Visara FEP-4600 Planning Guide - Manual (Page 112)

Chapter 12. Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: Can I bring up or take down lines from VTAM or NetView?
A: No. The browser interface allows you to bring lines up and take them down as
needed. If you desire to affect a line from VTAM, then define a separate VTAM
Major Node that includes all of the devices on that line. By taking the VTAM
Major Node up and down you are effectively taking the line up and down.
Q:
How do I know the status of the FEP-4600 or the connections through it?
A: The browser interface allows you to maintain a console interface which provides
real time line status information using easy to see red, green, yellow status
indicators to inform you what the current status of the network is through the
FEP-4600. You will still get VTAM and NetView console messages for the
platforms attached to the FEP-4600 to alert you to when communication is
broken. You can configure the screen refresh rate for the status panels (default is
5 seconds).
Q:
How many serial lines does the FEP-4600 support?
A: Older FEP-4600 platforms support 5 PCI-X card slots which may be populated
with ESCON, Token Ring, Quad Ethernet, Quad Serial BSC, and the Quad Serial
SDLC card. Newer FEP-4600 platforms support 4 PCI-X card slots and a PCI-
Express card slot (for FICON). Serial lines can be supported 4 lines to a slot. Two
Ethernet interfaces are supported in the base platform and do not take up a slot.
Depending on your selection of interfaces determines the maximum number of
serial lines supported. For example, a platform that requires ESCON and 2
Ethernet interfaces, could support up to 12 serial lines. A similar platform that
uses FICON in place of ESCON could support up to 16 lines.
Q:
When FEP-4600 platforms are clustered together, does each unit work as a
separate unit?
A: The answer is both Yes and No. You can configure the multiple platforms as a
single entity, with an upstream ESCON connection on one platform and the serial
lines that it is driving on a different platform. Individual platforms can fail,
obviously disrupting the traffic that would normally pass through it, but the
remaining platforms can still function, less the resources that were lost in the
failed platform.
Q:
Must the clustered FEP-4600 platforms be located at the same site?
A: No. The clustered FEP-4600 platforms can be placed at multiple locations,
provided that there is ample bandwidth for them to communicate through.
Q:
Are you restricted to a single management console?
A: No. The FEP-4600 supports multiple web based consoles. Since the FEP-4600
supports multiple consoles, you can split up management of the FEP-4600
complex any way that you see fit.