SUMMARY: Annex Setup

From: Ning Zhang (btinz@ui.uis.doleta.gov)
Date: Fri Feb 13 1998 - 13:17:24 CST


Though these questions are somewhat off-topic, many people are
interested in, so here is the summary:

1. Original Questions:
I am trying to setup Annex III. What I have accomplished so far are:
Loaded the server software R9.0 into Solaris 2.6; Assigned IP to Annex
III; Booted the Annex III from the Sun box. Right now I got the "Console
monitor" prompt on the console terminal. What will be the next step(s)?
Should I use CLI utility next step? How
can I go to CLI menu from this "Console monitor" whose simple menu does
not show CLI selection? Additional questions: What are the major
differences between CLI and NA? Will CLI be the main (even only) utility
to use to configure all the devices attached to the Annex III? (I have
read the old Annex documentation and have not got these answers yet. And
I did not find anything useful in BayNetworks site.)

2. Answers:
* Connect to Annex & get CLI prompt:
# telnet AnnexIP (from any workstation)
Enter Annex port name or number: cli
annex# su
password: IP
annex# help
annex# admin
At the admin prompt, you can start by doing a "sho port" to see the
general port configurations, "set port=X" to change something, and so
forth.

* CLI & NA:
As for the difference between CLI and NA, they are fairly equal. NA
however, has some more low level commands such as rebooting the device
remotely, etc. By default, all ports should be set to cli mode. You
should be able to use na to view/change all configurations. The NA
utility is so you can create a script-type file which can be loaded over
the network to do all the configurations that you can otherwise do by
hand at the CLI prompt. I believe there is a dump command that will dump
all the current config to a file which can then be loaded back in with
NA. So you can either configure everything by hand, then just do a dump
to save it, or if you have a lot of ports you can create a file from
scratch to load in with NA and do the config for you. You would need to
check the manuals for exact syntax, and BTW, I have found that often the
manuals are not as clear as you would like and it takes a little
experimentation to get the result you want.
You could also use the 'NA' utility but I would advise you to get
familiar with the CLI interface first. It'll make more sense at first.
Once you've logged in and 'su'd remember the following commands:
        admin
        show annex all
        set annex parameter
        port 1-16
        show port all
        set port parameter
'NA' does the same as CLI except that you do not have to telnet to the
annex. This method is useful if your pref_secure_1(2) hosts are
unreachable and you need to get to the Annex. It will allow you to log
in as long as you know the administrator passwd.
You can do it either way (NA or CLI) but na is probably the preferred
method because it has more option and you can copy stuff (from port to
port or from 1 annex to another). The other important thing about na is
you can use it to save the complete annex settings in a file on the
host, if the box ever dies, you plug in a new unit, set its address then
download the configuration data from the host.

* Additional:
I'm running an ancient version (7.1), it's been running rock solid for
years so I haven't upgraded.
> I have read the old Annex documentation and have not got these answers
yet.
> And I did not find anything useful in BayNetworks site.
And you probably never will. Their site usually sucks for info... but I
still like their products.

3. Great thank list:
Anne Kilarjian anne@cs.sunysb.edu
Carle Brisson Carle@ViaNet.on.ca
Viet Hoang vhoang@lucent.com
Jose Montilla josem@cebu.Eng.Sun.com
Ken Hatfield khatfi@sandia.gov
Mikael Åhlander mikael.ahlander@sigma.se
jyoung@educate.com
(Did I miss someone?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ning Zhang Systems Analyst
Department of Labor Washington, D.C.
btinz@uis.doleta.gov changning@juno.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* If you think you can, you can! *



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