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Service Hints & Tips

Document ID: MCGN-3TCR36

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Server Options - Starting the system (9306-900)

Applicable to: World-Wide

Starting the System

Start the system by:
1. Power-on the selector switch(s)
2. Power-on the monitor
3. Power-on the servers

Note The selector switch must be powered on first, then the servers. This is to assure that the device drivers for the servers send device settings to the selector switch.

When the selector switch is powered on, it:

- Identifies the mouse and keyboard and puts them into default status.
- Switches to port 1 by default, and displays the number '1' in the status flag field on the monitor.

Configuring the Selector Switch
No configuration is necessary for normal switch operation.

Switch configuration can be performed to:

- Assign unique names to servers
- Display servers by their assigned port names and port numbers

Switching Among Servers
To switch among servers:

- Press the Print Screen key
- Type the port number of the server to be switched
- Press Enter

Note One depression of the Print Screen key starts the switching process. To print a screen, depress the Print Screen key twice.

- Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow, select the server you want to switch to, or press the numeric key that corresponds to the server's port number and then press Enter.

The symbols after the Port or Name columns on the menu show the status of the port as follows:

Type of Symbol	Symbol	Meaning
Plus	+	Server connected and running
Asterisk	*	Secondary selector switch connected and running

Advanced Selector Switch functions
System configuration is performed through the keyboard and menus to include these Advanced selector switch functions:

- Scanning the servers
- Displaying server BIOS versions and settings
- Saving the Hardware Configuration
- Resetting the mouse and keyboard
- Setting a scan pattern
- Assigning unique names to the servers
- Listing servers by name or port number (Changing Menu Attributes)
- Changing the position and color of the operation menus and windows (Changing Flag Attributes)
- Assigning a specific monitor type to a certain port (server)

Scanning the Servers: To place the selector switch in scan mode:
- Press the Print Screen key
- Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen.
- Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Scan and press Enter. The selector switch enters the scan mode and the display returns to the status flag. To cancel the operation, press Esc any time before you press Enter.
- To cancel the scan mode, press any key or move the mouse. The scan stops at the currently connected server.

Displaying Version Information and Device Settings: The selector switch BIOS version number along with keyboard and mouse information can be displayed for the currently selected server.

- Press the Print Screen key
- Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen.
- Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Version and press Enter.

Keyboard information includes:
- Enabled or disabled
- Typematic rate
- LED settings
- Port mode
- Keyboard type.

Mouse information includes:
- Enabled or disabled
- Sample rate
- Resolution
- Mouse type

Press Esc to remove the Version menu.

Saving Hardware Configuration: Whenever servers are added to or removed from the configuration, or whenever there is a change in the mouse or monitor, save the hardware configuration setting by:

1. Press the Print Screen key
2. Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen.
3. Using the Up Arrow (¼) and Down Arrow (Ç) keys, move the highlighting to Snapshot and press the Enter key. The hardware settings are saved to memory.

Important If the settings are not saved and the selector switch power is lost, it might be necessary to restart each server in the configuration to reestablish keyboard and mouse communications.

Resetting the Mouse and Keyboard:
Resetting the mouse and keyboard restores the default setting for the selected server.

- Press the Print Screen key
- Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen.
- Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Reset and press the Enter key. The mouse and keyboard are now reset.

Setting a Scan Pattern: The selector switch has a standard scan routine for sequentially connecting each server to the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The scan routine can be configured to scan all or any of the servers in a particular pattern. To create a scan pattern, do the following.

1. Press the Print Screen key
2. Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen. Press the Right Arrow key to move the highlight to the Setup Menu.
3. Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Scan and press the Enter key. The Scan Pattern Setup menu appears with the first port position or server name highlighted. The following example screen displays when the port order mode is selected.

If Name order was selected, the Port and Name columns will be reversed.

4. Using the keyboard keys, select the port number of the first server to be included in the scan. Note that the server name, if any is assigned, appears in the far right column on the menu.

5. Press the Tab key or Right Arrow key to move the highlighting to the Sec column. Then, use the keyboard keys to enter a time value, in seconds, for the length of time you want this server to be connected to the monitor and keyboard, before switching to the next server in the scan.

6. Press the Down Arrow key to move the highlighting to the next port in the Port column and repeat step 5.

To delete unwanted ports from the scan list in the Scan Pattern Setup window, place the highlighting on the top-most port to be removed and press the Delete key (not the Del key on the numeric keypad).

7. When you have finished setting the scan pattern, press the Enter key. Press Esc at any time before pressing Enter to retain the previous scan pattern.

Note Pressing the F2 key will return all Port and Sec values to the factory defaults.

8. To exit, press Esc

Assigning Unique Names to Servers: Unique names can be given to servers and secondary selector switches. To assign names:

1. Press the Print Screen key
2. Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen. Press the Right Arrow key to move the highlight to the Setup Menu.
3. Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Names and press the Enter key. The Port Naming menu appears, as shown below.

4. Move the highlighting to the Port entry for which the server name is to be entered or changed. Type in the name of the server using up to 12 alphanumeric characters.

Note Legal characters are A-Z, 0-9, and the dash character. Lowercase letters are converted to uppercase. Press the Backspace key to delete an incorrect entry.

5. If necessary, repeat step 4 for each of the servers that are to be named.

6. Press the Enter key to save the server names in nonvolatile RAM. Press Esc at any time before pressing Enter to cancel the operation.

7. To exit, press Esc

Changing Menu Attributes: The menus displayed on the monitor can be altered in visual appearance to suit the particular use of the system. You can:

- Position the menu in a convenient location on the display.
- List servers by port or by name, whichever is desired, in the appropriate menus.
- Adjust character height.
- Change colors.
- Display the selection menu for a certain period.

To change the menu attributes, do the following:

- Press the Print Screen key
- Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen. Press the Right Arrow key to move the highlighting to the Setup list.
- Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to OSCAR (On Screen Configuration and Activity Reporting) and press the Enter key. The following Attribute menu appears.

- Highlight the settings you want to change and use the + or N keys to change the values. As you select different values, the effect of the changes is reflected immediately on the display.

- When all changes are completed, press the Enter key to save the changes to nonvolatile RAM. Press Esc at any time before pressing Enter to cancel the operation and retain the previous settings.

Note It is possible, while changing the attributes, to garble the menu and windows, making it difficult to correct. If this occurs, reset the selector switch to its default values by pressing the following keys in this order: 1. Esc 2. Esc 3. Print Screen 4. F10 5. Y 6. Enter

Available menu attributes:

Setting	Effect on Menu or Window Appearance
Resolution	Affects the size of the menu and windows as they appear on the display. Choose from values of 320, 480, and 640. The lower the value, the larger the size.
Height	Affects the size of the text in the menu and windows. The larger the value, the larger the text.
Horizontal/Vertical	Determines the position of the menu or window on the screen.
Background	Determines the menu or window background color.
Highlight	Determines the menu or window highlight bar color.
Text	Determines the menu or window text color.
Delay Time	Sets the time in seconds that the OSCAR selection window is delayed before appearing after the Print Screen key is pressed. This delay may be increased so that the menu is not a distraction when performing simple server switching operations at the keyboard.
Order	Determines the order which the servers are listed, numerically by port or alphabetically by assigned name.

Changing the Status Flag Attributes: The status flag shows the currently connected server and can be set to appear on the screen whenever the system is operating. You can alter how and where the flag appears on the screen by changing one or more of the following attributes:

- Appearance on the screen: none, timed, or constant
- Position on the screen
- Color and opaqueness

To change the flag attributes, do the following:
1. Press the Print Screen key
2. Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen. Press the Right Arrow key to move the highlighting to the Setup menu.
3. Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlight to Flag and press the Enter key. The following menu appears.

4. Highlight the setting to be changed and use the + and N keys to adjust the values. The following table describes each of the available menu attributes:

Setting	Values and Effect on Flag Appearance
Enabled	Flags Off = Flag does not appear Ports On = Flag shows the connected port number Names On = Flag shows the connected server by name Ports Timed = Port number displays for five seconds after connection Names Timed = Name displays for five seconds after connection
Row	Select values from 0-14 to position the flag vertically on the screen
Column	Select values from 0-25 to position the flag horizontally on the screen
Color	Select values from 0-7 for the flag color.
Text	Select values from 0-7 for the flag text color
Mode	Choose between Opaque and Transparent

5. Press the Enter key to save the settings. Press Esc at anytime before pressing Enter to cancel the operation and save the previous settings.

6. Press Esc to exit.

Assigning Specific Device Types: In situations where one or more servers need a special type of monitor device, it might be necessary to assign that device type to the port number associated with the server.

Note When tiering, you must make the primary selector switch aware of the secondaries through the assignment.

Assign a device type as follows:
1. Press the Print Screen key
2. Press the F2 key to display the Advanced Menu screen. Press the Right Arrow key to move the highlighting to the Setup menu.
3. Using the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys, move the highlighting to Devices and press the Enter key. The following menu appears:

4. To assign a monitor type, highlight the port you want and use the + or - keys to select the value that corresponds to the particular monitor.

To assign a secondary selector switch to a port, highlight the port and use the + or - keys to obtain the appropriate 8port value.

5. Press the Enter key to save the settings. Press Esc at any time before pressing Enter to cancel the operation.

6. Press Esc to remove the Advanced Menu from the screen.

Resetting the Selector Switch
The selector switch can be reset by depressing the Reset button on the back panel of the selector switch.

Note Pressing the reset button might recover the device settings without having to power-off, then power-on all the servers.

Making Connections Under Power
Additional servers, can be connected to the selector switch while the selector switch is running.

Failed devices such as a keyboard or mouse can be connected to a running selector switch.

Note When new devices are connected, the selector switch recognizes it and configures it to the settings of the currently selected server.

	Search Keywords
	Hint Category	Hardware Maintenance Information
	Date Created	08-04-98
	Last Updated	27-04-98
	Revision Date	24-04-99
	Brand	IBM PC Server
	Product Family	Rack/Storage Enclosures
	Machine Type	9306
	Model	900
	TypeModel
	Retain Tip (if applicable)
	Reverse Doclinks and Admin Purposes