Copyright: MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor - Version 1.00
Citation: MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor - Version 1.00


MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor Help Index

Overview

MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor Overview

Virtual Modem Panel

Adapter Selection Window

Status Window

Physical Adapter Status Window

Logical Adapter Status Window

PVC Status Window

Menus and Commands

Snapshot

Options Menu

View menu

Help menu

Messages

Message List


MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor Overview

The MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor is a tool to help you monitor the status of your Frame Relay Links and to diagnose problems with your connections. When you launch the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor (MGFRMON), you will see a Windows application like the one shown below:

Immediately below the application’s menu bar and toolbar (if enabled), is the Virtual Modem Panel which provides feed back about current activity on the selected view. This includes current V.24 signals and the item being actively monitored.

Below the Virtual Modem Panel, in the lower left window pane is the Adapter Selection Window, which is used to select the target (Physical Adapter, Logical Adapter, PVC) for which status information is required.

Below the Virtual Modem Panel, in the lower right window pane is the Status Window, which displays the statistics for the selected item. The information provided in this window will be specific to the item selected.


Virtual Modem Panel

The Virtual Modem Panel displays the current V.24 signals for the item selected in the Adapter Selection Window.

This panel mimics the front panel of a modem and provides feedback on the current connection signals for the selected view.

Listed below is a description of the various items composing the Virtual Modem Panel:

Mnemonic	V24 Signal Name	Input/Output	Description
DTR	Data Terminal Ready	Output	Activate when the adapter when ready to communicate.
DSR	Data Set Ready	Input	Active when the DCE is ready to communicate
RTS	Request To Send	Output	Activate when the adapter is ready to transmit.
CTS	Clear To Send	Input	Active when the DCE is ready for the adapter to transmit
TxD	Transmit Data	Output	Activate when the adapter is transmitting data
DCD	Data Carrier Detect	Input	Active when the DCE has detected a connection from the remote.
RxD	Receive Data	Input	Active when the DCE is receiving data from the remote
RI	Ring Indicator	Input	Active when then DCE is detecting an incoming call.

Note:

	Denotes inactive signal
	Denotes active signal

To the right of the Virtual Modem Panel display is a short text description about the currently selected item:

Phys: dd	Identifies the current selection as Physical Adapter dd
Phys: dd, MGFRdd	Identifies the current selection as Logical Adapter MGFRdd on Physical Adapter dd
Phys: dd, MGFRdd, DLCI:d description	Identifies the current selection as DLCId for Logical Adapter MGFRdd on Physical Adapter dd and lists a short description of the configured DLCI


Adapter Selection Window

The Adapter Selection Window provides a summary of all the configured items available in your current configuration. This includes all Physical Adapters, Logical Adapters, and PVCs  (see note below for explanation of item presentations).

The information is provided in a “Tree View”, where information is provided in a format such that all Physical Adapters appear at one level, Logical Adapters configured for each Physical Adapter are displayed below that Physical Adapters, and all virtual circuits configured for each Logical Adapter are displayed that below that Logical Adapter.

Virtual circuit states are reflected with the following icons:

	Denotes that the virtual circuit is active.
	Denotes that the virtual circuit is active but congested.
	Denotes that the  virtual circuit is inactive or deleted.

See the description of State  in PVC Status View  for an explanation of the possible states for the PVC.

The view can be expanded or compressed by clicking on the [image] (to expand) or the [image] (to compress) selected branches of the tree.

By clicking on a particular item in the tree, the status for that item is presented in the Status Window.

Note:

Physical Adapter represents a hardware adapter. Values are assigned by Windows when the physical adapter is added via the Add Adapter option from Network Settings control panel application.

Logical Adapter represents a network adapter to the operating system and references a physical adapter configuration. Values are assigned by Windows when a logical adapter is added via the setup for the physical adapter (Virtual Circuits tab / New Item / New Logical Adapter).

DLCI Data Link Connection ID - represents a frame relay logical link or permanent virtual circuit (PVC). Each logical adapter has one or more DLCIs. Values and descriptions are assigned by the user when the PVC is added via the setup for the physical adapter (Virtual Circuits tab / New Item / New Virtual Circuit).


Status Window

This window provides current status/statistic information for the currently selected item (Physical Adapter, Logical Adapter, or PVC).

Depending on the type of item selected, the information is displayed as :

 Physical Adapter Status Window

 Logical Adapter Status Window

 PVC Status Window


Physical Adapter Status Window

This window displays current static Configuration information and dynamic Status information for the specified physical adapter. Listed below is a description of the items available in this window:

Item	Value	Description
Status of	Physical Adapter dd	Physical Adapter being viewed.
Trace File	{FileName}	If Tracing is enabled, {FileName} is the name of the current file being used to store trace information. If Tracing is not enabled, this field is blank.
Configuration
I/O Address	0xhhh	Hexadecimal value of the I/O Base Address configured for this physical adapter. ISA adapter only.
IRQ	dd	Decimal value of the Interrupt Request Level configured for this physical adapter. ISA adapter only.
DMA	dd	Decimal value of the DMA channel configured for this physical adapter. ISA adapter only.
PCI Bus Number	dd	Decimal value of the PCI bus number (0-255) or Auto Detect. PCI adapter only.
PCI Device Number	dd	Decimal value of the PCI device number 0-31 or Auto Detect. PCI adapter only.
Status
Rx OK	ddddd	Number of frames received by this physical adapter without error.
Rx Errors	ddddd	Number of frames received by this physical adapter in error.
Rx Bad DLCI	ddddd	Number of frames received by this physical adapter addressed to a DLCI that has not been configured.  Indicates that the remote is trying to send frames to a local DCLI that has not been configured - Check your configuration for correct values.
Tx OK	ddddd	Number of frames transmitted by this physical adapter without error.
Tx Errors	ddddd	Number of frames not transmitted because of errors.
Status ENQs Sent - Full	ddddd	Number of Full Status Enquiry messages sent by this physical adapter to request full status responses from the network.  This is part of the PVC management protocol.
Status ENQs Sent - LIV	ddddd	Number of Link Integrity Verification (LIV) Status Enquiry messages sent by this physical adapter to request an LIV Response from the network.  This is part of the PVC management protocol.
Status Msgs Rcvd - Full	ddddd	Number of Full Status messages received by this physical adapter from the network. Full status messages include PVC status for all configured PVCs.
Status Msgs Rcvd - LIV	ddddd	Number of Link Integrity Verification (LIV) Status messages received by this physical adapter from the network.  LIV responses contain sequence numbers to verify correct operation of the user to network connection, but do not contain PVC status information.
Status Msgs Rcvd - Async	ddddd	Number of Asynchronous Status messages received by this physical adapter from the network. Async Status messages are unsolicited and contain status information for a single PVC.
Buttons
Reset Current		Push button that may be used to reset the current dynamic statistics for the current physical adapter.
Start Trace / Stop Trace		Enables/Disables tracing for the specified physical adapter.


Trace

The MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor allows you to trace activity on any particular physical adapter. This includes tracing data and events for all of the logical adapters and PVCs associated with the specified physical adapter.

The Trace Start Button

If tracing is not enabled for the particular physical adapter, hitting the Trace Start button will bring up a file dialog box which allows you to specify the name of the file used to store the trace information.

After you select a file name, you will get the MicroGate Frame Relay Trace Options dialog, which allows you to select the type of information you wish to trace.

Once tracing is enabled, the Trace Start button changes to Trace Stop and the name of the file name is displayed in the physical adapter status view.

Caution:

Enabling trace events should only be done as directed by MicroGate support engineers. By enabling tracing of data and/or events for diagnosing connection problems, you may experience some performance degradation due to the additional overhead of logging the items have specified.

The Trace Stop Button

If tracing is enabled for the particular physical adapter, hitting the Trace Stop button will stop the current tracing activity and close the open trace file. Once tracing is disabled, the Trace Stop button changes to Trace Stop.


MicroGate Frame Relay Trace Options

Listed below is a description of the available trace options:

Check Boxes	Description
Data Trace	Enables tracing of transmitted and received frames.
Tx Events	Enables tracing of transmit events.
Rx Events	Enables tracing of receive events.
Status Events	Enables tracing of status events.
NDIS Events	Enables tracing of NDIS events.
PVC Events	Enables tracing of PVC events.
Buttons
	OK Button - enables tracing to the file previously specified using the current trace options enabled in the above check boxes.
	Cancel Button - cancels the trace activation - no trace is started.
	Clear All Button - clears all of the check boxes - disables all trace options.
	Set All Button - sets all of the check boxes - enables all trace options.
	Help Button - provides user help.


Logical Adapter Status Window

This window displays current static Configuration information and dynamic Status information for the specified logical adapter. Listed below is a description of the items available in this window:

Item	Value	Description
Status of	Logical Adapter MGFRdd	Logical Adapter being viewed.
Configuration
Routed IP	Enabled Disabled	Specifies if IP routing is enabled for the logical adapter.
Routed IPX	Enabled Disabled	Specifies if IPX routing is enabled for the logical adapter.
Bridging	Enabled Disabled	Specifies if bridging is enabled for the logical adapter.
IP Address	ddd.ddd.ddd	The configured IP address for this logical adapter or blank if none configured.
IPX Address	hhhh.hh-hh-hh-hh-hh-hh	The configured IPX network address and node address for this logical adapter or blank if none configured.
MAC Address:	hh-hh-hh-hh-hh-hh	The configured MAC Address for the specified logical adapter.
Status
Rx Frames:	ddddd	Number of frames received by this logical adapter.
Tx Frames:	ddddd	Number of frames transmitted by this logical adapter.
Buttons
Reset Current		Push button that may be used to reset the current dynamic statistics for the current physical adapter.


PVC Status Window

This window displays current static Configuration information and dynamic Status information for the specified PVC. Listed below is a description of the items available in this window:

Item	Value	Description
Status of	DLCI:dd Description	PVC being viewed.
Configuration
CIR	ddd	Committed Information Rate configured for this virtual circuit.
EIR	ddd	Excess Committed Information Rate configured for this virtual circuit.
Inverse ARP Enabled:	Yes/No	Specifies whether Inverse ARP is configured for this virtual circuit.
Remote IP Addr	ddd.ddd.ddd	IP address of the remote station
Remote IPX Addr	hhhh.hh-hh-hh-hh-hh-hh	IPX address of the remote station
Status
State:	Active Inactive Deleted	Indicates the current  virtual circuit state: Active means a PVC is present and ready for use. Inactive means a PVC is present but not ready for use. This may indicate that the remote location is not active. Deleted means the network does not recognize the PVC. This may indicate an incorrectly configured DLCI for the selected PVC or an incorrectly specified PVC management protocol.
Congestion:	Yes/No	Indicates whether the virtual circuit is experiencing congestion.
BECN Rcvd	ddddd	Number of Backward Explicit Congestion Notifications the virtual circuit has received from the network.
FECN Rcvd	ddddd	Number of Forward Explicit Congestion Notifications the virtual circuit has received from the network.
Rx Frames	ddddd	Number of frames received by this virtual circuit.
Tx Frames	ddddd	Number of frames transmitted by this virtual circuit
ARP Requests Sent	ddddd	Number of ARP requests transmitted for this virtual circuit.
ARP Requests Received	ddddd	Number of ARP requests received by this virtual circuit.
ARP Responses Sent	ddddd	Number of ARP responses transmitted for this virtual circuit.
ARP Responses Received	ddddd	Number of ARP Responses received by this virtual circuit.
Inverse ARP Requests Sent	ddddd	Number of Inverse ARP requests transmitted for this virtual circuit.
Inverse ARP Requests Received	ddddd	Number of Inverse ARP requests received by this virtual circuit.
Inverse ARP Responses Sent	ddddd	Number of Inverse ARP responses transmitted for this virtual circuit.
Inverse ARP Responses Received	ddddd	Number of Inverse ARP Responses received by this virtual circuit.
Buttons
Reset Current		Push button that may be used to reset the current dynamic statistics for the current physical adapter.


Options menu commands

The Options menu offers the following commands:

Snapshot	Allows you to save the current configuration and statistics information for all current Physical Adapters, Logical Adapters, and PVCs to a file.
Setup	Allows you to configure application options
Reset Current	Allows you to reset the statistics for the current item being viewed
Reset All	Allows you to reset all statistics for all the items available
Exit	Exits the application


Snapshot
Snapshot (Options menu commands)

The Snapshot menu command allows you to save the current configuration and statistics information for all configured Physical Adapters, Logical Adapters, and PVCs to a file for future reference or diagnostic purposes.

When you select his menu option, you will be presented with a file dialog box. This dialog box allows you to select the name of the file you want to use to save this information.

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click on the Snapshot button on the toolbar


Setup
Setup (Options menu commands)

Use this command to setup runtime options available for the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor application. The following options may be specified:

Setup Option	Description
Update Interval (ms)	Interval between checks for status updates (specified in milliseconds)
	Minimum Value:	50 ms
	Maximum Value:	3000 ms (3 seconds)
Expand Adapter Tree At Startup	Check to have the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor application automatically expand the adapter tree view upon startup.
	Exits the setup menu and saves any changes made.
	Exits the setup menu and discards any changes made.
Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click on the Setup button on the toolbar
Keys	CTRL+S


Reset Current
Reset Current (Options menu commands)

Use this command to reset the statistics for the current object. Only the dynamic items will be reset for the current object (counters, addresses, states, etc.).

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click on the Reset Current push button in the object’s status window
Keys:	CTRL+R


Reset All
Reset All (Options menu commands)

Use this command to reset the statistics for all currently configured objects. Only the dynamic items will be reset for all configured objects (counters, addresses, states, etc.).

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click on the Reset All toolbar button
Keys:	CTRL+A


Exit
Exit (Options menu commands)

Use this command to end your MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor session.  You can also use the Close command on the application Control menu.

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.
Keys:	ALT+F4


View menu commands

The View menu offers the following commands:

Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar.
Status Bar	Shows or hides the status bar.


Toolbar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Toolbar, which includes buttons for some of the most common commands in MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor.  A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Toolbar is displayed.

See Toolbar for help on using the toolbar.


Toolbar

The toolbar is displayed across the top of the application window, below the menu bar.  The toolbar provides quick mouse access to many tools used in MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor,

To hide or display the Toolbar, choose Toolbar from the View menu (ALT, V, T).

Click	To
	Saves the current configuration and statistics for all configured Physical Adapters, Logical Adapters PVC.
	Setup runtime options available for the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor application
	Reset the statistics for all currently configured objects.
	To display program information, version number and copyright
	Display help for clicked on buttons, menus and windows


Status Bar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Status Bar, which describes the action to be executed by the selected menu item or depressed toolbar button, and keyboard latch state. A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Status Bar is displayed.

See Status Bar for help on using the status bar.


Status Bar

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor window.  To display or hide the status bar, use the Status Bar command in the View menu.

The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the arrow keys to navigate through menus.  This area similarly shows messages that describe the actions of toolbar buttons as you depress them, before releasing them.  If after viewing the description of the toolbar button command you wish not to execute the command, then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the toolbar button.


Message List

The MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor may return the following messages. Listed beside the message is a brief explanation.

Failed to open MGT1 Status driver

The MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor application (mgfrmon.exe) was unable to open the required driver (mgfrtrc.sys). Ensure the driver is being loaded and check the Event Viewer logs for possible errors. This message is accompanied by more text relating to the specified error that occurred.

Failed to reset statistics for this view

Failed to reset statistics for all views

An error occurred while resetting the statistics for the current view in the status window. This message is accompanied by more text relating to the specified error that occurred.

Failure getting status for Physical Adapter d

Failure getting status for Logical Adapter MGFRd

Failure getting status for DLCI:%d {description}

The operation to get the current status for the specified item failed. This message is accompanied by more text relating to the specified error that occurred.

{RegKeyName} registry value larger than buffer.

{RegKeyName} registry value is wrong type.

An error occurred during registry query.

Unable to get status for Physical Adapter d

Unable to get status for Logical Adapter MGFRd

Unable to get status for DLCI:d {description}

The operation to get the current status for the specified item  failed. This message may be generated when the information returned is incomplete. This may be the result of using incompatible versions of the adapter driver (mgfr.sys), trace driver (mgfrtrc.sys), or the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor application (mgfrmon.exe). Ensure you are running with the latest versions of the listed drivers and applications.

Unable to start timer

An error occurred while starting a Windows Timer used for status window updates.


Help Menu Commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Help Topics	Offers you an index to topics on which you can get help.
About	Displays the version number of this application.


Index command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help.  From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can click the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.


Using Help command (Help menu)

Use this command for instructions about using Help.


About command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor.


Help Using Help Command
Context Help command

Use the Context Help command to obtain help on some portion of MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor.  When you choose the Toolbar's Context Help button, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor window, such as another Toolbar button.  The Help topic will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcuts
Keys:	SHIFT+F1


Title Bar

The title bar is located along the top of a window.  It contains the name of the application and document.

To move the window, drag the title bar.


Scroll bars

Displayed at the right and bottom edges of the document window.  The scroll boxes inside the scroll bars indicate your vertical and horizontal location in the document.  You can use the mouse to scroll to other parts of the view.


Size command (System menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow keys.

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1.	Press one of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down arrow key) to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2.	Press a DIRECTION key to move the border.

3.	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window.


Move command (Control menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window or dialog box with the arrow keys.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcuts
Keys:	CTRL+F7


System Minimize Command
Minimize command (application Control menu)

Use this command to reduce the MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor window to an icon.

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click the minimize icon [image] on the title bar.
Keys:	ALT+F9


Maximize command (System menu)

Use this command to enlarge the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcuts
Mouse:	Click the maximize icon [image] on the title bar; or double-click the title bar.
Keys:	CTRL+F10 enlarges a document window.


Next Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the next open document window.  MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor determines which window is next according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcuts
Keys:	CTRL+F6


Previous Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the previous open document window.  MicroGate Frame Relay Monitor determines which window is previous according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcuts
Keys:	SHIFT+CTRL+F6


Close command (Control menus)

Use this command to close the active window or dialog box.

Double-clicking a Control-menu box is the same as choosing the Close command.

Note:  If you have multiple windows open for a single document, the Close command on the document Control menu closes only one window at a time.  You can close all windows at once with the Close command on the File menu.

Shortcuts
Keys:	CTRL+F4 closes a document window
	ALT+F4 closes the application.


Restore command (Control menu)

Use this command to return the active window to its size and position before you chose the Maximize or Minimize command.


Switch to command (application Control menu)

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

Shortcuts
Keys:	CTRL+ESC

Dialog Box Options

When you choose the Switch To command, you will be presented with a dialog box with the following options:

Task List

Select the application you want to switch to or close.

Switch To

Makes the selected application active.

End Task

Closes the selected application.

Cancel

Closes the Task List box.

Cascade

Arranges open applications so they overlap and you can see each title bar.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Tile

Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Arrange Icons

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


No Help Available

No help is available for this area of the window.


No Help Available

No help is available for this message box.


DCE

Data Communications Equipment - normally the equipment to which the adapter is connected via modem cable. This has traditionally be an external modem, CSU/DSU, etc.


IP

Internet Protocol - a network protocol used on the Internet and Enterprise networks. The IP Address is a 32-bit value that consists of a network address and a host address. The portion of the IP address used by the network address is determined by the netmask.


IPX

Internetworking Packet Exchange - a network protocol used on Novell Networks. A complete IPX address consists of a 32-bit network number and a 48-bit node address which is the same as the MAC address.


MAC

Media Access Control - the 48-bit hardware address of the adapter.


ARP

Address Resolution Protocol - this protocol is used to dynamically determine protocol address to hardware address mapping.

When operating with third party equipment which does not support this protocol, you must manually configure the remote protocol addresses in the PVC configurations.


Inverse ARP

Inverse Address Resolution Protocol - this protocol is used to dynamically determine protocol address to hardware address mapping.

The SyncLink Adapter always recognizes and responds to IARP requests, but will only send IARP requests if the Inverse ARP option is enabled in the PVC configuration.

When operating with third party equipment which does not support this protocol, you must manually configure the remote protocol addresses in the PVC configurations.


PVC

Permanent Virtual Circuit - a logical connection in the frame relay network between two locations.

The two end-points are fixed and determined at subscription time. Multiple PVCs can be carried over a single access port.

A PVC is identified by a Data Link Connection Identifier (DLCI).


DLCI

Data Link Connection ID - assigned by the network provider to identify a permanent virtual circuit (PVC) and is used by the PVC management protocols when reporting PVC availability.

A DLCI only has local significance. This means that a single PVC can be identified by two different DLCIs at each end of the connection.

Each frame relay packet is marked with the DLCI so the network can route the packet to the correct location.


Configuration Information
Configuration

These items are considered static and are configured during the installation of the physical adapter in the Network Settings control panel application.

These items are not reset when the Reset Current button/command is hit.


Status Information
Status

These items are considered dynamic and are updated periodically (as specified by Update Interval in the Setup dialog box.

These items are reset when the Reset Current button/command is hit.


Committed Information Rate
Committed Information Rate (CIR)

The Committed Information Rate is the amount of data guaranteed to be carried on the network under normal conditions.

This rate is negotiated at subscription time with the network provider. The CIR is described in bits/second.

When CIR is non-zero, the send data rate is limited to the CIR if network congestion exists.


Excess Committed Information Rate
Excess Committed Information Rate (EIR)

The Excess Committed Information Rate is the data rate in excess of the CIR allowed on a PVC when no congestion exists.

This can be used to limit the amount of access rate bandwidth consumed by a PVC. When no congestion exists then the PVC will never transmit more than CIR+EIR bits/second. When congestion exists, then the PVC will not transmit more than CIR bits/second.

If EIR is configured as 0, then the PVC is allowed to burst up to the access port data rate.