Citrix Winview Application Notes Cubix Fault Tolerant (FT) Subsystems This application note is for informational use only and Citrix makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this document or of any of third-party products discussed within. January 9,1995 Citrix Systems 210 University Drive Suite 700 Coral Springs, FL 33071 (305) 755-0559 FAX (305) 341-6880 Overview: --------- This application note facilitates the configuration of the Cubix Fault Tolerant (FT) Subsystems with Citrix "WinView for Networks". The Cubix FT Subsystem provides a compact, easy to manage Server bay which can be used to centralize the WinView for Networks into one location. The Cubix FT Subsystem tested at Citrix was capable of supporting up to 4 Pentium 60 MHz (BC 5055) or 4 486DX4 100 MHz (BC 4045) processor boards per rack unit. According to the documentation provided, a Cubix rack can hold up to four such units and can be installed in one Cubix rack, allowing up to 16 WinView for Networks servers in one rack. Disclaimer: ----------- The scenarios described in this document have been tested by Citrix Systems. Other variations to the scenarios described in this document may work, however they have not specifically been tested by Citrix. In order to recreate the configurations, you should use the specified revision levels of all software products described in this document and stay within the bounds of the features and functions described in this document. Please note that this application note is a living document and will be modified as new information and versions of the software described herein become availiable. Make sure you have the latest version of this document before you begin. The latest version is always available in the Citrix Forum on Compuserve. Requirements: ------------- Hardware: Cubix FT Subsystem rack unit(s) with: BC 4045 (486DX4 100 Mhz) processor boards, and/or BC 5055 (pentium 60 Mhz) processor boards Software: WinView for Networks 2.3 or higher Setup: ------ The normal WinView installation procedure should be followed as per the WinView for Networks Installation Manual. However, please note the Console Configuration issues listed below before beginning the installation procedure. Console Configuration Issues: ----------------------------- 1) Video mode Description: When each processor boots, only one of them can be the 'active' processor. For the BC 4045 and BC 5055 integrated video, booting in the backgound will cause the video mode recognition performed by the video BIOS to fail. This causes the video in the 'background' to appear either in inverse, or possibly monochrome modes. In addition to the console, remote DOS sessions will also see monochrome modes, even if the client machine has color capability. Solution: Boot each processor separately, keeping the session in the foreground during the Video BIOS checking. In the case of the first power up boot, flip through the 'sessions', running the BIOS setup by hitting the 'Del' key. Then one at a time, exit the BIOS and allow the processor to boot normally. 2) Shared PS/2 mouse Description: This is an issue inherent with the Cubix MUX session switching capability being incompatible with WinView for Networks. Only the foreground booted session may use the mouse AND, in order for the mouse behavior to remain consistent, the 'session' must remain in the foreground, limiting the usefullness of sharing the mouse. Solution: In this situation, there are two solutions. The first solution is to not load the mouse on the console at all. In this case, applications that use the mouse can be used from remote workstations. If using a mouse from the console is required, then upon installation, choose 'Serial Mouse', and select 'COM1:' as the port. For this solution, it is required to plug in a serial mouse into every processor board that requires a mouse. 3) Network cards not working Description: The driver provided for OS/2 ODI on the 'BC Series 10-Base T Drivers' diskette is called PCNTNW.OS2. For testing in house, this driver did not function correctly. Upon attempting to load the driver, there would be an error, and no Network subsystems would load correctly. Solution: In the WinView for Networks version 2.3, there is no option fot the Cubix network integrated cards. However, choosing the Compaq 'Netflex-L Ethernet' driver will use the PCNTNW.SYS driver shipped with WinView for Networks. Choose this option. In future releases, there will be two options in the installation for Cubix BC 4045 and Cubix BC 5055 Integrated 10-Base T cards. In the case of the BC 5055 card, there are no NET.CFG settings required. In WinView for Networks 2.3, this card should boot and function right away when using the driver described above. However, in the case of the BC 4045 card, you will need to have both the INT and PORT lines in the NET.CFG defined. By default the BC 4045 uses INT 5, PORT 300. Be sure to add the NET.CFG settings after installation to ensure proper functioning. To determine the INT and PORT settings on your BC 4045 card, boot the processor from a DOS boot diskette, and run the EECFG.EXE program found on the 'BC Series 10-Base T Drivers' diskette as provided by Cubix. For instructions, see page 3 of Appendix B in the BC Series Processor Boards Installation Guide. 4) Floppy drive access Description: This is not really a description of a problem as much as it a description of an inherent limitation of 'sharing' a floppy drive between multiple CPUs. It is important that the MUX session switching between CPUs is NOT performed while floppy drive access is taking place. Doing so can cause incorrect and inconsistent floppy drive functionality. Solution: While doing disk copies, or while performing software installation, or any access to the shared A: drive, DO NOT switch between CPU sessions until the floppy drive operations are complete.