Allied Telesis AT-S102 - Manual (Page 49)

Converteon Management Software User’s Guide
49
Link Test Mode This operating mode is supported on all of the Converteon media
converter line cards.
Contrary to its name, this operating mode is not a diagnostic utility
program. Rather, it simply displays on the Link LEDs on a line card the
states of the links on the ports. That is, a port’s Link LED will be on and a
port’s status in the management software will be online when the port has
a link to a network device. Conversely, a port’s Link LED will be off and its
status in the management software will be offline when it does not have a
link to a network device.
This operating mode is typically used when the ports on a card are
connected to network devices that are unable to take advantage of the
features of the MissingLink mode. You might also use this mode instead of
an OAM mode if the device connected to the fiber optic port is not OAM-
compatible, meaning that you cannot implement the OAM features. This
mode is also particularly useful when you want to use the Link LEDs or the
management software to troubleshoot a network problem, or after the
installation of a line card to verify the links on the ports.
As with all of the operating modes, this mode does not interfere with the
forwarding of traffic by a media converter line card during normal network
operations.
Link Test and
OAM Visible
Mode
The AT-CM3 Line Cards have two versions of the Link Test operating
mode, one with and another without support for the OAM-based features.
To use the Link Test mode together with the OAM-based features on the
fiber optic port, set the card to this operating mode. Or, to use the Link
Test mode without the OAM-based features, set the line card to just the
Link Test mode.
MissingLink
Mode
This operating mode makes it possible for the two ports of a line card to
share their “link” states with each other so that a change to the state of a
link on a port is automatically replicated on the other port. In this way, both
ports on a line card, and the network devices connected to the ports, are
kept aware of any changes to the states of a link on a port.
When a line card in the MissingLink mode detects that a port cannot
establish a link to its network device or has lost its link, the card replicates
the loss on the other port on the card by disabling the port’s transmitter.
This notifies the network device connected to the port that there is no link
on the other port. To explain it another way, the MissingLink mode will not
allow a port to establish a link to a network device unless the companion
port on the card can also establish a link with a network device.
When a link is reestablished on a port, the MissingLink mode automatically
reactivates the transmitter on the other port so that the two network
devices can again forward traffic to each other through the two ports of the
media converter line card.