DMC/DMR11 synch. controller on VAX 11/780-5

[p...@ihlpa.uucp]

I am looking for a good method to test DMC/DMR11
synchronous controllers on a DEC VAX 11/780-5. The diagnostics
supplied by DEC seldom indicate impaired performance unless
a board is in major trouble. This can be very frustrating!!
The VAX is running UNIX system V.2. ANY information --
pointers to existing programs, ideas, comments, etc. are
sincerely appreciated.

Phil Kells
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Naperville IL

[sh...@mcf.uucp]

In article <2...@mtxinu.UUCP> kri...@mtxinu.UUCP (Bob kridle) writes:

>In article <27...@ihlpa.UUCP> p...@ihlpa.UUCP (Kells) writes:
>>
>> I am looking for a good method to test DMC/DMR11
>>synchronous controllers on a DEC VAX 11/780-5. The diagnostics
>>supplied by DEC seldom indicate impaired performance unless
>>a board is in major trouble. This can be very frustrating!!
>>The VAX is running UNIX system V.2. ANY information --

>>sincerely appreciated.
>>
> Several years ago, I installed
>a DEC DMC11 and discovered it would pass the external loopback test
>without having the loopback installed!
>

We have a VAX-11/750 and suffer from the same
problems! The DEC diagnostics for DEUNA showed it had passed
all it tests even though we did NOT have the loopback installed!
sharan kalwani
...!ihnp4!mb2c!mcf!shan
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ff Michigan Cancer Foundation
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[gw...@brl-smoke.uucp]

In article <2...@mtxinu.UUCP> kri...@mtxinu.UUCP (Bob kridle) writes:
>a DEC DMC11 and discovered it would pass the external loopback test
>without having the loopback installed!

If so, it's not the only one. A very good DEC Field Service person
I once knew had the theory that DEC diagnostics were designed to
convince the customer that his newly-delivered equipment was working
just fine so that he would sign off on it. This person was only
partly jesting..

The other fun thing is knowing which "spurious" reported problems
(due to bugs in the diagnostics themselves) can be safely ignored.

Not to pick on DEC; I've seen this elsewhere too.

[jb...@epimass.uucp]

In article <2...@mtxinu.UUCP> kri...@mtxinu.UUCP (Bob kridle) writes:
>>a DEC DMC11 and discovered it would pass the external loopback test
>>without having the loopback installed!

In article <55...@brl-smoke.ARPA> gw...@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>) writes:
>If so, it's not the only one. A very good DEC Field Service person
>I once knew had the theory that DEC diagnostics were designed to
>convince the customer that his newly-delivered equipment was working
>just fine so that he would sign off on it. This person was only
>partly jesting..

Heard at the Usenix conference (though it's apparently an old joke):

DEC diagnostics would run on a beached whale.

--
- Joe Buck {hplabs,ihnp4,sun,ames}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck HASA (A,S)
Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California