XE.C

XE is a program that displays the LINE counters for a DEUNA, DEQNA,
DELUA, DEBNA, DESVA, DELQA, DEMNA etc. in a MONITOR type format. This
is the equivalent of a MONITOR version of "NCP SHO LINE xxxx COUNTERS".

Known Problems: None as at 13-Aug-91 (V3.0)

Changes in this release (V3.0)

	o Added in translation of device type as opposed to actual
	  device name (eg. DESVA instead of ESA35:).

	o Corrected received data figures when /PROMISCUOUS specified
	  to reflect ALL traffic on the ethernet.

Changes in release (V2.09):

	o EXA0: and EZA0: have been added to the default list of devices
	  to look for.


Install by executing INSTALL.COM or by using VMSINSTAL.

Syntax:
	$ XE [device] [/INTERVAL=5] [/ZERO] [/PROMISCUOUS]

If no device is specified, XE searchs for (in order): NI$DEVICE,
ESA0:, ETA0:, EXA0:, EZA0:, XEA0: and XQA0:.
If you have several interfaces, or wish to use a particular device,
then specify a device parameter, eg.

	$ XE XQB0

/INTERVAL controls the interval between display scans. The default is 5
seconds. Data is always displayed in volume/second.

If /ZERO is specified, XE will set the counters to zero before the first scan.
This means that no information will be displayed until after the first scan
interval and that the starting time for all data will be when XE was invoked.
This is very useful when you are carrying out an experiment which has a short
duration. See /INTERVAL above and CTRL/R below.

If /PROMISCUOUS is specified, XE will place the specified interface in
promiscuous mode before access. This will result in the received counters
reflecting ALL data on the ethernet cable, not just those items destined for the
executor node. There are several side effects to doing this: There will be a
large number of "User Buffer Unavailable" and "Unrecognised Frame Destination"
events. These can be ignored. In addition, the CPU time used by INTERRUPT mode
and by the XE program may be dramatically increased.
If it recommended that /ZERO is used with /PROMISCUOUS so that the averages
correctly reflect true activity levels. PHY_IO privilege is need to use this
feature..

Use CTRL/Z,CTRL/Y,CTRL/C to exit from XE.
Use CTRL/W to repaint the screen.
Use CTRL/R to cause the counters to be zeroed at the next scan. This can be done
at any time whilst XE is running. The counters can also be initialised by using
/ZERO (see above).

Note that the time since last zeroed is a word counter (in seconds).
Therefore a maximum time of "0 18:12:15" can be displayed before the
counter stops.
When the time reaches its limit, XE will display a leading ">" before
the time, eg. ">18:12:15", to indicate that the counter has overflowed.
If the counter has reached its limit when you first enter XE, then
the initial calculated average rates will be inaccurate. Use CTRL/R to
reset the counters on the next scan.

If there are any receive failures (packets lost), XE will attempt to
determine the reasons for failure, a brief text will be displayed after
the "Received:" lable:

	Text		Meaning
	------		-------
	BlkChk		Block check error
	FrmErr		Framing error
	FrmLng		Frame too long

Similarly, if any send failures (resulting in packet loss) are detected,
text will be displayed after the "Transmitted:" lable:

	Text		Meaning
	------		-------
	ExcCol		Excessive collisions
	CarFail		Carrier check fail
	ShtCir		Short circuit
	OpnCir		Open circuit
	FrmLng		Frame too long
	RemDef		Remote failure to defer

Note also that only one instance of XE may be active at any one time.
This is because XE uses a non-shared protocol when talking to the driver.

The interface to [XE|XQ|ET|ES|EZ]DRIVER uses an undocumented SENSEMODE
modifier.

I have found this utility very useful for looking at ethernet traffic
during flood testing.

Nick de Smith
Applied Telematics Group
7 Vale Avenue
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1DJ
England
+44 892 511000
PSI%234213300154::NICK
NICK@NCDLAB.ULCC.AC.UK