Shiva Knowledgebase

Ethernet Errors (FastPath) (753905-PV96)

This document is written for FastPath users and system administrators. It contains a list of the Ethernet errors that are
generated by FastPath 4 and 5 routers.

FastPath 4 Ethernet Errors

The FastPath 4 Ethernet errors are reported by 2 versions of the FastPath 4's PROM. The PROM versions are described in
the following paragraphs.

FastPath 4 Version 5.1 PROMs

FastPath 4 Version 5.1 PROMs report the Ethernet error's hexadecimal value, mnemonic value, and number of collisions as
follows:

Ethernet transmission error: %#x %#b (%d col)

where:

%#x Represents a hexadecimal number
%#b Represents a mnemonic name in brackets < > that helps to describe the problem
%d Represents a decimal number

FastPath 4 Version 4.x PROMs

FastPath 4 Version 4.x PROMs report only the Ethernet error's hexadecimal value. The errors are reported as:

Ethernet transmission error: %x

where %x represents a hexadecimal number.

Table 1 gives a list of possible Ethernet errors. The Ethernet errors can be added together. For example, Ethernet error
0x8400 is DONE and NOCAR added together.

Table 1. FastPath 4 Ethernet Errors
------------------------------------------------------------
Mnemonic Hexadecimal Description
Value Value
------------------------------------------------------------
DONE 0x8000 Command completed
BUSY 0x4000 Busy (transmit command unit?)
OK 0x2000 Command completed OK
ABORTED 0x1000 Transmit aborted
NOCAR 0x0400 No carrier sense
LCTS 0x0200 Loss of clear-to-send during transmit
URUN 0x0100 DMA underrun
DEFER 0x0080 Deferred to traffic
SQE 0x0040 SQE test (received heartbeat)
COL16 0x0020 Too many retries (> 15 collisions)
0x000f Collision count mask

------------------------------------------------------------

FastPath 5 Ethernet Errors

The FastPath 5 Ethernet errors are reported as:

fe0: Ethernet xmit error %#b %d col TDR=%d

where:

fe0 Represents the Fujitsu Ethernet chip that the FastPath 5 uses.
%#b Represents one or more of the error mnemonics listed in the following table.
%d Represents the number of collisions.
TDR=%d Represents the number of bit-times into the transmit when collision detect occurred. This
error is useful for detecting breaks or shorts in a cable. A larger number means that the error is
further away from the box.

Note: The value in the TDR field should be used as an indication that a problem exists in the physical network. It should
not be used as an absolute measurement of where the problem exists.

Table 2 lists all possible FastPath 5 Ethernet errors.

Table 2. FastPath 5 Ethernet Errors
---------------------------------------------------------
Mnemonic Description
Value
---------------------------------------------------------
BUSERR Bus write error
COL16 16 collisions
COL Collision occurred
UFLOW Underflow occurred
SHORT Short packet received as a result of collision
TXRXED Heard packet just transmitted
BUSY Receive carrier detect?
OK Transmit completed successfully
---------------------------------------------------------

CAUTION
The contents of this document have not been technically reviewed by Shiva, please use this information at your own risk.

Disclaimer
This information is supplied without representation or warranty of any kind. Shiva Corporation assumes no responsibility and shall have no liability of any kind arising from supply or use of this material.

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