ComOS 3.5 Release Note
Introduction
The new Livingston Enterprises ComOS(TM) 3.5 software release is now available
for the PortMaster(TM) 3 Integrated Access Server. This release is provided at
no charge to all Livingston customers. Release 3.5 is not available for the
PortMaster 2, Office Router, and IRX product lines yet.
This release note documents commands and features in ComOS release 3.5 in
addition to those described in the OSPF chapter of the Command Line
Administrator's Guide (available in late December, 1996) and the "Configuring
the PortMaster 3" chapter of the PortMaster 3 Installation Guide (included with
the PortMaster 3). Both manuals are available in PostScript and Adobe Acrobat
PDF format on the Livingston Enterprises FTP site,
ftp://ftp.livingston.com:/pub/le/doc/manuals/.
New Features in ComOS 3.5
ComOS 3.5 includes the following new features:
Support for the PortMaster 3 Integrated Access Server and True Digital Modems.
Variable Length Subnet Masks. In previous releases ComOS required the same
netmask to be used for all subnets of a network. In release 3.5 variable length
subnet masks (VLSM) are supported. To ease the transition, the command "set
user-netmask off" is available; see below for details.
OSPF - see the OSPF Chapter in the Command Line Administrator's Guide, which is
available now in PostScript and Adobe Acrobat PDF format on our FTP site
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/doc/manuals/ and will be available in printed
form in late December, 1996.
MultiChassis PPP - The "set endpoint" command now enables MultiChassis PPP.
The size of Assigned Address Pool can be set with the "set pool" command.
Digital Modem Specifications
Data Modulations:
* ITU V.34 - 28,000 bps et al.
* ITU V.8 - V.34 capabilities negotiations
* ITU V.32bis - 14,400, 12,000, 9600, and 7200 bps with trellis encoding
* ITU V.32 - 9600 and 4800 bps
* ITU V.22bis - 2400 bps
* Modulation supervision for automatic rate selection and bit error
performance monitoring for automatic fallback and fallforward.
Support for ITU V.34 Annex 12 - 33,600 bps will be added in a future release.
High Level Data Protocols:
* V.42 (includes LAPM and MNP 2-4 error correction protocols)
* V.42bis data compression algorithm
* MNP 5 data compression algorithm
Modem Support
Following is a list of modems tested for compatibility with the True Digital¿
Modems in the PortMaster 3. For a more complete list see
http://www.livingston.com/Products/pm3qa.shtml and
http://www.livingston.com/Tech/Appnotes/index.shtml.
* All USR V.32, V.32bis & V.34 modems should connect with no problem.
* USR Courier V.32, V.32bis, V.34 Dual Standard Fax modems. Stand-alone and
PCMCIA CONNECT 28800/ARQ/V34/LAPM/V42BIS
* USR Sportsters, Options V32bis,V.34 Stand-alone and PCMCIA CONNECT
28800/ARQ/V34/LAPM/V42BIS
* TDK V.fast PCMCIA CONNECT 14400/REL - LAPM Note: V.fast is not supported,
so this modem will only connect at 14.4k
* Practical Peripherals PM14400FXMT 14400, LAP-M, V.42bis 512/6 Connections
* Cardinal 33.6 V.34/V.FC CONNECT 115200/v34/lapm/v42bis/28800:TX/28800:RX
* Hayes Accura 288 v.34+fax CONNECT 115200/lapm
* Boca v.34/data+fax CONNECT 115200/v34/lapm/v42bis/28800:TX/28800:RX
* Zoom Fax modem v.34x plus CONNECT 115200/v34/lapm/v42bis/28800:TX/28800:RX
* Supra Express 33.6
T1/E1 Loopback
set Line0 loopback on|off
When line0 or line1 is set to T1 or E1 operation, you can set it for local
network loopback, for testing purposes.
Variable Length Subnet Masks
ComOS release 3.5 now supports Variable Length Subnet Masks. In previous
releases ComOS required the same netmask to be used for all subnets of a
network. In release 3.5 variable length subnet masks (VLSM) are supported. To
ease the transition, the command "set user-netmask off" will treat all netmasks
specified in the User Table or RADIUS as though they were 255.255.255.255, the
way earlier releases did. The command "set user-netmask on" will add a route
based on the specified netmask. The default is off.
In ComOS release 3.3.3 and earlier the PortMaster always used 255.255.255.255
for the user's Framed-IP-Netmask, regardless of the value of the Attribute.
ComOS 3.5 adds support for Variable Length Subnet Masks (VLSM) but by default
ignores the Framed-IP-Netmask the same way earlier releases did. To have 3.5
accept the netmask value, issue the following commands on the PortMaster:
set user-netmask on
save all
After user-netmask is set on, the PortMaster will use the actual value of the
Framed-IP-Netmask to update the routing table when a user logs in.
USE CAUTION with this feature, since it affects both routing and Proxy ARP on
the PortMaster.
If you only want to route to that one host, use the attribute
Framed-IP-Netmask = 255.255.255.255
You should always use Netmask 255.255.255.255 when using the PortMaster
assigned address pool (or omit the attribute, which defaults to
255.255.255.255).
If you want to route to an entire 24-bit subnet, you would use
Framed-IP-Netmask = 255.255.255.0
Note that in some cases this may mean that the Framed-Route attribute may no
longer be necessary.
Assigned Pool Size
The PortMaster allocates a pool of IP addresses starting at the Assigned
Address (set from the global menu or by the "set assigned") and counting up.
The total number of addresses is equal to the number of ports configured for
Network Dialin. If someone dials in and requests an unused address from the
pool, that is assigned; if someone dials in and requests any address, the next
address from the pool is assigned, if someone disconnects, their address is
placed at the end of the pool for re-use. In Release 3.5 the size of the pool
can also be set explicitly with the "set pool Number" command, where Number
will be the number of IP addresses allocated to the pool. If the pool size is
decreased the PortMaster should be rebooted for the change to take effect.
OSPF
See the OSPF Chapter in the Command Line Administrator's Guide, which is
available now in PostScript and Adobe Acrobat PDF format on our FTP site
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/doc/manuals/ and will be available in printed
form in late December, 1996. Some additional commands were added after that
manual went to press and are documented here.
Before configuring ospf, you must first do the following three commands:
set ospf enable
save all
reboot
reset ospf
The "reset ospf" command resets the OSPF router engine in the PortMaster, and
should be used after making changes to the PortMaster's OSPF configuration.
OSPF cost, hello-timer, dead-timer
OSPF cost, hello-timer and dead-timer are now configurable by interface. Note:
The value for cost, hello-interval and dead-time must be the same for all
routers attached to a common network.
set Ether0 ospf on cost Number
This command determines the cost of sending a packet on the interface,
expressed in the link state metric. Number is a number from 1 to 65535. The
default value is 1.
Example: set ether0 ospf on cost 2
set Ether0 ospf on hello-interval Number
This command determines how often the hello packet is transmitted, from 10 to
120 seconds. The default value of hello-interval is 10 seconds.
Example: set ether0 ospf on hello-interval 40
set Ether0 ospf on dead-time Number
This is the number of seconds after ceasing to hear a neighbor router's hello
packets, that the remote router is marked as down. Range is 40 to 1200 seconds.
The default value is 40 seconds.
Example: set ether0 ospf on dead-time 60
Modem Commands
The following commands were added after the Command Line Administrator's Guide
went to press.
set location Locname analog on|off
show modems
show M0
set debug mdp-events|mdp-status|mdp-internal|mdp-max on|off
set location Locname analog on|off
on = use an analog modem to dial out to this location
off = use isdn to dial out to this location
Dialout locations can use either analog modem or ISDN. It uses PAP or
CHAP to authenticate itself to the location dialed. The remote end must
auto-detect PPP; you cannot use dialout chat scripts in ComOS release
3.5 on the PortMaster 3.
Show modem displays the modem status; ACTIVE if the modem is in use,
READY if the modem is available for use, ADMIN if the modem has been
busied out.
pm3> show modem
Mdm Port Status Speed Compression Protocol Calls Retrain Disconnect
--- ---- ------ ----- ----------- -------- ------ ------- ------------
M0 S2 ACTIVE 28800 V42BIS LAPM 2 0 NORMAL
M1 S3 ACTIVE 28800 V42BIS LAPM 1 0 NORMAL
M2 S4 ACTIVE 28800 V42BIS LAPM 1 0 NORMAL
M3 READY UNKNWN NONE NONE 0 0 NORMAL
pm3> show m0
State: ACTIVE
Active Port: S2
Transmit Rate: 28800
Receive Rate: 28800
Connection Type: LAPM/V42BIS
Chars Sent: 8537870
Chars Received: 7563501
Retrains: 0
Renegotiations: 0
Total Calls: 3
Modem Detects: 3
Good Connects: 3
Connection Failures
No Modulation: 0
No Protocol: 0
Not Operational: 0
Total Failed: 0
Session Terminations
Lost Carrier: 0
Normal Disconnect: 2
The Mdm column in "show all" indicates which modem the port is using,
if it is using a modem.
pm3> show all
Port Speed Mdm Host Type Status Input Output Pend
---- ----- --- ---------- ------ ------------- ---------- ------------ ----
C0 9600 off server Login USERNAME 0 30 0
S0 28800 M2 server Login/ COMMAND 1126499 4341532 0
S1 28800 M1 Device ESTABLISHED 912355 3707007 0
S2 64000 on ptp49 Netwrk ESTABLISHED 783691 874518 0
S3 64000 on server Netwrk CONNECTING 63057187 64106116 0
S4 64000 on server Login/ IDLE 99463 789349 0
Debugging Modems
set debug mdp-events|mdp-status|mdp-internal|mdp-max on|off
Use these commands to turn on and off modem debugging to the console.
MultiChassis PPP
MultiChassis PPP (MCPPP) supports Multilink PPP (RFC 1717) across multiple
PortMasters sharing an ethernet, to allow the use of MP across multiple
PortMasters in a single telephone hunt group. To enable MCPPP use the "set
endpoint" command.
MCPPP Features
Load balancing - In a hunt group configuration, traffic will be automatically
switched to subsequent units if it is saturated on the first unit.
Master and Slave Links - If the Master link goes down for any reasons, the
Master unit will continue process the Slave links as long as they still exist.
Master and Slave units - If the Slave unit is out of service, the Master links
will continue to function. However, if the Master unit if out of service, the
Slave links will cease to exist since the Master unit is required to process
its links. MCPPP Commands
Enabling MCPPP
Use the following commands on all PortMasters sharing a hunt group and
Ethernet, using the same 12 digit hexadecimal endpoint discriminator on all of
them. For convenience you may wish to use one PortMaster's ethernet MAC level
address as the endpoint discriminator for all the PortMasters on that hunt
group, but any 12-digit hexadecimal number will work.
set endpoint 00C005123456
save all
reboot
The Endpoint Discriminator takes effect after the PortMaster is rebooted.
show mcppp
This command displays the mcppp table with the neighboring units in the same
domain, the port number, user name, destination, the port type, and the IP
addresses of the peer units.
show global
This command displays the End Point Discriminator address.
show session
The "show session" command on the Master unit now shows the virtual ports that
are corresponding to the physical ports of the Slave unit. The virtual ports
indicate by the letter V followed by the port number.
reset V0
V0 is a virtual port number, v0, v1, etc. This command is used on the Master
unit to reset the virtual port. Since the virtual port has a corresponding
physical port on the Slave unit, once the virtual port is reset on the Master,
its corresponding physical port will not be available on the Slave.
Debugging MCPPP
To enable MCPPP debugging, use the "set console" command followed by any of the
following commands:
set debug mcppp-event
Displays all the events related to the MCPPP links.
set debug mcppp-history
Displays the most recent 40 events.
To disable debugging, use the "set debug off" command, and "reset console" to
release the console.
Quick Setup Example
This example configures a PortMaster 3 to use two PRI lines for dial-in by
modem or ISDN users, with RADIUS authentication and accounting. Refer to the
"Configuring the PortMaster 3" chapter in the PortMaster 3 Installation Guide
for more information. Change the values and addresses shown to match your
actual requirements.
In this example, the RADIUS and RADIUS accounting servers are at 192.168.1.3,
the default routing gateway is 192.168.1.1, and the PM-3 will assign dynamic IP
addresses to dial-in users from the range 192.168.1.4 through 192.168.1.49 (if
using two 23 channel PRI's) or 192.168.1.63 (if using two 30 channel PRI's).
set password Hard2Guess
set ether0 address 192.168.1.2
set gateway 192.168.1.1
set isdn-switch att-5ess
save all
reboot
set assigned 192.168.1.4
set loghost 192.168.1.3
set authenticate 192.168.1.3
set accounting 192.168.1.3
set secret UpTo15Character
save all
________________________________________________________________________
Copyright and Trademarks
© Copyright 1996 Livingston Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
The product names, "ComOS," "IRX," "PortMaster," "PMconsole," and "RADIUS" are
trademarks belonging to Livingston Enterprises, Inc.
All brand product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
Notices
Livingston Enterprises, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with
respect to the contents or use of this manual, and specifically disclaims any
express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular
purpose. Further, Livingston Enterprises, Inc. reserves the right to revise
this publication and to make changes to its content, any time, without
obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes.
Contacting Livingston Technical Support
Every Livingston PortMaster or IRX¿ product comes with free lifetime software
technical support and a one year hardware warranty. Livingston Enterprises
provides free technical support via voice, FAX, and electronic mail. Technical
support is available Monday through Friday 6am-5pm Pacific Time (GMT-8).
To contact Livingston technical support by voice, dial 1-800-458-9966 within
the US or 1-510-426-0770 outside the US, by FAX, dial 1-510-426-8951, by
electronic mail, send mail to support@livingston.com, and through the World
Wide Web at http://www.livingston.com/.