Console Fails To Connect And Port Detection Fails; Performance Degradation On Local Console; Unable To Make A Connection When Infrared Devices Are Installed; Unexpected Disconnections - IBM i Series Handbook

v If you are using Ethernet for your network, you can use a crossover cable to directly connect the PC to
the adapter temporarily. This cable isolates the PC and system from any potential problems on your
network that might interfere with proper operations.
A crossover cable is a standard network cable but has the transmit and receive signal wires reversed.
This virtually allows each end to act as if a hub, switch, or router were between them.

Console fails to connect and port detection fails:

If your console fails to connect and your port detection fails, here are some possible reasons.
v Sometimes RealPlayer or RealJukebox interferes with port detection and usage.
v Some PDA drivers or software may also prevent connections or port detection.

Performance degradation on local console:

The most likely reason for performance degradation is that the communication port is not running a
buffered UART (Universal Asynchronous Receive/Transmit serial port chip).
Go to Advanced settings for the serial port and verify the check mark is checked to use a buffered UART.
Make sure the Receive Buffer setting is not set to the right-most setting.
If that does not help and you suspect that the PC might not have the buffered UART, you can try
slowing down the connection between the PC and system. Depending on the operating system, you may
have to change the registry, the DUN object, the phone book entry, or all three.
The problem when the UART is not buffered is that the high speed inputs data to the UART faster than it
can handle, which causes a missed packet of data resulting in a 30-second retry. This can occur randomly,
but will be persistent. The slower speed reduces the exposure to an overrun of data and therefore no
more 30-second retries.

Unable to make a connection when infrared devices are installed:

If the PC having connection problems has infrared devices, you may need to disable infrared in some
cases.
Most of these devices work from COM1 but fail to show up as using the associated hardware resources.
Some experimentation may need to be performed to isolate the problem during configuration of
Operations Console.

Unexpected disconnections:

If the PC has power management capabilities, it should have this function disabled.
Most PCs, and especially notebooks, reset the communications ports when starting power management
after the specified time. This can potentially disconnect the established connection. Therefore, a local
console that goes into power saver mode might disconnect from the system.

Using HyperTerminal to validate connectivity between client and the system:

HyperTerminal is a Windows application used for connecting to various sources. It is supplied by all
Windows operating systems on the installation media, although it might not be automatically installed.
When the local console directly attached to the system does not connect, you can use HyperTerminal to
determine if the PC has connectivity to the system.
Notes:
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Operations Console