Aphaserver 2000 Model 4/233 FDDI DAS (DEFPA-DB) Connectivity Problem.

[Mirza Rizwan Ahmed]

We are using AplhaServer 2000 model 4/233 machine having PCI (DEFPA_DB) Dual attachment FDDI network card with Fullduplex 100 Mbps
speed and using Multimode Fiber 62.5/125.

We are trying to connect it to Nortel Baystack 450 Ethernet Switch which is having Media Dependent adapter (MDA) 400-2FX Dual Fiber
ports with Multimode Fiber option (62.5/125) of 100 Mbps FullDuplex features as (DEFPA-DB) card having.
We are unable to connect it, Please help in this regard that how we can establish connectivity between Alphaserver 2000 and Ethernet
Switch or is there any compatibility issue or we needed to change some software parameters of DEFPA-DB FDDI network ? We are using
OpenVMS 6.2 operating system.

For your reference I am attaching Alphaserver 2000 Hardware reference manual and PCI Network card reference manuals in PDF format.
Looking forward your technical feedback.

Worm Regards,
Rizwan Ahmed

[Mohieddin Kharnoub]

Hi Rizwan

First of all, there is no attachement here !!!

The DEFPA-DB provides 100 Mbits-per-second FDDI LAN connectivity for any PCI V2.1-compliant host platform, and are backward-compatible with any PCI V2.0-compliant host platform.

You first check the PCI drivers on the server, then if you are sure of the seetings you have made in both sides, then you can try using Fiber/UTB convertor to check connectivity.

Don't forget to assign points = (Thanks) !!!
Good Luck !!!

[Matt Hobbs]

As far as I know, FDDI is not compatible with 100-FX. You need a different NIC or a different switch that supports FDDI.

[Colin Butcher]

Fast Ethernet and FDDI are very different. They use different protocols and connection topologies. You can learn more about ethernet here: http://www.ethermanage.com/ and more about FDDI here: http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/fddi.htm

Note that ethernet and FDDI are not manufacturer specific protocols - they are standards. You can easily find information by searching the web.


To interconnect the two you need a FDDI to Ethernet gateway, such as this: http://eu.digitalnetworks.net/fddi_gateway.asp or this: http://eu.digitalnetworks.net/vnswitch.asp (probably DVNFX-MX).

Colin.