Alpha Microsystems AM-6000 Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 15)

Page 1-8 Chapter One

AM-6000 Computer Owner's Manual, Rev. 00

By adding a commercially available transceiver, you can convert the 15-pin AUI port to

10BaseT or 10Base2 "thin" Ethernet operation.

•

The AM-319-20 board has two connectors: a DB-15 AUI interface and a 10BaseT connector. To

use the Ethernet ports on the AM-319-20, indicate your preference in the CMOS Menu.

The AM-319-20 Ethernet interface is AlphaTCP compatible only, with AlphaNet

supported via tunneling.

We recommend you use the Ethernet port on the AM-176 board. It is more efficient than the AM-319-20

ports because it consumes less CPU overhead. The two ports on the AM-319-20 provide you with built-

in back-up Ethernet connections. You cannot use both Ethernet interfaces at the same time.

UPS Monitoring

The AM-319-20 board has an on-board dedicated DB-9 UPS port. This port is a switch contact status

port, used by the Toshiba UPS products sold by Alpha Micro. This port connects to the UPS and can

control (turn off) the disk write cache during a low battery and AC power fail condition. This function

flushes all pending writes to disk, thereby reducing the chances of large-scale data loss when power is

finally lost. When the power is restored, the UPS flags the system and the disk write caching is

automatically re-enabled. A separate connection from the UPS to an RS-232 serial port is required for

monitoring functions, such as load, voltage, and fault status.

Front Panel Status Display

The two hexadecimal digit status display on the front panel lets you know what is going on inside the

computer even when no messages appear on your terminal. Some normal functions of the machine (e.g.,

clearing memory when the computer boots) cause codes to appear on the display, as do certain system

errors.

In addition, the self test uses the status display to let you know how it is progressing, and if any errors

have occurred. The self test checks the major hardware components in the computer for proper

operation, including memory, disk controllers and drives, the interval timer, and the serial I/O ports.

For information on all meaningful codes that can appear on the front panel display, see Chapter 8,

"Status Display Codes." For information on using the self test, see the

Self Test User's Guide

, DSO-

00156-00, that came with your computer.

Real Time Clock

The system has a Real Time Clock chip which is part of the CMOS system setup. Both the CMOS boot

settings and the time and date are battery backed-up. The Real Time Clock is more efficient than on

previous systems, and its battery-backup provides a high level of time, date, and CMOS protection

against corruption by a malfunctioning program.

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Alpha Microsystems AM-6000 Owner's Manual Page 15