Open Command (File menu)

Opens an existing file.


File Open dialog box

Allows you to specify a file to open:

File Name--Type or select the file to open.

List Files of Type--Select the type of files to display.

Drives--Select the drive on which the file to open is stored.

Directories--Select the directory in which the file to open is stored.

Network...--Press to connect to a network location.


File Close command
Close command (File menu)

Closes all windows containing the active document.


File Save command
Save command (File menu)

Saves the active document to its current name and directory.


File Save As command
Save As command (File menu)

Saves the active document under a new name.


File Save As dialog box

File Name--Type a new filename to save a document under a different name.

Drives--Select the drive on which to store the document.

Directories--Select the directory in which to store the document.

Network...—Press this button to connect to a network location.


File 1, 2, 3, 4 command
1, 2, 3, 4 command (File menu)

Allows you to open any of the last four files previously opened.


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Ends your Portassist Viewer session.


View Toolbar command
Toolbar command (View menu)

Displays and hides the Toolbar, which includes buttons for some of the most common commands. A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Toolbar is displayed.


View Status Bar Command
Status Bar command (View menu)

Displays and hides the Status Bar.


New Window command (Window menu)

Opens a new window with the same contents as the active window.


Cascade command (Window menu)

Arranges multiple opened windows in an overlapped fashion.


Tile command (Window menu)

Arranges multiple opened windows in a non-overlapped fashion.


Arrange Icons Command (Window menu)

Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


1, 2, ... command (Window menu)

Lists currently open document windows.  A check mark appears in front of the document in the active window.  Choose a document from this list to make its window active.


About command (Help menu

Displays copyright notice and version number.


Title Bar

Contains the name of the application and document.


Scroll bars

Indicate your vertical and horizontal location in the document.  You can use the mouse to scroll to other parts of the document.


Switch to command (Control menu)

Displays a list of all open applications.  Use this "Task List" to switch to or close an application on the list.

Task List--Select the application to switch to or close.

Switch To--Selects application to make active.

End Task--Closes the selected application.

Cancel--Closes the Task List box.

Cascade--Arranges open applications so they overlap.

Tile--Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.

Arrange Icons--Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


Next Pane Command
Next Pane

Displays the next window pane.


Prev Pane Command
Previous Pane

Displays the previous window pane.


Display Statistics (View menu)
Display Statistics (Diagnostic menu)

Displays current statistics for the selected line.


Summary Info…

Displays summary information on Portassist Viewer and allows you to record and view your own comments.


Clear Statistics (Diagnostics menu)

Zeros out statistics in the active window.


Display Statistics (View menu)

Displays the statistics generated during a trace.


Constant

Updates statistical displays constantly.


1 Second

Updates statistical displays every second.


2 Seconds

Updates statistical displays every two seconds.


5 Seconds

Updates statistical displays every five seconds.


Update Now

Updates statistical displays immediately.


Manual

Sets statistics updates to occur only when the Update Now command is issued.


Start

Starts a trace on the adapter and line selected in the Summary Window.


Stop

Stops a trace.


Pause

Interrupts a trace and restarts it again.


Stop and View

Stops a trace and displays statistics captured during the trace.


Display Captured Data

Displays statistics captured during a trace.


Clear Statistics

Zeros out statistics captured during a trace.


Buffer Settings

Displays and allows you to change the size of trace buffers and the number of bytes from each frame that are saved in the trace buffers.


Filter

Displays options for filtering data captured in a trace.


Close All Statistics Windows
Close All Statistics Windows (Window menu)

Closes all statistics windows.


Restore (Control menu)
Restore Command (Control menu)

Returns the active window to the size and position it had before the Maximize or Minimize commands were issued.


Size Command (Control menu)

Allows you to use the arrow keys to size the application window.


Move Command (Control menu)

Turns the cursor into a four-headed arrow that allows you to move Portassist Viewer windows around the screen.


Minimize Command (Control menu)

Reduces the Portassist Viewer window to an icon.


Maximize Command (Control menu)

Enlarges the active window to fill the screen.


Close Command (Control Menu)

Closes Portassist Viewer.


Features

Portassist Viewer provides tools required to monitor and troubleshoot Digi frame relay, X.25, and PRI connections. These include the following:

•	Line monitoring that includes information on each line and virtual circuit, and on the physical, LAPB, X.25, and frame relay layers

•	Line tracing

•	Trace filtering tools that allow you to eliminate unwanted information from the display of information captured during a trace

•	Trace analysis tools that allow you to easily identify individual fields within captured frames

•	Easy-to-use graphical user interface and context-sensitive online help


Starting Portassist Viewer

Introduction

If you used the defaults at installation, the program can be accessed from the Start menu.

Procedure

From the Start menu select Programs, Administrative Tools, then Portassist Viewer.

Related Topics

  Choosing an Adapter and Line to Monitor

  Quitting Portassist Viewer


Quitting Portassist Viewer

Procedure

Select Exit from the File menu.


Choosing a Line to Monitor

Procedure

1.	If the Summary window is not visible, select Summary window from the Window menu.

2.	Double-click on the line you want to monitor.

Related Topic

  Starting a Trace


Starting a Trace

Procedure

1.	Select the line to trace from the Summary Window.

2.	Select Trace and then Start from the Diagnostics menu.

Related Topics

  Stopping a Trace and Viewing Trace Statistics

  Stopping a Trace

  Interrupting and Resuming a Trace


Stopping a Trace

Procedure:

Select Trace and then Stop from the Diagnostics menu.


Stopping a Trace and Viewing Trace Statistics
Stopping a Trace and Viewing Trace Data

Introduction

This procedure assumes that a trace is running.

Procedure

Select Trace and Stop and View from the Diagnostics menu.

Related Topic

  Filtering Trace Statistics


Displaying Trace Statistics

Introduction

This procedure assumes that you have taken a trace and not yet cleared trace statistics.

Procedure

Select Trace and then Display Captured Data from the Diagnostics menu.

Related Topic

  Filtering Trace Statistics


Filtering Trace Statistics

Introduction

This procedure allows you to filter out trace information that you do not want to view. It assumes that you are viewing the results of a trace.

Procedure

1.	Select Filter from the View menu.

2.	Select filtering options and then press the OK button.

Related Topic

  Saving Trace Statistics to a File


Interrupting and Resuming a Trace

Introduction

This procedure assumes that a trace is running.

Procedure

1.	To interrupt a trace, select Trace and then Pause from the Diagnostics menu.

2.	To resume the trace, repeat the previous step.

Related Topic

  Stopping a Trace


Clearing Statistics from Active Statistics and Trace Windows
Clearing Statistics

Procedure

Select Clear Statistics from the Diagnostics menu.


Changing the Rate at Which Statistics are Updated

Introduction

This procedure describes how to adjust the rate at which statistics are updated.

Procedure

From the Diagnostics menu, select Refresh and then a refresh rate.


Saving Trace Statistics to a File
Saving Trace Data to a File

Introduction

This procedure assumes that you have performed a trace and not yet cleared trace data.

Procedure

1.	Select Save from the File menu.

2.	Specify a directory (folder) and name for the file and then press the Save button.


Viewing Trace Data Saved to a File

Procedure

1.	Select Open from the File menu.

2.	Navigate to the directory in which the file was saved.

3.	Select the file and press the OK button.

Related Topic

  Filtering Trace Statistics


Changing Trace Buffer Settings

Introduction

This procedure describes how to change the size of the trace buffer and the number of bytes from each traced frame that will be captured in the buffer.

Procedure

1.	Select Trace and then Buffer Settings from the Diagnostics menu.

2.	Adjust settings as required and then press the OK button.


Physical Interface Statistics

Transmit

The percentage of line capacity currently used for transmitting.

Receive

The percentage of line capacity currently used for receiving.

Ave. frames/s

The average per-second rate of transmitted and received frames on this line.

Frames/s

The current per-second rate of transmitted and received frames on this line.

Ave. bytes/s

The average per-second rate of transmitted and received bytes on this line.

Bytes/s

The current per-second rate of transmitted and received bytes on this line.

Clock timeout

The number of times the DataFire firmware is unable to detect a clock signal. This increments only when external clocking is configured.

Overrun

The number of erroneously long frames received. These are frames that are too large for the adapter to buffer. This can be caused by any of the following:

•	External clocking is configured and the device providing the clock is not working.

•	Internal clocking is configured and the adapter is not working properly.

•	The cable or line is defective.

•	The DataFire Electrical Interface is not configured correctly.

CRC

The number of frames received with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) errors. This indicates problems with the line itself or with the Clocking or Electrical Interface configuration.

Bit error

The number of frames received with bit errors.

Over flow

The number of received frames that exceeded the configured maximum frame size.

Abort

The number of abort frames received.


Frame Relay Statistics

Invalid frames received

The number of invalid frames received on this line. An invalid frame is one that does not conform to frame relay specifications.

Too short

The number of frames received that were under five bytes. This indicates either that the peer is sending short frames or that frames are being truncated in transit.

Too long

The number of frames received that were longer than the configured maximum. This indicates that the peer is sending long frames.

Invalid DLCI

The number of frames received with DLCIs outside the valid range. (16 to 991). If you receive these consistently, see your network service provider.

Unknown DLCI

The number of frames received with DLCIs that do not appear in the DataFire configuration. If you receive these consistently, see your network service provider to ensure that you are using the correct DLCIs.

FECN

The number of forward explicit congestion notification (FECN) messages received. Use this statistic as an indication of network congestion.

BECN

The number of backward explicit congestion notification (FECN) messages received on this line. Use this statistic as an indication of network congestion.

Status message

The number of LMI status messages transmitted and received. Typically, DataFire receives status messages from the network switch. It will transmit them only if it is configured to perform the LMI switch function.

Status enquiry

The number of LMI status enquiry transmitted and received. Typically DataFire transmits status inquiry messages. DataFire will receive them only if it is configured to perform the LMI switch function.

Update status

The number of update (full) status messages transmitted and received. Typically DataFire receives Update status message. DataFire transmits them only if it is configured to perform the LMI switch function.

LMI Errors

The number of LMI protocol errors on this line.


Frame Relay Permanent Virtual Circuit Statistics

Normal frames

The number of frames transmitted on this virtual circuit within the CIR.

Excess frames

The number of frames transmitted on this virtual circuit in excess of the CIR.

Hold frames

The number of frames on this virtual circuit that had to be buffered before transmission to avoid exceeding the CIR.

Dropped frames

The number of transmit frames on this virtual circuit that had to be dropped to avoid exceeding the CIR.

Unknown protocol

The number of frames received carrying network-layer protocols that DataFire did not recognize or was not configured for.

Unknown frame

The number of frames received on this virtual circuit that DataFire could not identify.

Lost frame

The number of received frames that DataFire had to discard because fragments were lost in transit.

Unknown origination code

The number of frames received with an invalid Organization Unique Identifier (OUI).


Frame Relay Filter Options

Use this window to reduce the amount of information displayed when you view trace statistics. You can limit the display by frame type or by virtual circuit.


Capture Buffer Settings

Buffer size (in MB)

The size of the trace buffer in megabytes. You can use this field to adjust the size of the trace buffer.

Frame size (in bytes)

The amount of the frame placed in the buffer. You can use this field to adjust how much of each frame is placed in the trace buffer.


Virtual Circuit Information
Virtual Circuit Statistics

Channel/DLCI

Is the number that identifies logical channels, a logical channel number in X.25 and a DLCI in frame relay.

Frames tx

Is the number of frames transmitted since tracing began.

Frames rx

Is the number of frames received since tracing began.

Bytes tx

Is the number of bytes transmitted since tracing began.

Bytes rx

Is the number of bytes received since tracing began.

DE

(Frame relay only) Is the number of frames transmitted and received with the discard eligibility bit set.

BECN

(Frame relay only) Is the number of backward explicit congestion notification frames received on this line since tracing began.

FECN

(Frame relay only) Is the number of forward explicit congestion notification frames received on this line since tracing began.


Capture Statistics

Frames in buffer

The number of traced frames in the buffer.

Bytes in buffer

The number of traced bytes in the buffer.

Elapsed time

The time since tracing began.

Frames (Transmit/Receive)

The number of frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

Bytes (Transmit/Receive)

The number of bytes transmitted and received since tracing began.


X.25 Statistics

Data

The number of data packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Receiver ready

The number of receiver-ready packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Receiver not ready

The number of receiver-not-ready packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Call requests

The number of call request packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Call confirm

The number of call confirm packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Call reject

The number of call reject packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Call collision

The number of times incoming and outgoing calls have collided because both were using the same logical channel.

Call abort

The number of call abort packets transmitted since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Resets

The number of reset packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Restart

The number of restart packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Interrupt

The number of interrupt packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Diagnostic

The number of diagnostic packets transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.


LAPB Statistics

Receiver ready

The number of receiver-ready frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Receiver not ready

The number of receiver-not-ready frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Reject

The number of reject frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

SABM

The number of set asynchronous balance mode frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

SABM extended

The number of set asynchronous balance mode extended frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Disconnect

The number of set disconnect frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Disconnect mode

The number of disconnect mode unnumbered response frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Unnumbered ack.

The number of unnumbered acknowledgment frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Frame reject

The number of frame reject frames transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.

Data

The number of frames with data transmitted and received since DataFire was initialized or statistics were cleared.


Active Statistics

Press a button for information on the following topics:

  Physical Interface Statistics

  Frame Relay (general) Statistics

  Frame Relay Permanent Virtual Circuit Statistics

  X.25 Statistics

  LAPB Statistics


Data Source Window
Menu Bar (Window)

The menu bar consists of the following five menus: File, Diagnostics, View, Window, and Help. For information on individual menu items, select the item and then press F1.


X.25 Filter Options

Use this window to reduce the amount of information displayed when you view trace statistics. You can limit the display by frame type or by virtual circuit.


Data Source Window
Summary Window

Data source

Lists adapters and lines. Double-clicking on this field allows you to select an adapter and line to monitor or trace.

Protocol

Is X.25, frame relay, or none.

Status

Indicates whether the adapter and line are running or not.

Transmitted frames

Is the number of frames transmitted since initialization or since statistics were cleared.

Received frames

Is the number of frames received since initialization or since statistics were cleared.

Errors

Is the number of errors on this line since initialization or statistics were cleared.

Comments

Are the comments you recorded in the Summary Information Window.


Summary Pane

Frame Number

Is the number of the frame, which simply identifies the order of traced frames.

Timestamp

Is the time in seconds since the trace began that the frame was captured.

Source

Is the transmitter of the frame, either local (DataFire) or remote (peer).

Channel/DLCI

Is a logical channel identifier, either a logical channel number in X.25 or a DLCI in frame relay.

Protocol

Is the protocol running on the logical channel, LAPB or LMI, for example.

Description

Is the type of frame or message transmitted or received.


Trace Pane

Enables you to select a frame field, which will then be highlighted in the hex pane (lower pane).

•	Click on the + (plus) and - (minus) signs to expose and hide additional types of information.

•	Select a field to see the hex values for those fields highlighted in the hex pane.


Hex Pane

Displays the hexadecimal values of the frame highlighted in the Trace pane. When you click on a hexadecimal value in this pane, the trace pane displays the associated frame field name.


X.25 Call Session Statistics

Channel

Is the number that identifies logical channels.

Frames tx

Is the number of frames transmitted since tracing began.

Frames rx

Is the number of frames received since tracing began.

Remote ID

Is the DTE address of the remote peer.


X.25 Trace Statistics

Data

The number of data packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

RR

The number of receiver-ready packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

RNR

The number of receiver-not-ready packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Reject

The number of reject packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Call request

The number of call request packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Call accept

The number of call accept packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Clear request

The number of clear request packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Clear confirm

The number of clear confirm packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Reset request

The number of reset request packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Reset confirm

The number of reset confirm packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Restart request

The number of restart request packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Restart confirm

The number of restart confirm packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Interrupt

The number of interrupt packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Interrupt confirm

The number of interrupt confirm packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

Diagnostic

The number of diagnostic packets transmitted and received since tracing began.


LAPB Trace Statistics

RR

The number of receiver-ready frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

RNR

The number of receiver-not-ready frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

Reject

The number of reject frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

SABM

The number of set asynchronous balance mode frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

SABME

The number of set asynchronous balance mode extended frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

DISC

The number of disconnect frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

DM

The number of disconnect mode unnumbered response frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

UA

The number of unnumbered acknowledgment frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

FRMR

The number of frame reject frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

Data

The number of data (information) frames transmitted and received since tracing began.


Frame Relay Trace Statistics

IP

The number of frames carrying IP packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

IPX

The number of frames carrying IPX packets transmitted and received since tracing began.

802.3 Ethernet

The number of frames carrying encapsulated 802.3 Ethernet frames transmitted and received since tracing began.

FRF.9

The number of frames complying with FRF.9 compression transmitted and received since tracing began.

Other

Is any other protocol than those mentioned above.

DE

The number of frames with the discard eligibility bit set transmitted and received since tracing began.

BECN

The number of backward explicit congestion notification messages DataFire received since tracing began.

FECN

The number of forward explicit congestion notification messages received since tracing began.

Status message

The number of LMI Status messages sent and received since tracing began. Typically, DataFire will only receive Status messages. However, if DataFire is configured to perform the network switch role defined in the LMI protocol, it can transmit them as well.

Status enquiry

The number of Status inquiry messages sent and received since tracing began. Typically, DataFire will only transmit Status inquiry messages. However, if DataFire is configured to perform the network switch role defined in the LMI protocol, it can receive them as well.

Update status

The number of LMI full status messages sent and received since tracing began. Typically, DataFire will only receive full status messages. However, if DataFire is configured to perform the network switch role defined in the LMI protocol, it can transmit them as well.


Summary Information Window

Provides the DataFire Driver title, version number, and last modification date. It also provides a place for you to record comments.

Click to view information.

 DS1 State Statistics

 DS1 Errors

 Channel Statistics


DS1 State

Signaling errors

Can be one of the following:

•	LOS, which means loss of signal.

•	LFA, which means loss of frame alignment.

•	AIS, which means all ones

•	RFA, which means remote facility alignment.

Alarms

Can be one of the following:

•	None, which means there are no alarms.

•	Yellow alarm, which typically means that the telephone company is testing the line. If this condition persists, however, this may indicate that long haul/short haul parameters in your driver configuration are incorrect.

•	Blue alarm, which means that the telephone company is testing the line.

•	Red alarm, which indicates an out-of-frame condition or loss-of-signal condition.

Loopback mode

Is one of the following:

•	None, which means loopback testing is not being done.

•	Local, which means that an adapter-level loopback test is underway.

•	Line, which means that a loopback test between the switch and the adapter is underway.

•	Payload, which means that a line loopback test involving just the payload of a particular channel is underway.

Note: Users cannot initiate a loopback test.  Loopback tests must be initiated by the switch.


DS1 Errors

Line code violations

Is the number of line code violations that have occurred since initialization or since statistics were updated.

CRC errors

Is the number of CRC errors that have occurred since initialization or since statistics were updated.


Modem Statistics

Modem

Selects and identifies the modem to which statistics apply.

Connect time

Is the number of seconds that the connection has been alive.

Last disconnect

Is the reason for the last disconnection.

Modulation

Is the modulation method used by this modem.

Compression

Is the compression method used by this modem.

Error correction

Is the error correction method used by this modem.

Transmit throughput

Is the transmit data throughput measured in bytes-per-second. This will be zero if no data is being transmitted.

Receive throughput

Is the receive data throughput measured in bytes-per-second. This will be zero if no data is being received.

Initial transmit rate

Is the transmit data rate negotiated by the modems when they first connect.

Initial receive rate

Is the receive data rate negotiated by the modems when they first connect.

Current transmit rate

Is the current transmit data rate negotiated by the modems. (Line noise may cause modems to renegotiate.)

Current receive rate

Is the current receive data rate negotiated by the modems. (Line noise may cause modems to renegotiate.)


 Active Line Information

Click to view information.

 BRI Status

 Channel Statistics


BRI Status

Power

Can be one of the following:

•	On

•	Off

•	Unknown

Activation State

Can be one of the following:

•	Deactivated, meaning the switch and local terminal are unsynchronized.  Properly-formatted frames are not being exchanged between the switch and local terminal.

•	Awaiting signal, meaning the terminal is looking for a handshake response from the switch.

•	Identifying input, meaning the terminal is still looking for a handshake response from the switch.

•	Synchronized, meaning the switch is sending the terminal handshake frames, and the terminal is sending normal B/C channel frames.

•	Activated, meaning both the switch and terminal are sending normal B/D channel frames.

•	Lost Framing, meaning the switch has transmitted a certain number of erroneous packets within a time frame, such that it has exceeded an error threshold.

•	Unknown, meaning the activation state is unknown.

Transmit and Receive  Information State

Can be one of the following:

•	0, which means No signal.

•	1, which means signal with pattern.

•	2, which means a frame with zeroed data.

•	3, which means a frame with operational data.

•	4, which means a frame with operational data.

•	Unknown, which means the transmit or receive information state cannot be determined.