Introduction

This device driver package provides support for Digi Intelligent communications adapters in Windows 2000 environments. The configuration program, digicfg, is accessible via the Control Panel, and allows complete customization of your Digi adapters, including adding and removing adapters, setting adapter properties and configuring individual channel properties.


Concentrators (C/X and EPC/X)

Use this dialog to add, remove and arrange concentrators on a host adapter synchronous line.

Initially, the Adapter Configuration Wizard displays the Line 1 configuration dialog. On the left side of this dialog box is a picture showing which synchronous line is being configured, and how many concentrators are currently configured for that line. The right side of the configuration dialog contains two lists. The top list shows all the concentrators that may be attached to the host adapter synchronous line. The bottom list shows what concentrators have been configured for the current synchronous line. The bottom box will initially be empty.

Adding Concentrators

To add concentrators to the configuration, select the desired concentrator from the top box by clicking on it with the mouse. Then click the Add button. The selected concentrator will appear in the bottom box.

Arranging Concentrators

Concentrators in the bottom box may be rearranged by selecting a concentrator and clicking the Move up or Move down buttons. The selected concentrator will be swapped with the adjacent concentrator above or below it in the list, depending on which button is clicked.

Removing Concentrators

To remove a concentrator from the bottom box, select the concentrator and click Remove.

Once all the concentrators for Line 1 have been added to the list and arranged in the desired order, click Next to configure Line 2. Configure Line 2 in the same way as Line 1. Click Next when finished.


PORTS and Modem/Xem Modules
PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules

Use this dialog to add, remove and arrange PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem modules on either an Xem host adapter or an EPC/X concentrator EBI line.

On the left side of the dialog box is a picture showing the configuration of the Xem host adapter or the concentrators on an EPC/X host adapter synchronous line. The right side of the configuration dialog contains two lists. The top list shows all the modules that may be attached to the Xem host adapter or EPC/CON-16 concentrator. The bottom list shows what modules have been configured for the current host adapter or concentrator. The bottom box will initially be empty.

Adding Modules

To add PORTS/Xem or Modem/Xem modules to the configuration, select the desired module from the top box by clicking on it with the mouse. Then click the Add button. The selected module will appear in the bottom box and the picture on the left will reflect the change. Repeat for each module you wish to add. Click Next to step through the remaining concentrators (for EPC/X systems) or to continue to the next dialog box.

Arranging Modules

Modules in the bottom box may be rearranged by selecting a module and clicking the Move up or Move down buttons. The selected module will be swapped with the adjacent module above or below it in the list, depending on which button is clicked.

Removing Modules

To remove a module from the configuration, select the module in the bottom box and click Remove.


Setting the Port Names

This dialog box permits you to set the starting port name. The default is the first available port name. For example, if a system has two built-in serial ports, COM1 and COM2, the first Digi port will be named COM3. Port names consist of an alpha portion and a numeric portion. The alpha portion (which may also contain numbers) remains constant, and the numeric portion is incremented for each port. All ports are numbered consecutively beginning with the first port on the first adapter. Port names may later be changed individually or in groups, if desired.


System Configuration and Maintenance

The adapter properties page provides complete configuration and maintenance functionality, and is used to change the basic configuration properties of installed adapters and set properties for individual ports. For C/X, EPC/X and Xem systems, this properties page is also the tool for adding/removing concentrators and modules and for defining the characteristics of the synchronous lines, both between host adapter and concentrators, and between concentrators.

The adapter properties page displays a tree with collapsible branches. At the top level of the tree is the host adapter. At the bottom are the individual serial ports. For complex systems such as EPC/X systems, there are intermediate levels for the synchronous lines, concentrators and attached modules.

See also:

Adding Concentrators to C/X and EPC/X Systems

Removing Concentrators from C/X and EPC/X Systems

Adding PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules to EPC/X Systems

Removing PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules from EPC/X Systems

Adding PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules to Xem Systems

Removing PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules from Xem Systems

Renaming Ports

Configuring Ports

C/X, EPC/X and T1 Modem Bank Synchronous Line Configuration


Renaming Ports

By default, individual serial ports are named COM1, COM2, etc. You can change the naming and numbering of the ports with the Rename ports button.

Port names consist of an alpha portion and a numeric portion. The alpha portion (which may also contain numbers) remains constant, and the numeric portion is incremented for each port. Initially, all ports are numbered consecutively beginning with the first port on the first adapter. Port names may later be changed individually or in groups, if desired.

The Rename Ports dialog box consists of a text field for entering the new starting point for naming, and a series of radio buttons which define how the new names are to be applied.

You can rename all ports, ports on a specific C/X or EPC/X synchronous line, or ports on a specific concentrator or module. Renaming can be global, or start from a selected port.

To rename all ports, just click on Rename ports, enter the new name in the text field, select the All ports radio button and click OK.

To rename ports on a particular concentrator, module or synchronous line, select the first applicable port, click on Rename ports, then enter the new name in the text field, select the appropriate radio button and click OK.

To rename a single port, select that port and click the Properties button. In the Port Properties dialog box, enter the new port name in the text field.


Configuring Ports

To configure individual ports, select the port you wish to configure and click Properties. The port properties dialog box permits you to rename a single port without affecting the names of other ports, and provides advanced configuration settings.

Advanced Settings

Receive Event Delay (edelay) (default: 10)

This is the number of 10ms tics the adapter will wait before notifying of received data. The value of 10 is appropriate for RAS or for terminal programs, but people with real-time applications should set this to a lower value. Note that this replaces the “fep5edelay” setting which was previously available on a per-adapter basis.

Close port maximum timeout (default: 25)

This is the number of seconds the driver will wait while attempting to flush unsent data in the write buffer. A value of -1 instructs the driver to wait indefinitely; a value of 0 instructs the driver to flush immediately.

Find devices attached to the port: (default: Manually)

Windows periodically checks serial ports to see if a modem has been attached. This parameter sets the frequency of these checks from once per second up to once per minute. If this parameter is to “Manually”, automatic checking is disabled, and new modems must be added via the Modems Control Panel.

Purge any remaining port data on close (default: Enabled)

Checking this box instructs the driver to discard any unsent data after the close completes. The data is discarded only after the CloseTimeout. Note that any unsent data in the adapter is always discarded whenever the port is reopened for use.

Complete writes when transmit complete (default: Disabled)

Disabled: Indicates that write operations should complete as soon as the data fits in the write buffer but before it is sent out the port. Many applications will operate more efficiently with this option set to Disabled, allowing the driver to buffer more transmit data for the application. However if you experience problems with your driver, you may wish to set this to Enabled.

Enabled: Indicates that write operations should complete when their data has been sent. This is how the Microsoft standard serial driver operates.

Ignore tbusy (default: Disabled)

This is a setting which may be used to override some of the driver's internal behavior. If you experience a problem with a COM port that hangs, especially when trying to close, enable this and see if it clears up the problem. If enabling does not clear the problem, it is recommended that you disable this feature.

AltPin (alternate RJ-45 wiring—default: Disabled)

10-pin RJ-45 plugs may be difficult to obtain in the retail market; therefore, the device driver software incorporates a feature called AltPin, which swaps the logical functions of DSR (Data Set Ready) with DCD (Data Carrier Detect). When the AltPin box is checked, DCD becomes available on pin 1 of an 8-pin RJ-45 connector (equivalent to pin 2 of a 10-pin connector).

AltPin should only be used with RJ-45 equipped adapters, concentrators or modules.

AltPin may not be suitable for use with RAS. The user should verify functionality on one line before building additional cables.

Enable error checking for parity and frame errors (default: Enabled)

When this parameter is set to Disabled, all incoming data is assumed to be error-free, and presented to the application with no error flags, even if the application is configured to detect errors.

When the parameter is set to Enabled, error checking is performed, and pertinent error information is sent to the application  with the data. Note that enabling error detection here does not force the application to act on detected errors—the application must also be configured for error detection.

Disabling parity and frame error detection may increase performance with some applications without affecting how they operate.

EIA-422 (default: Disabled)

This parameter only appears for adapters that are support both EIA-232 and EIA-422. Checking this box causes the adapter to operate in EIA-422 mode. If the box is not checked, the adapter operates in EIA-232 mode (default).

This button restores the advanced settings to their default values.

Clicking this button enables you to configure any number of ports with the currently selected settings. You will see a list of all available asynchronous ports from which you may select one or more additional ports to be configured with these settings.


C/X, EPC/X and T1 Modem Bank Synchronous Line Configuration

C/X and EPC/X systems use high-speed synchronous serial lines to communicate between host adapter and concentrator, and between concentrators.

Concentrators are connected to the host adapter and each other in a daisy chain. The transmit line of the host adapter is connected to the receive line of the first concentrator, the transmit line of the first concentrator is connected to the receive line of the second, and so on. The transmit line of the last concentrator is connected back to the receive line of the host adapter.

Synchronous data transmission may be configured for a variety of speeds, wiring methods and clocking methods. See the documentation for your concentrator for a complete discussion of the data rates and wiring/clocking modes for C/X and EPC/X systems.

The synchronous lines on the host adapter and each concentrator must be configured for the method by which they will transmit data to the next device in the daisy chain.

Automatic Configuration

For basic C/X and EPC/X systems, where all concentrators are local and connected to the host adapter and one another via 8-wire cables, automatic configuration is recommended. Automatic configuration selects 8-wire cables, internal clocking and the fastest line speed which is compatible with all elements of the system.

To automatically configure a C/X or EPC/X system, simply check the Auto configure line speeds box in the main setup window.

Manual Configuration

In certain situations, such as when concentrators are to be connected to the host adapter via synchronous modems, it is necessary to configure C/X and EPC/X synchronous lines manually.

To manually configure a host adapter synchronous line, make sure that the Auto configure line speeds box in the main setup window is not checked, select the synchronous line to be modified and click Properties. To configure a concentrator’s synchronous line, select the concentrator and click Properties. Click on the Line Speed list box for the available modes.


Adding Concentrators to C/X and EPC/X Systems

To add a concentrator to an existing C/X or EPC/X configuration, select the host adapter synchronous line to which you wish to add the concentrator, and click Add. Select the desired concentrator from the list.


Removing Concentrators from C/X and EPC/X Systems

To remove a concentrator from a C/X or EPC/X configuration, select the concentrator to be removed and click Remove.


Adding PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules to EPC/X Systems

To add a PORTS/Xem or Modem/Xem module to an EPC/CON-16 concentrator configuration, select the concentrator and click Add. Select the module you wish to add and click OK.


Removing PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules from EPC/X Systems

To remove a PORTS/Xem or Modem/Xem module from an EPC/CON-16 concentrator configuration, select the module you wish to remove and click Remove.


Adding PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules to Xem Systems

To add a PORTS/Xem or Modem/Xem module to an Xem system configuration, select the Xem host adapter and click Add. Select the module you wish to add and click OK.


Removing PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules from Xem Systems

To remove a PORTS/Xem or Modem/Xem module from an Xem system configuration, select the module you wish to remove and click Remove.


PORTS/Xem Modules

PORTS/Xem modules include the PORTS/16em and PORTS/8em. PORTS/Xem modules may be connected to an Xem host adapter, or to EPC/CON-16 concentrator.


Modem/Xem Modules

Modem/Xem modules include the Modem/4em and the Modem/8em. The modem modules provide four or eight high-speed data/FAX modems which may be connected to an Xem host adapter, or to an EPC/CON-16 concentrator.


Setting the Synchronous Line Speed

To set the synchronous data rate, wiring method and clocking mode for C/X and EPC/X host adapters, C/CON and EPC/CON concentrators, and T1 Modem Banks, select the desired combination of parameters from the list box. For detailed information on synchronous wiring and clocking modes, see the documentation for your concentrator.

See also:

C/X, EPC/X and T1 Modem Bank Synchronous Line Configuration


Copy Port Settings - Port Selection

To select all ports, click the All ports radio button. All ports will be highlighted.

To select specific ports, click on the Selected ports radio button, press and hold the <Ctrl> key and click on the ports you wish to configure. To select a block of ports, click on the first port of the group, then press and hold the <Shift> key while clicking on the last port of the group. The entire group will be selected.

When all desired ports have been selected, click OK. All selected ports will be configured with the parameters shown in the Advanced settings box.


Module Selection

To add an attached PORTS/Xem and/or Modem/Xem module to the configuration, select the module from the list box and click OK.


PORTS/Xem and Modem/Xem Modules

EPC/CON-16 concentrators have an extended bus interface (EBI) which permits the number of asynchronous ports to be increased by attaching PORTS/Xem and/or Modem/Xem modules. If you have attached modules to your concentrator(s), click the Yes radio button. If you have no modules attached, click the No button.


Flash Download

The Modem/Xem and T1 Modem Bank modem firmware can be updated using a flash download utility. Contact Digi Technical Support to obtain the modem download files.

When you have the current files, select the Modem/Xem module or T1 Modem Bank concentrator and click Properties. You will be prompted to enter a path to the location of the modem download files.

Do not power cycle the modem while the download is in progress.

Once the download has completed, the modem ports will be reset and all previous modem settings will be restored to the factory defaults.


Setting the Number of Ports

Digi AvanStar PCI adapters may be equipped with either an 8-port or 16-port interface panel. Select the appropriate item from the list and click Next.