ITL - Internet Teaching Laboratory

Xyplex MAXserver 1600

The Xyplex MAXserver 1600 is a terminal server. It has many more capabilities than are used in the ITL lab. In the ITL lab they are used only to allow computers in the lab to telnet directly to console ports of various items of equipment. For this use the fact that the MAXservers support only 10BaseT connections is not a problem.

On each MAXserver port 1 is used to manage the terminal server itself, and thus is not configured for remote access. If necessary this port can be connected directly to the serial port of a computer. However, it is more convenient to manage the terminal server using telnet just as you would manage any remote device on the network. To allow this port 2 of every MAXserver is connected to port 1. Ports 3 through 16 as needed are connected to the console ports of network equipment.

The parameter configuration used on the MAXservers is as follows. 


define port 2-16 access remote
define port 2-16 telnet transmit immediate
define port 2-16 telnet echo mode character
define port 2-16 telnet newline nothing
define port 2-16 telnet line filtering standard

A display of configuration information from each MAXserver is given below. Each MAXserver is identified by its Ethernet address.

The MAXserver appears to have a failure mode that has the following symptoms and solution. Some of the devices in the lab appear to require RTS and CTS signals from the MAXserver in order to communicate (e.g. the Cisco 2924 switches), whereas other devices appear not to require these signals. Sometimes the MAXserver loses the ability to generate RTS and CTS and therefore cannot be connected directly to devices that require these signals. The ports apparently work in banks of 8, so the failure happens on ports 1-8, or ports 9-16. It can happen that a connection to a port in the first bank will work and one to a port in the second will not. It has even happened that a MAXserver which had been working with a device that requires RTS and CTS simply stopped working on one bank of ports with such devices, but continued to work with other devices. Under these circumstances an adapter cable can be built that connects RTS and CTS from the device to be controlled so that device will work with the MAXserver. See the description of cables and connectors for details.

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