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From: MCGUIRE@GRIN1.BITNET ("McGuire,Ed")
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Help wanted tracing DECnet problem
Message-ID: <8711220558.AA05935@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 16-Nov-87 17:09:23 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8711220558.AA05935
Posted: Mon Nov 16 17:09:23 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Nov-87 00:54:28 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 35

I have a DECnet problem between a VAX 8600, running VMS V4.5 and DECnet
Phase IV routing, and two Sun 3/280s, running Sun DNA (Sun DECnet). These
systems are connected via Ethernet.  The performance of remote login and
file transfer between the VAX and a Sun is horrible.

The Ethernet:  The VAX 8600's UNA-0 interface attaches to a DELNI.  The Sun
3/280s' ie1 interfaces both attach to a second DELNI in a different
building.  There is a LAN Bridge on each DELNI.  Fiber optic cable between
the two Bridges connects the two buildings' LANs.

The symptom:  Data transmission is intermittent, not continuous. During a
file transfer (or even during a mirror loop), packets fly for less than a
second, and then there is dead time for about ten seconds.  This behavior
is repeated until the file is transferred (or the requested number of loop
iterations are completed).  The link does not go down.  On the VAX end, a
counter called `unrecognized frame destination' is incremented regularly,
seemingly each time transmission is interrupted but I'm not sure of that.

Plea for help 1:  Any ideas in general about what's happening and how we
could fix it?

Plea for help 2:  What is `unrecognized frame destination' telling me?

Plea for help 3:  Sun provides software that puts the Sun's Ethernet
interface card into promiscuous mode and logs all packets that fly by.  We
have done this on the Suns to watch packets on the Suns' DELNI.  We'd like
to do the same thing on the VAX's DELNI, comparing output from each during
a mirror loop.  We attached a spare Sun workstation to the VAX's DELNI, but
it would not boot, so we want to try to log packets from the VAX. Do we
need to write a program to do this ourselves?  Has anyone already done
this?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

---- Ed McGuire, Systems Coordinator, Grinnell College, MCGUIRE@GRIN2.BITNET