Note: Test terminal works for RS-232 and RS-422 mode.

To build loopback plugs, see the hardware installation document for the Comtrol device.

2. From the Port menu, select Send Test Data. The program sends out a repeating data stream.

Note: To stop the data stream, select the Send Test Data option again.

• If the loopback plug is in place and the port is working correctly, the test

data should be echoed back to the screen.

• If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, no

data or garbled data is echoed back to the screen.

Note: If no characters appear, try putting the loopback plug on an adjacent

port. It may be that you have the ports mixed up.

3. If further testing is required, select Loopback Test from the Port menu.

Note: The loopback test only works in RS-232

because it tests modem control signals that are not present in RS-422 mode.

If the loopback plug is in place and the port is working correctly, the system should return the message Passed.

If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, the system will return the message Failed.

36 Comtrol Tools

Testing RocketModem Adapters

Test Terminal Modem Control Signals

The following test may be used to ensure functionality of the RocketModem.

Note: Make sure that the <loop> button is off for the following tests.

Test 1:

The following procedure checks to see if the modem responds.

1. Type atz. This should return an OK.

2. Type at&v. This should display the modem configuration.

Test 2:

The following test calls from the modem to an ordinary telephone.

1. Connect the modem to a phone line.

2. Enter atdtphonenumber, where phonenumber is the phone number of an ordinary telephone. The telephone should ring.

3. Enter +++ath to hang up.

Test 3:

This test has one modem call another modem.

1. Connect two modems to phone lines.

2. Open two Test Terminal sessions.

3. Use one modem to call the other modem.

4. Send typed characters from one modem to the other.

The terminal window displays the modem control signals as gray or green lights at the top of the window. The first four are inputs:

The lights are green if they are turned on, or gray if turned off. The text on the light also changes from uppercase (CTS), which is on, to lowercase (cts), which is off.

Note: Ring indicator is only available on the RocketPort Plus and the RocketPort

Universal PCI Quad/Octacables adapters.

The next two lights are outputs:

Note: If you have a loopback plug connected and you click on one of the outputs,

the corresponding signal is sent to the input and the input lights should toggle accordingly.

The right most light is the loop indicator:

If this is on, the COM port internal loopback feature is activated and any information or code entered in the terminal window loops back through the COM port circuitry. If this is off, the COM port internal loopback is deactivated, and any information or code entered in the terminal window is sent out of the port.

Comtrol Tools 37

Using Port Monitor

The Port Monitor program (portmon.exe) offers a summary of all Comtrol device statistics in one spreadsheet view. It also enables you to verify operation of all Comtrol device ports from a single window.

The Port Monitor display follows the familiar spreadsheet model: each COM port is a horizontal row, and each vertical column displays a variable or value for the respective COM port. For definitions of the abbreviations used, see Port Monitor

Variables on Page 41.

Port Monitor can also produce statistics and reports that can help you verify the operation of the COM ports and connected peripherals. Some immediate feedback includes:

• The state of the modem control and status signals

• Open ports

• Raw byte input and output counts obtained from the device driver

• Port errors

The available statistics include:

• Instantaneous characters per second (CPS) calculations

• Minute, hour, and day CPS averages and peaks

• Carrier detect (CD) signal runtime and transition count

Reports can be automatically generated on an hourly and/or daily basis, and can cover all ports collectively or a separate report for each port. You can also set how often the values are recalculated, fine-tuning thoroughness against system efficiency, and automatically run external batch files to perform additional processing and analysis.

Starting Port Monitor

To run Port Monitor, select Port Monitor (or Portmon.exe) from the appropriate Comtrol program group.

Product

RocketModem and RocketPort

DeviceMaster RTS, RocketPort Serial Hub ia, and RocketPort Serial Hub Si

Operating

System

Windows 98, Windows NT

Windows 2000, Windows XP

Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP

Program Group

Comtrol RocketPort RocketModem Port Monitor

Comtrol Utilities Portmon Portmon.exe

Comtrol NS-Link Port Monitor

The Port Monitor window appears:

Note: To change the appearance of the window, see the following discussion.

38 Comtrol Tools

Changing Screen Appearance

Once the monitor window appears, Port Monitor is active and collecting data. If any cumulative data has been saved from previous sessions, it is automatically brought in and used.

Port Monitor continues to run and collect data until you terminate it, at which point all accumulated data is automatically saved for use in the next session.

Changing Screen Appearance

While Port Monitor is running, there are a number of commands and controls that change the appearance of the screen.

Desired Change Procedure

Change the monitor window font.

Change width of a single column.

Change column placement.

Remove a column.

Clear all fields and reset them to null values.

Clear any single field except the upper left cell.

Select Font from the Edit menu.

Left-click on the column separator (vertical) line and drag it to the desired width.

Left-click in the middle of the column you want to move and drag it to the desired location.

Right-click on the column you want to remove and select Remove from the pop-up menu.

Right-click on the upper left cell in the table and select Reset from the pop-up menu.*

Right-click on the field to be cleared and select Reset from the pop-up menu.*

Right-click on the column now occupying the desired location and select Add from the pop-up menu.

You are prompted to name the variable you want to

Add a column.

display, as well as other information. (See the following Column Setup discussion.)

After you click OK, the column is inserted in the selected location and the existing column is moved to the right.

Change other properties of a column.

Right-click on the column and select Properties from the pop-up menu. (See Column Setup, below.)

*The Reset command does not clear raw data from the calcs.dat file. It simply

resets the selected display fields to their null values. For more information regarding calcs.dat, see page 41.

Column Setup When you select Add or Properties from the

column pop-up menu, the Column Setup window appears:

•Use the Input droplist to select the variable displayed in the column.

•Use the Type droplist to select the way in which the value displays: either as an integer, as an on/off state, as an integer with a kilo, mega, or giga suffix, or as an hh:mm:ss time stamp. This defaults to the appropriate type for the selected Input variable.

•Use the Name variable to change the column heading name.

•Use the Width variable to specify the column width in characters.

Comtrol Tools 39

Report Configuration

•Use Color0 to set the column character color when the value is zero.

•Use Color1 to set the column character color when the value is not zero.

• When done, click OK to save your changes and return to Port Monitor.

Report Configuration

To configure reports, select Config from the Edit menu.

The Single report options cover all ports and are overwritten each time the reports are generated. The Multiple report options generate a separate report for each port, and each report file is appended each time the report is generated.

For Hour reports, use the Single and Multiple droplists to select whether you are generating single or multiple reports, or both. For each report type, select from the following types of data to include:

• None: no report is generated.

• Hour Data: only variables with “Hour” in the name are included.

• All Data: all variables are included.

• View Data: only variables that appear on-screen are included.

The External Program field is used to enter a command line to run another program after the hourly reports have been generated. For example, you can use this to run a batch file that performs custom report processing. The Test button causes the command line to be executed immediately.

For Day reports, the single and multiple droplists behave the same, but your choices are:

• None: no report is generated.

• Day Data: only variables with the words “Day” or “Raw” in the names are included.

• All Data: all variables are included.

• View Data: only the variables that appear in the Port Monitor window are included.

Likewise, the External Program field is used to enter a command line to be executed after the daily reports have been generated.

The Update Time option allows you to set the rate at which the port information is obtained and the calculations performed. There is a trade-off between Port Monitor efficiency and response time. If you are using Port Monitor to view the port activity on the screen, you may want to set the update time to 1 or 2 seconds, so that the screen is updated frequently. If you are concerned about the monitor program using CPU resources, set this to a higher value, (6 to 20 seconds) in order to decrease the time required by the program to perform the calculations and update the screen.

If Port Monitor is left active to generate reports, minimizing or reducing the display area of the program will help reduce the CPU overhead of updating the screen.

40 Comtrol Tools

Port Monitor Files Port Monitor creates and uses the following files:

•portmon.vew

•calcs.dat

The default column layout is saved in portmon.vew. If you have been experimenting with the appearance of the monitor screen, you can use the File menu Save option to save your customized layout in another.vew file. You can retrieve this file later by selecting the Open option from the File menu, or you can select the View Default option from the Edit menu to retrieve portmon.vew and restore the default view.

All Port Monitor calculations are saved at program exit and on the hour in a binary file named calcs.dat. This enables you to halt Port Monitor execution without losing accumulated data.

Port Monitor also creates a \REPORTS directory. All hourly and daily reports are saved in this directory, under the following names:

• hall.txt — hourly single report

• dall.txt — daily single report

• hcomx.txt — hourly multiple reports, where x is the port number

• dcomx.txt — daily multiple reports, where x is the port number

Caution: Since multiple reports append new data each time they are written, the

multiple report files grow in size. It is up to you to delete them periodically.

Some safeguards are built into the program to avoid filling up a hard disk drive due to growing report files. The monitoring program stops writing additional data to the multiple reports if they reach a size of 2 MB. Also, the program will not write out data files to the disk drive if the spare room on the drive is less than 2 MB in size.

To view or edit an hourly or daily report, select the Edit Report option from the File menu, or use a system tool such as Microsoft Notepad.

For more information, see the Port Monitor Help file.

Port Monitor Files

Port Monitor Variables

The following table lists Port Monitor variables.

Variable Description

Open Open status, on if open, off if closed.

Cts Input CTS pin status.

Dsr Input DSR pin status.

Cd Input CD (carrier detect) pin status.

Rts Output RTS pin status.

Dtr Output DTR pin status.

TxTotal Total bytes transmitted.

RxTotal Total bytes received.

TxCPSInst

RxCPSInst

Errors

TxMinCPS

Instantaneous average of transmit characters per second.

Instantaneous average of receive characters per second.

Total hardware receive errors (parity, framing, and overruns.)

Last minute average of transmit characters per second.

Comtrol Tools 41

Port Monitor Variables

Variable Description

RxMinCPS

Last minute average of receive characters per second.

TxCPSMinAvMax Peak TxCPSInst for the last minute.

RxCPSMinAvMax Peak RxCPSInst for the last minute.

TxCPSHourAvMax Peak TxMinCPS for the last hour.

RxCPSHourAvMax Peak RxMinCPS for the last hour.

TxCPSDayAvMax Peak TxMinCPS for the last day.

RxCPSDayAvMax Peak RxMinCPS for the last day.

TxTotalRaw

RxTotalRaw

Total number of transmit bytes raw data from the device driver.

Total number of receive bytes raw data from the device driver.

TxMinCnt Count of transmit bytes sent in last minute.

TxHourCnt Transmit bytes count sent in the last hour.

TxDayCnt Transmit bytes count sent in the last day.

RxMinCnt Receive bytes count sent in the last minute.

RxHourCnt Receive bytes count sent in the last hour.

RxDayCnt Receive bytes count sent in the last day.

TxMinCntWrk Transmit bytes count sent in this minute.

TxHourCntWrk Transmit bytes count sent in this hour.

TxDayCntWrk Transmit bytes count sent in this day.

RxMinCntWrk Receive bytes count sent in this minute.

RxHourCntWrk Receive bytes count sent in this hour.

RxDayCntWrk Receive bytes count sent in this day.

TxCPSMinAvMaxWrk Peak TxCPSInst for the current minute.

TxCPSHourAvMaxWrk Peak TxMinCPS for the current hour.

TxCPSDayAvMaxWrk Peak TxHourCPS for the current day.

RxCPSMinAvMaxWrk Peak RxCPSInst for the current minute.

RxCPSHourAvMaxWrk Peak RxMinCPS for the current hour.

RxCPSDayAvMaxWrk Peak RxHourCPS for the current day.

CDRuns Carrier detect turn-on count.

CDDayRuns Carrier detect turn-on count in the last day.

CDDayRunsWrk Carrier detect turn-on count in the current day.

CDRunTime Time in seconds carrier detect has been on.

CDHourRunTime

CDDayRunTime

Time in seconds carrier detect has been on in the last hour.

Time in seconds carrier detect has been on in the last day.

CDHourRunTimeWrk Time in seconds carrier detect has been on this hour.

CDDayRunTimeWrk Time in seconds carrier detect has been on this day.

StatusFlags Bit flags, Open, CTS, DSR, CD, RTS, DTR

42 Comtrol Tools

Using Peer Tracer

Variable Description

TxPkts Raw count of total transmit packets sent.

RxPkts Raw count of total receive packets sent.

OverrunErrors Total count of receive overrun errors.

FramingErrors Total count of receive framing errors.

ParityErrors Total count of receive parity errors.

OverrunErrorsRaw

FramingErrorsRaw

ParityErrorsRaw

Total count of receive overrun errors, from the device driver.

Total count of receive framing errors, from the device driver.

Total count of receive parity errors, from the device driver.

The Peer Tracer program (peer.exe) is specifically designed to view the internal operations of the device driver for the purpose of troubleshooting communications on Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP systems. Peer enables you to see:

• Receive and transmit data

• Internal driver event traces

• Advanced configuration and status information

Like Test Ter mina l, Peer acts as a simple terminal session, and is used to send and receive text information to and from the device driver. To use Peer, you type in commands, and status and information are sent back.

Unlike Test Terminal, Peer enables you to keep a continuous log of the commands sent and the results received in a file named peer.log. Comtrol Technical Support may ask you to run Peer in order to help diagnose reported problems.

Starting Peer Peer Tracer does not appear in most Comtrol program groups and you may need to

start the application from the Windows Explorer. Use the table below to determine whether you can start Peer from a program group or where to locate the executable.

Product

DeviceMaster RTS, RocketPort Serial Hub ia, RocketPort Serial Hub Si

RocketModem and RocketPort

Operating

System

Starting Peer

Windows NT, Windows 2000,

\WINNT\system32\rpshSi\peer.exe

Windows XP Windows NT \WINNT\system32\rocket\Peer.exe

Windows 2000, Windows XP

Comtrol Utilities peer peer.exe

To start Peer, you may need to open the Windows Explorer, access a specific directory, and double-click on peer.exe or start peer using the Comtrol Utilities program group. The Peer Tracer window displays (at right).

Comtrol Tools 43

Log Functions

Log Functions All logging functions are found under the File menu. To start keeping a log, select

Log to Disk from the File menu. The other options on this menu are View Disk Log, Clear Disk Log, Clear Screen, and Exit.

Using Peer To use peer, simply type in commands at the : prompt. (It may be necessary to

press Enter to make the : prompt appear.) For example, to examine COM5, type:

PORT COM5 <Enter>

To gather some information about the port, type: STAT <Enter> . This should return details about the port.

To turn on monitoring of any calls into driver (events), type: MON EV <Enter>

To send strings and commands to attached peripherals—for example, to send “ATH0” to a modem—type: SEND ATH0 <Enter>. A return and linefeed are always appended to each string sent.

Other Peer

Enter commands at the : prompt and follow each command with Enter.

Commands

Command Effect

MON TX Monitor data being transmitted through the selected port. MON RX Monitor data being received through the selected port. M Turn off all monitoring. ? Display Peer Tracer command summary.

PORT COMxx Change port being examined to COMxx.

Keep in mind that all commands are processed in the device driver, and that Peer simply acts as a conduit for this information.

For more information, see the Peer.hlp help file.

44 Comtrol Tools

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting and Technical Support

This section contains troubleshooting information for your RocketPort or RocketModem adapter and how to contact Technical Support.

If you are having trouble with a RocketPort or RocketModem, try the following.

Note: Most customer problems reported to Technical Support

or network problems.

1. Verify that you are using the correct types of cables in the correct places and that all cables are tightly connected. See Hardware Installation

Documentation on Page 5 to verify cabling.

2. Verify that you are addressing the port correctly. In many applications, device names above COM9 require the prefix \\.\ to be recognized. For example, to reference COM20, use \\.\COM20 as the file or port name.

3. Create the bootable diagnostic diskette and run the diagnostics. See the

Hardware Installation Documentation

creating and running the bootable diagnostic diskette.

4. Use the section titled, Comtrol Tools can use to diagnose problems.

5. Enable the V erbose Event Log feature (Page 21) under the Options tab and then reboot the server.

on Page 5 for information about

on Page 33, to install utilities that you

are traced to cabling

Before calling Technical Support

Comtrol has a staff of support technicians available to help you. You should review Troubleshooting before calling Technical Support. If you call for Technical Support, please have the following information available.

Adapter type

Adapter serial number

Driver part number and revision or version

Server computer make, model, and speed

Other serial port adapters installed in the server and their COM port numbers

Devices connected to the adapter

Item Information

Troubleshooting and Technical Support 45

Technical Support

If you need technical support, contact Comtrol using one of the following methods.

Contact

Method

Corporate

Headquarters

Comtrol Europe

FAQ/Online http://support.comtrol.com/support.asp

Downloads http://support.comtrol.com/download.asp

Email support@comtrol.com support@comtrol.co.uk

Web site http://www.comtrol.com http://www.comtrol.co.uk

Fax (763) 494-4199 +44 (0) 1 869-323-211

Phone (763) 494-4100 +44 (0) 1 869-323-220

46 Troubleshooting and Technical Support

Index

accessing

Device Manager

adapter

device properties

adapter name

changing 20

application

port addressing format

baud rates

lock above 230.4 Kbps over 230.4 Kbps 20

bootable diagnostic diskette 45

changing

adapter name 20 device properties 19 starting COM port number 20

Clone ports option 22 Column Setup

portmon

COM port number

changing

commands

Peer Tracer 44 portmon 39

Comtrol

contact information 46

configuring

device properties port properties 21

Device Manager

how to access 8

device properties

changing configuring 20

devices

installing non-plug and play

diagnostics

hardware installing utilities 33

disabling

driver

documents

downloading the latest

downloading

Comtrol Multiport Modems User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

Overview

Driver Requirements

Locating Current Drivers

Hardware Installation Documentation

Driver Features

Upgrading Your Operating System to Windows XP

Installing the Device Driver

Installation Procedures

Existing Installations

Install the Hardware

Automatic Driver Installation

Access the Device Manager

Manual Driver Installation

Upgrading the Driver (Existing Installation)

Found New Hardware Wizard Installation (Driver Not Found)

Changing or Configuring Device Properties

Access the Main Setup Tab

Changing the Adapter Name or the Starting COM Port Number

Configuring Device Properties (Comtrol Adapters)

Configuring Port Properties

Resetting RocketModem Modems

Removing the Adapter and Driver

Configuring Non-Plug and Play Devices

Installing Non-Plug and Play Devices

Installing Modems

Installing Printers

Comtrol Tools

Installing the Utilities (Windows 2000 and Windows XP)

Using Test Terminal

Testing a Comtrol Device

Testing RocketModem Adapters

Test Terminal Modem Control Signals

Using Port Monitor

Starting Port Monitor

Changing Screen Appearance

display, as well as other information. (See the following Column Setup discussion.)

Report Configuration

Port Monitor Files

Port Monitor Variables

Using Peer Tracer

Starting Peer

Log Functions

Using Peer To use peer, simply type in commands at the : prompt. (It may be necessary to

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting and Technical Support

Before calling Technical Support

Technical Support

Index