Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!pottle
From: pottle@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Chris Pottle)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: FastPath Hardware Problem
Message-ID: <9831@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: 2 Mar 90 23:16:19 GMT
Reply-To: pottle@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Chris Pottle)
Distribution: na
Organization: Cornell Theory Center, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
Lines: 30

I remember reading something about the following problem some time ago,
but never in such detail. This comes from one of our SysAdmins:

Owners of Kinetics FastPath 4 gateways should know that there is a
serious internal connector problem with many gateways shipped roughly a
year ago ...

I just got off the phone with Novelle (the manufacturer, and they
informed me that they are currently replacing all FastPath 4's at no
cost even if they are out of warranty (the warranty period is nominally
one year).  They recommended that all owners of FastPath 4's contact
them and consider replacing the gateway even if no problems are being
experienced (Novelle can supposedly tell if your gateway is afflicted
by checking the serial number and part number).

The bad news is that turn-around time for replacement is ten working
days (Novelle admits that they are falling behind because so many
gateways are being returned), plus the time to ship the gateway out to
San Jose and back, so you need to be prepared to part with your gateway
for up to a month.  Our gateway was behaving so badly (babbling on the
AppleTalk side) that we really had no choice, but owners of heavily
used gateways may want to weigh the costs/benefits of replacement.
On the other hand, Novelle was unwilling to tell me how long they will
continue to offer free replacement (and they certainly don't seem to be
publicizing the offer - I hadn't heard about it until I called them about
our hardware problems).

If you are interested in obtaining more information, contact Novelle
at 800-433-4608.  Note that you need to obtain a return authorization
number if you decide to exchange your FastPath.