Wanpipe AFT A14x Serial V35/RS232 Cards

1. AFT A14X Card Info & Drivers
2. AFT A14X Firmware Recovery
3. AFT A14X Installation
4. AFT A14X Configuration
5. AFT A14X FAQ

AFT A14X Card Info & Drivers

The new AFT A14X cards have replaced the old S514X Series cards.

New AFT Series serial card, available in RS232 or V.35/X.21 models.
Type "wanrouter hwprobe verbose" to confirm which model you have.


Dual port:  AFT-A142
Quad port: AFT-A144
 
Firmware Version:  v04  (2008-03-17)
Wanpipe Release: Latest 3.3.X Drivers

To determine interface type run: wanrouter hwprobe verbose
(After successful driver installation)
 

Connect the only two jumpers, located on top right hand corner of the card: jumper JP5. Located beside resistor R152. 

1. Untar wanpipe release in /usr/src directory
   --> tar xfz wanpipe-<ver>.tgz
    
2. Run Setup installation script
   --> ./Setup install
           |-> Select ALL default options
    
3. After successful install run:
   --> wanrouter hwprobe verbose

-> Select hardware from hardware list
-> Select A142/A144 hardware
-> Select Protocol
            HDLC Streaming:  No Protocol just hdlc framing
            CHDLC : Cisco HDLC protocol
            PPP : PPP protocol
            Frame Relay :  Frame Relay Protocol
-> Select Interface
            Configure Operation Mode
             -> API
             -> WANPIPE (IP mode)
            Configure HDLC Streaming option
             -> YES - enable hdlc engine
             -> NO   - disable hdlc engine (Bitstreaming)

Sample A142/144 config file is located here  wanpipe1.conf

1. I remember something about the bitstream drivers being in-progress. Any news on this?
   
   The new A14X Serial V32/RS232 cars support both modes of operation:
   HDLC Framing and Bitstreaming/Transparent.
   
   In HDLC framing mode, hardware decodes/encodes rx/tx streams with HDLC framing.  HDLC framing is used for all serial protocols such as PPP, Frame Relay, X25 ...
   
   In Bitstreaming mode hardware disables HDLC engine.  So raw data is passed up to the API/Stack based on line baud rate.   On RX side, all bits on the line are passed up to the API in chunks of MTU size.  On TX side driver expect the user to continuously transmit data in chunks of MTU size.  
   
   

2. In new A14X configuration file I cannot find the old value where I could define the timeout to have the driver call the socket more frequent than normal. In the old config file this was:
   rx_complete_length= 4096
   rx_complete_timer= 1500 
   Being able to lower the rx_complete_timer to ~50ms is vital to us.
   
   The rx_complete_timer is not used any more. In bitstreaming mode you will always receive all data on the line at the line baud rate.There is no need for the rx_complete_timer because rx data is always predictable based on the line baudrate.   The old S514 cards had rx_complete_timer due to their architecture.  New AFT cards have a DMA connected directly to the line :) This way we receive all bits without delays.
    
   

3. How about jumpers for internal/external clocking?
   
   The new A14X cards do not use jumpers to set clocking mode!
   Use Clocking option and Baudrate option.
   eg: Clocking=Internal
         Baudrate=64000  (64Kbps)
   
   The Baudrate option is only valid in case of Internal clocking mode.
   

4. How do I know if my A14X cards are configured for V35 or RS232

   Run: wanrouter hwprobe verbose
   
   In verbose mode hardware probe will indicate interface type: V35 or RS232
   That is the reason one does not need to specify interface mode in configuration file.