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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: DSS 200s losing connection with Cat862s
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-01-2016 11:56 PM
Seconded on the 1-foot cat5e cable. I had a similar problem that was solved by replacing it.
When rebooting, rather than just doing a German reboot (i.e. pulling the power cords while the thing is booted up and fully running), there is a slightly kinder way to hard reboot a DSS2000:
ctrl+alt+F1
Enter the administration username and password that you'll find in the DSS200 manual (per forum rules, I'm not allowed to post them here)
Type "reboot" and press enter
When you here the fans in the PSUs surge, then pull both cords. At that point, it is guaranteed that you won't be cutting the power at the exact moment a hard drive write operation is taking place (because the BIOS will be initializing), thereby minimizing the chance of causing a drive error.
It is necessary to pull the cords, though, because if you just enter the reboot command and let it do it, you will only reboot the server, not the cat862. You need to cut the power to the cat862 in order for it to reboot as well.
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 03-02-2016 06:30 AM
First...ALL DSS200s have both an internal and external link cable. On the few times I've gone inside to resolve the problem, I change the cable out...that is, I bring a 2-foot cable, plug it into the CAT862 and then remove one of the ISA cover plates and run the cable out and into the link connector...thereby saving on 1 cable and two connectors plus what ever soldering/PCB work on the little board. I just don't want to revisit it over a $1.00 cable. I also don't like the way it is zip tied on the CAT862...the bend radius is WAY too small, in my opinion...yes it is a short cable but still.
I have seen CAT862 disconnections on System 4.8.6.13 though not as you describe. The CAT862 disconnections have been random and not necessarily when the timer gets to zero. It hasn't been epidemic in nature but enough for me to take notice. The ONLY trend I've seen in it is that the odds are MUCH higher when driving a series 1 projector. I think I've had 5 instances of the problem and 4 of them were on series 1 projectors.
I don't think it is the CAT862 but something up with the NIC on the motherboard or the software driving the NIC on the motherboard because a soft reboot (doesn't power cycle the CAT862 or really reboot it at all), clears the issue...if it was on the CAT862 side, a soft reboot shouldn't work.
Speaking of soft reboots:
Leo's way will work but requires a password and extra steps. Instead use:
<ctl><alt><F1> to get to the CLI interface
But then use the Bill Gates <CTL><ALT><DEL> and it will do a graceful reboot.
What is also different in your description is that you have problems on log downloads...something I haven't seen.
I would definitely pull logs from any of your servers that have had [any] issue and send to Dolby via Dolby Customer so the problem is on record. There is also a Dolby Log Analyzer to go through them and look for known problems.
If It were me, and on-site, I'd probably also reflash the CAT862 using the Software Update program and tick "reinstall all components" to wipe the CAT862 clean. Note, if you have Dolby 3D or use the CAT862 for audio delay, those settings will be wiped too so save them first.
If you haven't rebooted your servers in a long time, it could merely be that. Once a month is normally pretty good interval. I have also noted on System 4.8 a tendency for a server to come up "Disconnected". I'd say you have about a 1:50 chance.
4.8 has a lot going for it (quick show starts, intermissions, SMPTE package improvements) but it definitely picked up a few quirks that are not welcomed.
I don't recall seeing the CAT862 disconnections at this level before 4.8.6 so you may try rolling back to a previous version. 4.8.7.1 didn't resolve it for my sites and it is too soon to tell if 4.8.8.4 has any improvements. None are documented in the release notes.
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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 03-04-2016 07:14 AM
It is my understanding that you DON'T have to wipe the server when rolling back to 4.8.4.10. Again, I have not be afflicted by this particular problem so I don't have first hand knowledge of it...just grapevine sort of stuff.
Note, the problem should be gone in 4.8.4.10...I'd leave the server there to verify that before rolling back up. I've never unconfiged a server staying within the same version range (e.g. all 4.8s are in the same version range). Honestly, I've rarely unconfiged moving major ranges (e.g. moving from 4.8 to 4.7). However, when moving major ranges I can understand why you might need to...there are features that will disappear when rolling back (in the case of 4.7 from 4.8...Intermission, instant start).
As for "Disconnected," that is a more "new feature" for me that seems to be closely tied to System 4.8...yes, you could get it on other versions but with 4.8 the likelihood jumped better than 100-fold. To the point that IF you reboot your sever EVERY WEEK, the odds are, you'll see it within a year.
With Dolby's servers, there are all of these subsystems (like with a projector...there is the brains of the projector...the "controller" then there is the ICP that effectively its own independent system residing within the projector and maybe an Enigma module also its own world within the projector)...with the DSS line, there is the server, the show store, the mediablock...etc. Disconnected effectively is saying it cant communicate with the show store within the server. I figure it has to be a timing problem on boot up since it is random and a version change affected it so drastically.
The not-advancing problem, I figure is likely related to when they made the transition to instant start that there were unintended consequences in how things process now. What I saw most after that happened was if you did a random-seek...you could get caught on a "Checking licenses" screen...a screen that shouldn't be there after the show starts...that problem was fixed in 4.8.5, as I recall.
As I've said before, System 4.8, like 4.5 and early 4.6(shudder), seems to be a version that has brought annoyances with some welcomed features (I really like instant start). That said, I'll take reliability over features EVERY TIME.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-04-2016 12:33 PM
There appears to be a spate of bugs with this software platform emerging at present, as evidenced by the two quickfire updates that were issued recently: 4.8.8.3 to correct a February 29 bug (risk of unpredictable behavior if stuff is ingested on Feb 29, or stuff timestamped Feb 29 is ingested thereafter), and then the discovery that this fix broke Atmos, and 4.8.8.4 to correct that.
Dolby don't usually publish an update that only has one or two fixes or feature additions, but there have now been three in relatively short order.
Hopefully 4.8.9 will embed the recent new functionality (quick start, intermission and full support for SMPTE subtitles) while achieving a fundamental reliability improvement.
Thankfully, I haven't experienced the "Disconnected" glitch on my DSS200/cat862 system yet (knock on wood), though I do do a "clean install" reflash thru USB of the cat862 immediately before and every time I update the main server's software image, which may have helped.
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