If you have difficulty communicating to a SIXNET station over a new or existing network, refer to this troubleshooting procedure.
If you are using 10BaseT cabling, verify that you have the correct type of cable between your SIXNET station and your hub or computer. Use a crossover cable if you are connecting directly between your computer and the SIXNET station. Use straight-through cables if you are connecting to an Ethernet switch, hub or repeater.
Check the ACT and LNK LEDs. The ACT (activity)
LED will flicker anytime there is traffic on the Ethernet network, regardless
of whom the network messages are intended for. The LED also acts as a
diagnostic tool upon power-up of the SIXNET station. If there is no physical
network connection to the SIXNET station, the ACT LED should flash on
and off while loopback data is sent to the 10BaseT and AUI (where applicable)
connectors. When you attach your network to one of the connectors, the
flashing should stop and the LED will either be off or flicker as previously
described.
On a SixTRAK gateway or VersaTRAK RTU, the LNK (link) LED functions
for the 10BaseT connector only. The LED will be ON whenever a valid link
to another Ethernet device is detected.
Check that a TCP/IP network driver is installed properly in your computer, and is configured to use the correct IP address for your Ethernet card. If SIXNET stations are the only devices on your network then you should configure the IP address of your Ethernet card to use the same network ID and a similar host ID. If your SIXNET stations are connected to an Ethernet network with other devices, it is likely that you will need to change each station's IP address. Check with your network administrator to obtain acceptable IP addresses.
Check the IP address setting for each SIXNET station. If your Ethernet network consists exclusively of SIXNET stations and an Ethernet card in your computer, you can use the default IP address for each station as assigned by the I/O Tool Kit program. If your Ethernet network has other devices connected to it, you may need to assign your own IP address to prevent conflicts.
Note: Each SIXNET station on an Ethernet network should have a unique station number.
Use the Ping utility to test communication
Most TCP/IP drivers are supplied with a "ping" utility. This utility sends out a message to the IP address you specify, and then looks for a reply from the device at that address. You can use this utility to test the hardware link to a SIXNET station. If no reply is acknowledged, then check your cable connections. Also verify that you are using the IP address that the SIXNET station is configured for.
Here are sample responses from a ping utility. The Ethernet card was assigned an IP Address of 10. 1. 0. 88 and the SIXNET station was assigned an IP address of 10. 1. 0. 2 for these examples.
Example of a successful ping:
ping 10.1.0.2 <CR>
pinging 10.1.0.2 with 32 bytes of data:
reply from 10.1.0.2: bytes=32 time=52 mS TTL=32
reply from 10.1.0.2: bytes=32 time=13 mS TTL=32
reply from 10.1.0.2: bytes=32 time=9 mS TTL=32
reply from 10.1.0.2: bytes=32 time=10 mS TTL=32
Example of an unsuccessful ping due to using an improper Network ID (12.):
ping 12.1.0.2 <CR>
pinging 12.1.0.2 with 32 bytes of data:
destination host unreachable.
destination host unreachable.
destination host unreachable.
destination host unreachable.
Example of an unsuccessful ping due to using a correct Network ID but an improper Host ID (10. 1. 0. 3):
ping 10.1.0.3 <CR>
pinging 10.1.0.3 with 32 bytes of data:
request timed out.
request timed out.
request timed out.
request timed out.