97/11/05
ComOS 3.7.2 Release Note
Introduction
The Livingston Enterprises ComOS(R) 3.7.2 software release is now
available for all Livingston PortMaster(R) products. This release is
provided at no charge to all Livingston customers.
This release note documents commands and features added between ComOS
release 3.7 and 3.7.2. Some of these features were also available on
the PortMaster 3 in ComOS 3.7.1; there was no ComOS 3.7.1 release for
the other PortMaster products.
Note - You must use PMconsole(TM) 3.5.3 when upgrading to ComOS 3.7.2;
see "Upgrade Instructions" below. If you are running Windows 95 or
Windows NT 4.0 you must use PMconsole for Windows 3.5.1.4. ComOS 3.7.2
uses roughly the same amount of memory as ComOS 3.7. Read "Upgrade
Instructions" thoroughly before upgrading.
Contents
Introduction
New Features in ComOS 3.7.2
Bugs Fixed in ComOS 3.7.2 (all Products)
Bugs Fixed in ComOS 3.7.2 (PortMaster 3)
Upgrade Instructions
New Features in ComOS 3.7.2
DHCP Proxy
ComOS 3.7.2 supports the new "set dhcp-server Ipaddress" command.
In previous releases (and by default in ComOS 3.7.2) the PortMaster
replies directly to a BOOTP request from a dial-in client. In ComOS
3.7.2, if you set a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server
on the PortMaster, the PortMaster does not reply directly to BOOTP
requests but instead forwards BOOTP and DHCP requests to the DHCP
server, as described in RFC 1542, "Clarifications and Extensions for the
Bootstrap Protocol."
Alternate ChoiceNet(R) Server Is Now Supported
The "set choicenet 2 Ipaddress" command now sets an alternate
ChoiceNet server. ChoiceNet requests for filter downloads are
retransmitted every 15 seconds, site list requests are retransmitted
every 5 seconds, and a global counter is incremented each time any
request is retransmitted. At the fourth retransmission the PortMaster
clears the counter and switches to using the other ChoiceNet server
until the retransmission counter reaches 4 again.
Use the "set choicenet Ipaddress" command to set the primary ChoiceNet
server to Ipaddress, and make it the active ChoiceNet server.
Access Filters Can Now Use ChoiceNet
Previously, ChoiceNet could be used only for packet filters.
ChoiceNet can now be used for access filters for login users
prompted for a host.
IPX Spoofing Now Supports Both Microsoft and Novell
ComOS now supports IPX keepalive spoofing for on-demand IPX links.
Previous releases supported IPX keepalive spoofing only for Novell
NetWare clients and servers. ComOS 3.7.2 supports both Novell
keepalives and Microsoft session keepalives.
Australian ISDN Support
The command "set isdn-switch ts014" is now available on the PortMaster 3
to support the TS014 ISDN PRI switch used in Australia.
Semipermanent connections (SPCs) are supported for switch type ts014 in
Australia. To set up a SPC with switch-type ts014, set the port type
to network hardwired and set the directory number for the port to the
SPC ID, and then reset the port.
A-law Support on PortMaster 3
A-law pulse code modulation is now supported for V.34, V.42bis, and
K56flex on the True Digital 56K Card on the PortMaster 3.
V.110 Support on PortMaster 3
V.110 is now supported over ISDN PRI lines on the PortMaster 3 with the
True Digital V.34 Card (MDM-PM3-8 and MDM-PM3-10) installed. V.110 is
not supported at this time on the True Digital 56K Card (MDM-56K-8 and
MDM-56K-10), but you can use both types of cards in the same chassis.
In this case, V.110 calls will be routed to the True Digital V.34 Cards for
handling. When mixing cards for this purpose, put the True Digital 56K
Cards in the low-numbered slots (starting at 0 and counting up) and the
True Digital V.34 Cards in the high-numbered slots (starting at 5 and
counting down). Slots are numbered from left to right and top to
bottom. Slot 0 is the top left modem slot.
ATE1 Command Added on PortMaster 3
In previous releases, when you attached to a dial-out port and issued a
dial command with ATDT, the port would print "Dialing..." to indicate
it was dialing. This caused problems for network com-port redirectors
on Windows 95. In ComOS 3.7.2, by default dial-out ports do not print
out anything when dialing. You can turn on the "Dialing..." message by
entering the "ATE1" command before the "ATDT" command. "ATE0" turns off
the message and is now the default.
Bugs Fixed in ComOS 3.7.2 (All Products)
The following bugs have been fixed on all PortMaster products in
ComOS 3.7.2:
Proxy ARP Supernetting Supported
Proxy ARP is now supported for classless routing, as well as on classed
boundaries. This feature allows supernetting and is compatible with
variable-length subnet masks (VLSM). Previous ComOS releases
supported Proxy ARP on classed boundaries only.
Frame Relay Subinterfaces Now Start Quickly
All Frame Relay subinterfaces are now available as soon as their primary
Frame Relay interface becomes active. In previous releases, routing packets
were sometimes received on the wrong interface because Frame Relay
subinterfaces took as long as 15 seconds to become active.
Multilink PPP Simultaneous Links Now Establish Correctly
Multilink PPP (MP) sessions now successfully establish multiple links
that arrive simultaneously, in all cases.
Bugs Fixed in ComOS 3.7.2 (PortMaster 3)
The following bugs have been fixed on the PortMaster 3 in ComOS 3.7.2:
PortMaster 3 Modem Card Software Improvements
The "show modem" command no longer displays nonexistent modems in
the ADMIN state when 8-modem cards are used. The nonexistent modems may
show up in the first two minutes after reboot, but will not be displayed
in normal operation after that.
In ComOS 3.7.1 some modems on the True Digital 56K Card would sometimes
enter the ADMIN state incorrectly. In some cases the "set M0 on"
command would return the modem to the READY state, but in other cases
the PortMaster required a reboot to return the modem to the READY state.
In ComOS 3.7.2 the three reasons a modem might enter this error state
have all been fixed.
A bug in ComOS 3.7.1 causing modem disconnections following retraining
(rate renegotiation) is fixed in ComOS 3.7.2.
The modems on the True Digital 56K Card have been improved to
provide higher connection rates and more stable operation.
Modem Disconnections Fixed
In ComOS 3.7, certain modems (particularly the USR Sportster) dialing
in to a PortMaster 3 with True Digital 56K Cards would hang up 5 to 10
minutes into an active session. The typical disconnection code
reported for this behavior by the "show modem" command was "Exceeded
LAPM retry limit." This problem has been fixed in ComOS 3.7.2.
Random No Modem Tones Fixed
In ComOS 3.7, certain modems dialing into a PortMaster 3 with "True
Digital 56K Cards" would intermittently receive no modem tones. This
is fixed in ComOS 3.7.1.
Call Type Detection Timer Extended
The time during which ComOS on the PortMaster 3 detects whether a call
is from a modem or ISDN has been extended from 10 seconds to 90 seconds
to support certain ISDN devices that do not identify themselves within
the first 10 seconds. In previous releases, ComOS timed out after 10
seconds.
PortMaster 3 two E1 Multichassis PPP crash
ComOS 3.7.2 fixes a bug that caused use of Multichassis PPP (MCPPP) to
sometimes crash the PortMaster 3 with two E1 lines (PM-3A-E2 and
PM-3D-E2).
Note that Multichassis PPP is only available on the PortMaster 3.
Multichassis PPP Idle Timer and Virtual Ports Fixed
Idle timers for Multichassis PPP now behave properly and no longer time out
slave ports that have traffic. In addition, virtual ports no longer
randomly show users who have logged out as still being logged in.
RADIUS Accounting for Multichassis PPP
RADIUS accounting records are now properly generated on Multichassis
PPP (MCPPP) sessions.
RADIUS Connect-Info Now Reported When No Error Protocol Is Negotiated
The Connect-Info attribute is now included in RADIUS access-request and
accounting-request messages even when the modems do not negotiate an error
protocol. Connection speeds formerly reported as "50K" are now properly
reported as "50000".
Upgrade Instructions
WARNING! YOU MUST USE PMINSTALL VERSION 3.5.3 OR LATER TO PERFORM THIS
UPGRADE! If you are upgrading using PMconsole for Windows, you must use
PMconsole for Windows version 3.5.1.4 or later.
If you are upgrading from ComOS 2.3 or 2.4 to ComOS 3.7.2, you must
first upgrade to ComOS 3.0.4, reboot, and then upgrade to ComOS 3.7.2.
*** NOTE! If the upgrade fails, do NOT reboot! Contact Livingston ***
*** Technical Support without rebooting. ***
The upgrade process on the PortMaster 3 erases the configuration
area from nonvolatile memory and saves the current configuration into
the nonvolatile memory. Never interrupt the upgrade process, or loss
of configuration information can result.
The upgrade does not otherwise affect your stored configuration in the
PortMaster. If you want to back up your PortMaster configuration before
upgrading, choose the Backup PortMaster button in PMconsole for
Windows, or run pmreadconf on UNIX. The pmreadconf utility takes three
arguments: the hostname or IP address of the PortMaster, the
administrative password for the PortMaster, and the filename to place the
configuration in. If you ever need to reload the configuration, move
the backup file into the /usr/portmaster/data directory and run
pminstall to reload it. Here is an example:
cd /usr/portmaster
pmreadconf Pmname Pmpassword data/Pmname.conf
chmod 600 data/Pmname.conf
You can retrieve the installation software using FTP from
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/software/System/Tarfile.tar.Z
by replacing System and Tarfile.tar.Z with the names of the files. You
can retrieve the upgrade image at the same time. The following example
shows an administrator retrieving the SunOS pminstall and PortMaster 3
upgrade image:
umask 22
mkdir /usr/portmaster
cd /usr/portmaster
ftp ftp.livingston.com
(Enter anonymous)
(Enter your email address; it will not echo.)
binary
cd /pub/le/software/sun4
get pm_3.5.3_sun4.tar.Z pm.tar.Z
cd /pub/le/upgrades
get pm3_3.7.2
quit
uncompress pm.tar.Z
tar xvf pm.tar
rm pm.tar
mv pm3_3.7.2 data
pminstall
PMconsole 3.5.1.4 for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 is available on
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/software/pc/pmw3514.exe in a
self-extracting file. Transfer that file via FTP, run the file to
install PMconsole for Windows, move the upgrade file into the data
directory, run PMconsole for Windows, and click on the Upgrade icon.
PMconsole for the following operating systems can be found under
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/software/
bsdi/pm_3.5.3_BSDOS_2.0.tar.Z BSD/OS 2.0 and 2.1
sgi/pm_3.5.3_IRIX_5.2.tar.Z SGI Irix 5.2
linux/pm_3.5.3_Linux.tar.Z Linux 1.2.13 ELF
rs6000/pm_3.5.3_RS6000_4.1.tar.Z RS6000 AIX 4.1
alpha/pm_3.5.3_alpha_T3.0.tar.Z Digital Alpha OSF/1 T3.0
hp/pm_3.5.3_hp9000_10.01.tar.Z HP 9000 HP/UX 10.01
sun4/pm_3.5.3_sun4.tar.Z SunOS 4.1.4, 5.5.1 on Sparc
sun86/pm_3.5.3_sun86_5.5.tar.Z Solaris x86 2.5.1
pc/pmw3514.exe Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0
The following upgrade images are available at
ftp://ftp.livingston.com/pub/le/upgrades/
ComOS Upgrade Image Product
_________ _____________ _____________________________________
3.7.2 pm2_3.7.2 PortMaster 2, 2E, 2ER, 2R, 2i, 2E-10i
3.7.2 pm25_3.7.2 PortMaster 25
3.7.2 pm3_3.7.2 PortMaster 3
3.7.2R irx_3.7.2R IRX-111, 112, 114, 211
3.7.2L or_3.7.2L OR-M, U, ST, LS and HS
Copyright and Trademarks
Copyright 1997 Livingston Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Livingston logo, PortMaster, ComOS, and ChoiceNet are registered
trademarks of Livingston Enterprises, Inc. Livingston, PMconsole, IRX,
True Digital, and RAMP, are trademarks of Livingston Enterprises, Inc.
ProVision is a service mark of Livingston Enterprises, Inc. All other
marks are the property of their respective owners.
Notices
Livingston Enterprises, Inc. makes no representations or warranties
with respect to the contents or use of this publication, 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
Livingston provides technical support via voice, fax, and electronic
mail. Technical support is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m.
through 5 p.m. Pacific Time (GMT-8). Please specify that you are
running ComOS 3.7.2 if you are reporting problems with this release.
To contact Livingston Technical Support by voice, dial 1-800-458-9966
within the US or 1-510-737-2100 outside the US; by fax, dial
1-510-737-2110; by electronic mail, send mail to
support@livingston.com; and through the World Wide Web, access
http://www.livingston.com/.
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