How to Configure an ATM Switched Virtual Circuit

This fax will cover software requirements and configuration of ATM switched virtual circuits (SVC) on AIX 3.2.5, 4.1.4, and 4.2.

Current adapters supported by IBM are as follows:
MCA Turboways 100 ATM adapter - AIX 3.2.5, 4.1.4, and 4.2.0
MCA Turboways 155 ATM adapter - AIX 3.2.5, 4.1.4, and 4.2.0
MCA Turboways 155 ATM UTP/STP adapter - AIX 3.2.5, 4.1.5, 4.2.0
PCI Turboways 25 ATM UTP/STP adapter - AIX 4.1.5 and 4.2.1 (FC 2998)
PCI Turboways 155 ATM adapter - AIX 4.1.5 and 4.2.1 (FC 2988)

AIX Version 3.2.5: Drivers are installed via PTF U438028 for the Turboways 100 adapter and U443303 for the Turboways 155 and Turboways UTP/STP adapter.

ATM support at AIX version 4.x is installed via the following filesets:

MCA Turboways 155 ATM software:
devices.mca.8f67.com
devices.mca.8f67.rte
devices.mca.8f67.ucode
devices.mca.8f67.diag (4.1.5 and 4.2.x)
devices.common.IBM.atm.rte (4.2.x)

MCA Turboways 155 ATM UTP/STP software (4.1.5 and 4.2.x):
devices.mca.8f64.diag
devices.mca.8f64.rte
devices.common.IBM.atm.rte (4.2.x)

MCA Turboways 100 ATM software:
devices.mca.8f7f.rte
devices.mca.8f7f.ucode
devices.mca.8f7f.com
devices.mca.8f7f.diag (4.1.5 and 4.2.x)
devices.common.IBM.atm.rte (4.2.x)

PCI Turboways 25 ATM UTP/STP software:
devices.pci.14105300.rte
devices.pci.14105300.diag

PCI Turboways 155 ATM software:
devices.pci.14107c00.rte
devices.pci.14107c00.diag
devices.pci.14107c00.com

ATM is not supported from AIX Version 4.1.1 through 4.1.3

To configure SVCs, you must have a switch and one ARP server per logical IP subnet. The ATM software can provide the functionality of an ARP server or ARP client. Some ATM switches can be configured as an ARP server as well.

An ATM address is 20 bytes (40 hex digits) in length and listed in dotted decimal format. An example of a ATM address is as follows:

 
    AC.3E.21.11.6F.3.AA.16.19.A0.3.D.12.33.D4.A2.CC.D.8.5 
    (Note the leading zero digit can be dropped) 

The first 13 bytes are the ATM prefix which is determined and configured on the switch. The next 6 bytes consist of the MAC address (or alternate MAC address) of the adapter. The final byte is a selector byte corresponding to the interface number (i.e. for at5 the selector byte is 5 as above).

Execute the following command for AIX Version 4.1.4 and 4.2 ARP Client Configuration:

 
    smit mkinetat 

The command will display the following screen:

 
 * INTERNET ADDRESS (dotted decimal)                  (1.1.1.1) 
   Network MASK (hexadecimal or dotted decimal)       (255.255.255.0) 
   Network Interface                                  (at0) 
   Connection Type                                     svc_c 
   ATM Server Address                   (20 byte ARP server ATM address) 
   Alternate Device                                   (atm0) 
   Idle Timer                                         () 
 * ACTIVATE the Interface after Creating it?           yes 

Note: Do not begin the ARP server address with a 0x designation.

Execute the following command for AIX Version 3.2.5 ARP Client Configuration:

 
    smit mkinetat 

The command will display the following screen:

 
   Device Name                                         atm1aio0 
   Network Interface                                   at0 
   INTERNET ADDRESS (dotted decimal)                   (1.1.1.1) 
   Network MASK (hexadecimal or dotted decimal)        (255.255.255.0) 
   ACTIVATE the Interface after Creating it?           yes 
   Enable Hardware LOOPBACK Mode?                      no 
   Enable SVCs                                         yes 
   Is this an ARP server?                              no 
   If this is an ARP client 
      ARP Server ATM Address (dotted hexadecimal)  (ARP server address) 

Note: In the above smit screen, change 'Is this an ARP server' to 'no' and enter in the ARP server ATM address in dotted hexadecimal, without the Ox designation.

To configure an AIX Version 4 system to be an ARP server, use the smit fastpath and execute the following command:

 
    mkinetat 

The command will display the following screen:

 
 * INTERNET ADDRESS (dotted decimal)                  (1.1.1.1) 
   Network MASK (hexadecimal or dotted decimal)       (255.255.255.0) 
   Network Interface                                  (at0) 
   Connection Type                                     svc_s 
   ATM Server Address                                 () 
   Alternate Device                                   (atm0) 
   Idle Timer                                         () 
 * ACTIVATE the Interface after Creating it?           yes 
 
 - Connection type must be set to svc_s 
 - You may have multiple interfaces configured on one atm adapter (i.e 
   at0, at1, at2,..) Therefore, you must specify the Network Interface 
   you are creating. 
 - Each IP interface must be defined for a unique IP network address. 
 - Due to the possibility of having multiple adapters in one system and 
   having multiple interfaces on each adapter, you must specify what 
   device definition the interface is being created on (even if you 
   only have one adapter) in the Alternate Device field. 
 - The ATM server address is blank when configuring for an ARP server. 

To configure an AIX Version 3 system to be an ARP server, use the smit fastpath and execute the following command:

 
    mkinetat 

The command will display the following screen:

 
   Device Name                                         atm1aio0 
   Network Interface                                   at0 
   INTERNET ADDRESS (dotted decimal)                   (1.1.1.1) 
   Network MASK (hexadecimal or dotted decimal)        (255.255.255.0) 
   ACTIVATE the Interface after Creating it?           yes 
   Enable Hardware LOOPBACK Mode?                      no 
   Enable SVCs                                         yes 
   Is this an ARP server?                              yes 
   If this is an ARP client 
      ARP Server ATM Address (dotted hexadecimal)      () 

After configuring the RS/6000 as an ARP server, we can discover the ATM address by running "arp -t atm -a" which views the ARP cache. Our own ATM address should be listed. This address would be used in the configuration of ARP clients.

At AIX version 3.2.5, we can determine the ATM address of the ARP server by executing the following:

 
    /usr/lpp/atm100/atmsvc show              (100 Mb adapter) 
    /usr/lpp/atmxxx/atm155/atmsvc155_list    (155 Mb adapter) 

1. Check to make sure there is a proper connection to the ATM switch. This is usually indicated by a port light on the ATM switch. Look for wire fault errors in the error log with "errpt |grep atm" command to identify cable problems. If the SC connectors on your fiber cables are not keyed or connected with a plastic cover, you may want to try to reverse the connectors on one end.
2. Please make sure that the ARP server address is entered correctly for the ARP client.
3. Many problems occur when the switch is incorrectly configured. If no one can ping on the switch and you have double checked the configuration on AIX, please contact the switch administrator to verify the configuration.
4. A migration of an AIX Version 3.2.5 system with the ATM support PTF installed to an AIX 4.1.4 system currently shows problems removing the old ATM software. Please contact support for this solution.
5. Problems of intermittent communications loss or inability to ping on reboot are often caused by defects. Please call 1-800-CALLAIX to obtain these.