QL 3222/QL 4222, Chapter 1

QL 4222
Chapter 1 - Introduction

QL Product Architecture

QL Series products provide a platform for application processing on Novell NetWare networks. QL processor boards function as NetWare DOS, Microsoft Windows, or OS/2 workstations. These products are 80386 or 80486 based PC boards. Each standard sized board provides two complete 80386 workstations. The products are as follows:

QL 4222 - Two 80486 based NetWare workstations on a single board

QL 3222 - Two 80386 (or 486SLC) based NetWare workstations on a single board

F The software documented in this manual will also support earlier models of these products. Contact Cubix Customer Service for a list of supported board models.

QL boards are designed to be installed in the backplane of a PC functioning as a NetWare file server or router. This embedded processor design reduces space requirements and eliminates much of the hardware required by regular workstations, including the PC enclosure, the power supply, and the network interface controller (NIC). Although a monitor, keyboard, and mouse may be attached to a QL processor, QLs are typically used in applications where these devices are not required, including the following:

Remote communications (modem) - a remote user may dial into a QL and use the QL as the host processor for the remote session. To support this application, the QL boards have been designed with the following features:

Reset on Loss of Carrier - When enabled, this feature will cause the QL to reset when the remote user terminates a dial-in session, thus automatically initializing itself for the next caller.

Line Busy - This feature prevents the QL from answering an incoming call while the processor is resetting and therefore unable to host a remote session. Instead of answering the call, the line will appear busy and the PBX will proceed to the next available line.

Remote communications (LAN) - the user of a workstation on a LAN may connect to a QL and run applications on the QL processor, increasing the processing power available to the user.

Batch processing - the QL processors may be used to run background or batch processes.

QL boards are equipped with a hard disk drive controller. However, the QL processors are usually configured as diskless DOS or MS-Windows workstations and boot from a file on a NetWare file server. If the QL processor is configured as an OS/2 workstation, a hard disk is required. A floppy drive controller is provided only on the QL 4222 products.

Because QL boards are installed in a NetWare file server or router, they use the bus to transfer network packets to/from the server/router. Since this functionality is integrated into the QL architecture, the QL processors do not require a dedicated external network interface controller (NIC). If it is necessary for a QL to communicate with a device on the LAN, the QL sends the packet via the bus to the NetWare server/router, which routes the packet through its NIC and onto the network.

Cubix has designed the QL products so that NetWare recognizes the QL processor as a standard workstation. The fact that the QL workstations use the bus as their media for network communications is transparent to NetWare. Cubix provides standard NetWare ODI drivers to handle these functions. Each QL workstation must load a workstation driver. This is analogous to a standard workstation loading a driver to handle packet transfers over a NIC. The server/router containing the QL boards must load a server driver, just as a server must load a driver for each NIC installed.

QL Management

Cubix provides several levels of management for the QL products as explained below:

QLVision - included with the QL software, QLVision is a DOS based workstation application that provides basic monitoring and supervisory control functions for QL products.

CMS (Cubix Management System) - an optional Windows based workstation application that provides alarming, monitoring, control, and reporting functions for all Cubix products installed on the network.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - QL products are instrumented for SNMP, the industry standard for network management. This allows QL processors to be managed by a SNMP-compliant network management system.

More information on managing QL products may be found in Chapter 4 - QL Management.

Version 5.0 Enhancements

The following enhancements have been incorporated into version 5.0 of the QL software.

CMS Support

Support for the Cubix Management System (CMS) is included in version 5.0 of the QL software. CMS is a complete Windows based application that manages all Cubix devices on a Novell network. CMS uses the industry standard SNMP management protocol for all network communications.

F To configure a QL workstation to run in a CMS environment, follow the instructions in the Cubix Management System Installation Guide.

Incorporating CMS support into the QL product required the following changes.

The default image file configures the QL workstation for the NetWare DOS Requester (VLM) environment rather than the NetWare Workstation Shell (NETX) environment.

The NetWare Workstation Shell files are not shipped with the QL software.

QLVision Enhancements

The following enhancements have been added to QLVision. The new functions are also supported by CMS.

The deadman functionality has been replaced by the Cubix Processor Recovery (CPR) function. CPR can be enabled and disabled on individual boards. If CPR is enabled:
The QL processor will be interrogated on a regular interval. This poll interval is user configurable.
If the QL processor fails to respond to the poll, it will be reset (the amount of time that the processor is given to respond to a poll is also the value specified as the poll interval).
Once a processor is reset, it is given a certain amount of time to boot. After this time elapses, the polling of the processor will commence and the process above repeats. The amount of time that the QL is given to reset is the reboot timeout. This reboot timeout is user configurable.
The QLVision edit screen has been modified. The deadman parameters have been replaced with poll interval and reboot timeout configuration.
The ability to place a QL processor offline and online has been added.
The ability to place a QL processor into a pending offline (POL) state has been added. When POL is enabled, a processor will continue to function normally until it is reset. Once a reset occurs, the processor will automatically be placed offline.
QLVision will report the number of times that a processor has been reset. Resets are tracked in three categories:

Normal resets - a reset that is generated by the processor itself, as occurs when the user presses <CTRL><ALT><DEL>.

CPR resets - a reset caused by the CPR function.

Manual resets - a reset caused by user request via QLVision or CMS.

The QLVision node screen has been modified. <F3> brings down a menu list, and <F5> toggles mark. The menu list contains the following options:

Reset Node(s)

Force Node(s) Online

Force Node(s) Offline

Enable POL

Disable POL

Enable CPR

Disable CPR

Reset Slave Counters

The new functions can be performed from the QLVision command line. Refer to the QL Management chapter for an explanation of command line parameters. The new functions are invoked as follows:

-on server net node places node online

-off server net node takes node offline

-cpr+ server net node enables CPR on node

-cpr- server net node disables CPR on node

-pol+ server net node enables POL on node

-pol- server net node disables POL on node

The custom diagnostics have been removed from the Diagnostics screen.

New QL3.INI and QL4.INI files have been created to support the new QLVision functions. These files will be placed in the SYS:\ETC directory on the device containing the QL processors by the QL3_SUPR.NLM or QL4_SUPR.NLM application.

Other Modifications

Support for NetWare 2.x has been discontinued.

The QL3_SRVR.NLM has been renamed to QL3_SUPR.NLM, and the QL4_SRVR.NLM has been renamed to QL4_SUPR.NLM. These NLMs advertise as QL3_<net>_ON_<server name> or QL4_<net>_ON_<server name> (the second net address has been removed). The identification number of the advertisement has also been changed.