CNI problems - need some help

I've been having CNI problems off and on since I got my CBUS installation several years ago. I got sick of it for 6 months, and then I noticed it started working again for no apparent reason. Then it stopped working again. I decided again to look into it again.

I started by upgrading CBus Toolkit, and CGate to the latest verstion. Then I tried connecting to the web interface of the CNI to check the settings.

My recollection of doing this before, I could change the IP address and port settings from the web interface, but all those fields were not editable, no matter what browser or computer I used. So I thought, maybe Java or browsers aren't very compatible anymore. But despite it not being editable I managed to lose the settings for the IP address and it went back to DHCP. Wierd.

So I decided to upgrade the firmware on the CNI from 3.30 to 3.6 for the web manager as well as the CNI itself to the latest 5805 firmware. Anyway after upgrading the firmware, still the web interface doesn't allow me to edit the IP address, which is weird since I'm sure I used to do that in the web interface. Anyway I figured out that the Lantronix device installer can change the IP address, so I solved that.

Then I had to figure out how to set the port. Apparently the CNI has two "channels". For what purpose I have no idea. I assume the passive connection local port is what I need to set, so I set one to 10001 and the second to 10002. After setting that I seem to be able to telnet to 10002, but not 10001, so I assume that is what I need.

So I point CGate to 10002, and try it out. When I try to sent it some commands, the CGate spews out:

20090830-213011 824 //MYCONFIG/254 6095d810-0184-1028-9ad0-c848e087695f unknown response: ~~~ ***
20090830-213051 804 cmd13 - Host:/192.168.1.7 closed command interface from port: 50415

and from the client end I get the error:
20090830-213001 751 //MYCONFIG - Tag information changed at tag address: //MYCONFIG/Installation oldtag: null newtag: null
08 Operation failed: //MYCONFIG/254: Open failed: pci reset failed: No response to status report command
408 Operation failed: //MYCONFIG/254/56/31

The CBUS toolkit also gets the pci reset failed error on trying to open the network.

Has anyone got any advice about my predicaments? Is the Web interface supposed to let you change the IP address? Having reinstalled the firmware, is there anything else I am supposed to setup?

 

The CNI essentially contains a Lantronix TCP/IP (Ethernet) to serial (RS232) converter and a PCI. The Lantronix device supports two serial ports, but only one is used in the CNI.

The ~~~ is used to reset the PCI into a known state. You are seeing the echo of this command. This should happen when you first open the connection to the CNI (before you send any commands to C-Gate).

I am not sure what the *** are.

I would suggest using the new C-Bus IP Utility to set the CNI properties.

 

The CBus IP utility says it is port 10001, which is the first port in the Lantronix utility.

The trouble is, it won't accept connections on that port. CGate gives the error:

20090831-205346 742 //MYCONFIG/254 6095d810-0184-1028-9ad0-c848e087695f Network created type=CNI address=192.168.1.10:10001
20090831-205346 911 //MYCONFIG/254 6095d810-0184-1028-9ad0-c848e087695f Can't open: C-Bus interface (port failure (Connection refused)):192.168.1.10:10001
20090831-205346 804 cmd3 - Host:/192.168.1.4 closed command interface from port: 64396

and if I try telneting to 192.168.1.10 10001 connection is just refused. This is what I saw yesterday.

But now today when I got to look at the problem I can't even access the web interface at the assigned IP. I can change the IP address with the utility, but I can't get to it with a browser or telnet to port 80. Power cycling the CNI and rebooting my computer doesn't help.

 

Hi,

Try following this application note. From my experience this has always been the most reliable method for configuring a CNI.

http://www2.clipsal.com/cis/__data/page/4129/AN06-032-1_CNIProgramming.pdf

 

OK, I tried that technique and selected the reset Factory settings option. The web interface started working again -kinda, but it came up with a dialog box saying it can't connect to the device. I think the firmware is all screwed up, and the firmware update utility can't connect to it properly anymore.

Is there some reset button somewhere? The Lantronix web site seems to be saying that there should be one that can put it into a safe mode, but I can't see where it is.

 

I suggest you contact CIS Technical Support. It's hard to diagnose problems like this over the forum and they'll be able to punch through a bunch of things fairly quickly with you over the phone.

The reset button that Lantronix are talking about is located inside the device. You'd need to disassemble the unit to gain access to it, which would void your warranty.

V3.xx Lantronix firmware is pretty old. You say that your install is only 6 months old? The latest Lantronix firmware is 5.xx, however the Lantronix card inside the CNI needs be sufficiently new to accept the newest firmware.

The Lantronix Device Installer and the C-Bus IP Utility are the two best programs to use when configuring the CNI. I find the web interface of curiosity value only.

 

No the unit is about 3 years old. The web interface firmware I installed was 3.6, and the firmware itself is 5.805. I'll try technical support then.

 

I have the exact same problem - were you able to sort this out??