Excerpts taken from:

Network Troubleshooting
By Othmar Kyas
An Agilent Technologies Publication

Section V

Appendix
Appendix A

Error Symptoms and Root Causes

A.8 Common Errors in ATM Networks
A.9 Symptoms and Causes: LAN Switching
A.10 Common Errors in LAN Switched Networks
A.11 Symptoms and Causes: ISDN
A.12 Common Erros in ISDN Networks
A.13 Symptoms and Causes: Frame Relay
A.14 Common Errors in Frame Relay Networks
A.15 Symptoms and Causes: PDH
A.16 Common Errors in PDH Networks
A.17 Symptoms and Causes: SDH
A.18 Common Errors in SDH Networks
A.19 Symptoms and Causes: X and V Series Interfaces
A.20 Common Errors in X/V Series Connections

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SECTION I SECTION II SECTION III SECTION IV SECTION V
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A.8 Common Errors in ATM Networks

The following table lists the most common causes of problems in ATM networks:

• A T M in te r fa c e c a r d d e fe c tiv e
• A T M in te r fa c e c a r d in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d ( in te r r u p t, d r iv e r , tim e r s )
• C e ll s tr e a m s w ith d iffe r e n t p r io r itie s a r e b e in g tr a n s m itte d a t h ig h lo a d ,
a n d c e lls w ith lo w p r io r ity a r e d is c a r d e d
• C la s s ic a l IP : A T M A R P s e r v e r a d d r e s s n o t c o n fig u r e d o n th e c lie n t s y s te m s
• C la s s ic a l IP : M is c o n fig u r e d A T M A R P s e r v e r : c lie n ts a r e n o t r e g is te r e d a t a ll
o r r e g is te r e d u n d e r a w r o n g a d d r e s s
• F a u lty c a b le in fr a s tr u c tu r e : s e e C h a p te r 6
• E le c tr o m a g n e tic in te r fe r e n c e ( A T M o v e r U T P )
• H a r d w a r e o r s o ftw a r e p r o b le m s o n th e s w itc h
• H ig
h s ig n a l tr a n s it d e la y d u e to lo n g tr a n s m is s io n p a th
• IL M
I n o t a c tiv e o n th e c lie n t o r o n th e A T M s w itc h
• In c
o m p a tib le IL M I s o ftw a r e v e r s io n s o n c lie n t a n d s e r v e r
• In c
o r r e c t p o r t c o n fig u r a tio n : b it r a te , s c r a m b lin g , in te r fa c e ty p e , fr a m e ty p e
(P L C P , G .8 0 4 , S D H , S O N E T )
• In c o r r e c t r o u te r c o n fig u r a tio n
( p o r t in a c tiv e , w r o n g o p e r a tin g m o d e , p r o to c o l n o t a c tiv e )
• In c o r r e c t r o u te r filte r s
• In s u ffic ie n t b u ffe r in g in th e s w itc h
• L A N E : IP a d d r e s s e s a n d s u b n e t m a s k s a r e in c o r r e c t;
in te r fa c e s b e lo n g to d iffe r e n t s u b n e ts
• L A N E : IP in te r fa c e s o n th e L E c lie n ts a r e n o t a c tiv e o r n o t fu n c tio n in g
• L A N E : L A N E s o ftw a r e o n th e c lie n t o r s w itc h is n o t a c tiv e
• L A N E : L A N E - A R P e n tr ie s a r e in c o r r e c t
(M A C -A T M a d d r e s s r e s o lu tio n is n o t w o r k in g )
• L A N E : L E C lie n ts a r e n o t r e g is te r e d o n th e s a m e L E S e r v e r /B U S
• L A N E : L E C lie n ts tr y in g to c o m m u n ic a te d o n o t b e lo n g to th e s a m e E L A N
• L A N E : T h e p r im a r y L A N E s e r v ic e fa ile d a n d th e b a c k u p L A N E s e r v ic e w a s
n o t a c tiv a te d
• L A N E : T h e tr a ffic c o n tr a c ts o f th e L E C lie n ts a r e in c o m p a tib le
• L A N E : T h e L E s e r v e r ( L E S ) V C C is in a c tiv e o r th e A T M a d d r e s s o f th e L E S is
in c o rre c t
• L A N E : T h e B U S V C C is in a c tiv e o r th e A T M a d d r e s s o f th e B U S is in c o r r e c t

Figure A.5a The most frequent causes of trouble in ATM networks

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• L o o s e o r d e fe c tiv e c o n n e c to r s o n in te r fa c e c a r d s , w a ll ja c k s , M A U s , h u b s ,
b r id g e s , r o u te r s
• M is c o n fig u r e d A T M in te r fa c e c a r d ( in te r r u p ts , d r iv e r s , tim e r s )
• M is c o n fig u r e d r o u tin g p r o to c o l e n tr ie s ( a d d r e s s ta b le s , m a p p in g ta b le s ,
s u b n e t m a s k s , d e fa u lt g a te w a y s , r o u tin g ta b le s , tim e r s )
• P N N I: H e llo p r o to c o l o n th e P N N I in te r fa c e is n o t a c tiv e
• P N N I: M is c o n fig u r e d p e e r g r o u p le a d e r
( P G L is n o t a c tiv e o r n o d e s ig n a te d p a r e n t L G N )
• P N N I: M is c o n fig u r e d P N N I p o r t p a r a m e te r s
( c e ll r a te , c e ll tr a n s fe r d e la y , b it r a te )
• P N N I: P N N I a d d r e s s e s , p r e fix e s o r s u m m a r y a d d r e s s e s a r e in c o r r e c t
• P N N I: T h e P N N I R o u tin g C o n tr o l C h a n n e l ( S V C C - R C C ) is in a c tiv e
• P N N I: T o p o lo g y in fo r m a tio n o n th e s w itc h p o r t is in c o m p le te o r o u td a te d
• P N N I: U p lin k s to n e ig h b o r in g p e e r g r o u p s a r e in a c tiv e o r n o t d e fin e d
• P N N I: W r o n g r o u te s e le c tio n d u e to in c o r r e c t A T M a d d r e s s e s
fo r th e d e s tin a tio n n o d e
• P V C n o t s e t u p ; in v a lid V C I
• F a u lty p h y s ic a l r o u te r o r s w itc h in s ta lla tio n ( c a b le s , c o n n e c to r s ,
p lu g - in m o d u le s a r e lo o s e , b a c k p la n e c o n n e c tio n s a r e m is w ir e d )
• P r o b le m s o n th e p h y s ic a l la y e r ( c a b lin g , c o n n e c to r s , A T M p o r t)
• S w itc h is o v e r lo a d e d
• T o o m a n y n o d e s a lo n g th e tr a n s m is s io n p a th o f a V P I/V C I c o n n e c tio n
• T r a ffic c o n tr a c t is e x c e e d e d , c e lls a r e b e in g d is c a r d e d

Figure A.5b The most frequent causes of trouble in ATM networks

A.9 Symptoms and Causes: LAN Switching

A.9.1 Symptom: No Connection Between Segments
Linked by a LAN Switch
Cause (1): Defective cabling.
Cause (2): Switch power supply failure.
Cause (3): Faulty switch hardware.
Cause (4): Incorrectly configured switch: for example, wrong ring speed
(Token Ring), 10 Mbit/s rather than 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, half-
duplex rather than full-duplex Ethernet, etc.
Cause (5): Incorrect IP address, subnet mask, or default gateway setting in
the switch.

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Cause (6): Incorrect VLAN configuration; one of the nodes that cannot com-
municate is located in a different VLAN.
Cause (7): Source routing deactivated (Token Ring).
Cause (8): Duplicate FDDI address configured for an FDDI switch port.
Cause (9): Duplicate Token-Ring address configured for a Token-Ring switch
port.
Cause (10): Defective interface card in the node that cannot communicate.

A.9.2 Symptom: Broadcast Storms

Cause: Transmission paths form a loop because the spanning tree algo-
rithm is not activated or not supported.

A.9.3 Symptom: Low Throughput

Cause (1): Poor network design; asymmetrical loads on symmetrical band-
width at the switch ports.
Cause (2): Incorrectly configured switch ports (10 Mbit/s rather than
100 Mbit/s Ethernet; half-duplex rather than full-duplex Ethernet,
etc.).
Cause (3): High number of defective frames generated by a defective
switch port.
Cause (4): Cable length exceeds specifications.

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A.10 Common Errors
in LAN Switched Networks
The following listing summarizes the most frequent sources of problems in LAN-
switched networks (in alphabetical order):

• B r o a d c a s t s to r m s d u e to lo o p s th r o u g h s e v e r a l s w itc h e s ; s p a n n in g tr e e a lg o r ith m
n o t a c tiv a te d
• D e fe c tiv e s w itc h h a r d w a r e
• D u p lic a te F D D I a d d r e s s c o n fig u r e d fo r a n F D D I s w itc h p o r t
• D u p lic a te T o k e n - R in g a d d r e s s c o n fig u r e d fo r a T o k e n - R in g s w itc h p o r t
• F a u lty c a b le in fr a s tr u c tu r e ; e x c e s s iv e c a b le le n g th s ( s e e C h a p te r 6 )
• F a u lty n e tw o r k d e s ig n , a s y m m e tr ic a l tr a ffic o v e r s w itc h p o r ts w ith s y m m e tr ic a l
b a n d w id th
• F a u lty p h y s ic a l s w itc h in s ta lla tio n ( lo o s e c a b le , c o n n e c to r s o r p lu g - in s ; fa u lty
w ir in g o n th e b a c k p la n e )
• In c o r r e c t L a y e r 3 s w itc h s e ttin g s : IP a d d r e s s , s u b n e t m a s k , o r d e fa u lt g a te w a y
• In c o r r e c t r o u te r o r b r id g e s e ttin g s fo r s w itc h p o r ts o p e r a tin g in r o u te r /b r id g e
m o d e
• In c o r r e c t V L A N c o n fig u r a tio n ; n o d e s th a t c a n n o t c o m m u n ic a te a r e lo c a te d in
d iffe r e n t V L A N s
• S o u r c e r o u tin g d e a c tiv a te d ( T o k e n R in g )
• S w itc h o v e r lo a d e d
• S w itc h p o w e r s u p p ly fa ilu r e
• S w itc h s e ttin g s in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d : p o r t n o t a c tiv a te d ; w r o n g r in g s p e e d
( T o k e n R in g ) ; w r o n g E th e r n e t s p e e d ; h a lf- d u p le x in s te a d o f fu ll- d u p le x E th e r n e t
o r v ic e v e r s a

Figure A.6 The most common causes of problems in LAN switched networks

A.11 Symptoms and Causes: ISDN

A.11.1 Symptom: No Connection
Cause (1): Faulty cabling or connectors.
Cause (2): Power supply failure.
Cause (3): Crossed wires (in BRI).
Cause (4): Wrong number.

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Cause (5): Faulty network components (ISDN router port, terminal adapter
(TA), PBX, interface card, telephone).
Cause (6): Incorrect configuration of the ISDN interface (ISDN card, router
port, or PBX).
Cause (7): Noise; high BER.
Cause (8): Problems in TEI assignment (manual vs. automatic mode).
Cause (9): Duplicate TEIs.
Cause (10): Incompatible Q.931 variants (national ISDN vs. Euro-ISDN).
Cause (11): Incompatible ISDN services.
Cause (12): Q.931 implementation errors.
Cause (13): Wiring faults on the S0 bus.
Cause (14): Lack of terminating resistors on the S0 bus.
Cause (15): Faulty grounding (PRI).
Cause (16): Non-shielded cabling between NT and TE (PRI).
Cause (17): Signaling messages are sent with wrong TEI value in the case of
multiple signaling links (BRI North America).

A.11.2 Symptom: Frequent Connection Loss

Cause (1): High BER.
Cause (2): Slow terminal equipment (Receive Ready (RR) or Status Enquiry
responses too slow).
Cause (3): Application does not respond.

A.11.3 Symptom: Long Application Response Times over

ISDN
Cause (1): Additional call setup time due to automatic connection clear-
down (during idle times) by the ISDN router.
Cause (2): Router does not activate additional B channels at high traffic load.
Cause (3): Small window size of the application protocol (such as IP) used
over the B channel.
Cause (4): Timers expire in B channel application protocols.
Cause (5): Application is busy.
Cause (6): Rate adaptation handshake fails due to wrong terminal applica-
tion settings.
Cause (7): Calling/called station is a mobile station.
Cause (8): Call not end-to-end ISDN.

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A.12 Common Errors in ISDN Networks
The following list summarizes the most frequent sources of problems with ISDN
(in alphabetical order):

• C a ll fo r w a r d in g is a c tiv e ; n o in c o m in g c a lls
• C r o s s e d w ir e s ( in B R I)
• D u p lic a te T E I a s s ig n m e n t
• E le c tr o m a g n e tic in te r fe r e n c e
• In c o r r e c t filte r s e ttin g s in th e r o u te r
• H ig h b it- e r r o r r a te s
• In c o r r e c t in p u t o f m u ltip le s u b s c r ib e r n u m b e r ( M S N )
• In c o r r e c t p h y s ic a l in s ta lla tio n o f r o u te r o r s w itc h : lo o s e c a b lin g , c o n n e c to r , p lu g - in
m o d u le , o r c a r d ; fa u lty w ir in g o n th e b a c k p la n e
• IS D N in te r fa c e c a r d d e fe c tiv e
• IS D N in te r fa c e in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d
( IS D N in te r fa c e c a r d , r o u te r p o r t, P B X , IS D N te le p h o n e )
• IS D N lin e b lo c k e d o r n o t e n a b le d b y s e r v ic e p r o v id e r
• IS D N n e tw o r k in te r fa c e c a r d in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d
( w r o n g in te r r u p t, d r iv e r , o r tim e r c o n fig u r a tio n , e tc .)
• IS D N r o u te r p o r t d e fe c tiv e
• In c o m p a tib le IS D N s e r v ic e s ; s e r v ic e s n o t a v a ila b le
( n o t o r d e r e d fr o m IS D N p r o v id e r )
• IS D N te le p h o n e d e fe c tiv e
• L in e b r e a k s ( in p lu g o r c a b lin g )
• L o n g r e s p o n s e tim e s d u e to a u to m a tic c o n n e c tio n c le a r - d o w n s e ttin g s in th e
ro u te r
• L o o s e o r d e fe c tiv e c o n n e c to r s o n n e tw o r k in te r fa c e c a r d s , in w a ll ja c k s , o r p a tc h
p a n e ls
• N o g r o u n d in g ( P R I)
• N o te r m in a tin g r e s is to r s o n th e S 0 b u s
• N T d e fe c tiv e
• P B X d e fe c tiv e
• P o w e r s u p p ly d e fe c tiv e
• P r o to c o l c o n fig u r a tio n in th e r o u te r in c o r r e c t ( a d d r e s s ta b le s , m a p p in g ta b le s ,
s u b n e t m a s k s , d e fa u lt g a te w a y s , r o u tin g ta b le s , tim e r s )

Figure A.7a The most common causes of ISDN problems

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• Q .9 3 1 im p le m e n ta tio n in c o r r e c t
• Q .9 3 1 v a r ia n t in c o m p a tib le ( n a tio n a l IS D N v s . E u r o - IS D N )
• R o u te r d o e s n o t a c tiv a te th e s e c o n d ( o r n th , in P R I) B c h a n n e l ( c o n fig u r a tio n
e rro r)
• R o u te r s e ttin g s in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d : p o r t n o t a c tiv e , w r o n g o p e r a tin g m o d e ,
p r o to c o l n o t a c tiv e
• S lo w te r m in a l d e v ic e s ( R R o r S ta tu s E n q u ir y r e s p o n s e s to o s lo w )
• T E I a s s ig n m e n t p r o b le m s ( m a n u a l v s . a u to m a tic m o d e )
• T e r m in a l a d a p te r d e fe c tiv e
• T im e r s e x p ir e in B c h a n n e l a p p lic a tio n p r o to c o ls
• U n s h ie ld e d c a b lin g b e tw e e n N T a n d T E ( P R I)
• W in d o w s iz e to o s m a ll in th e a p p lic a tio n p r o to c o l ( s u c h a s IP ) o n th e B c h a n n e l
• W r o n g n u m b e r c a lle d

Figure A.7b The most common causes of ISDN problems

A.13 Symptoms and Causes: Frame Relay

A.13.1 Symptom: No Connection
Cause (1): Defective cables or connectors.
Cause (2): Defective power supply (in router or Frame Relay switch).
Cause (3): Configuration error in router or Frame Relay switch (line rate,
clocking, channelization).
Cause (4): Noise; high bit-error rate.
Cause (5): Incompatible in-channel signaling (LMI) versions.
Cause (6): Wrong number called (for Frame Relay SVCs).
Cause (7): Low signal levels.
Cause (8): Peer node or peer network inactive or down.

A.13.2 Symptom: High Response Time

Cause (1): CIR too low for data load.
Cause (2): Poor DLCI configuration.
Cause (3): Window size too small for the application protocol transported
over Frame Relay (for example, TCP/IP).
Cause (4): Frequent retransmission by application level protocols due to
timeouts or high bit-error rates.

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Cause (5): Maximum packet size too small; frequent fragmentation neces-
sary.
Cause (6): Telecom operator is not providing the guaranteed bandwidth; bit-
error rate too high.
Cause (7): Hidden, unintended traffic misrouted over the Frame Relay link.
Cause (8): Frame Relay network nodes congested (FECN, BECN messages
occur).

A.14 Common Errors

in Frame Relay Networks
The following list summarizes the most frequent sources of problems in Frame
Relay networks (in alphabetical order):

• C a b lin g o r c o n n e c to r s d e fe c tiv e o r lo o s e a t in te r fa c e s , w a ll ja c k s , p a tc h p a n e ls
• C IR ( C o m m itte d In fo r m a tio n R a te ) to o lo w fo r tr a ffic lo a d ; e x c e s s iv e p e a k lo a d s
• C o n fig u r a tio n e r r o r in r o u te r o r F R s w itc h
• C o n g e s te d F r a m e R e la y n e tw o r k n o d e ( F E C N , B E C N m e s s a g e s )
• D L C Is p o o r ly c o n fig u r e d
• E le c tr o m a g n e tic in te r fe r e n c e
• E r r o r in b a s ic r o u te r c o n fig u r a tio n ( p o r t n o t a c tiv e , p r o to c o l n o t a c tiv e , w r o n g
o p e r a tin g m o d e )
• F a u lty p h y s ic a l in s ta lla tio n o f r o u te r , b r id g e o r h u b ( lo o s e c a b le s , c o n n e c to r s o r
p lu g - in s ; b a d b a c k p la n e c o n n e c tio n s )
• F r e q u e n t r e tr a n s m is s io n s o f a p p lic a tio n le v e l p r o to c o ls d u e to tim e o u ts o r h ig h
b it- e r r o r r a te s
• H id d e n , u n in te n d e d tr a ffic m is r o u te d o v e r th e F r a m e R e la y lin k
• In c o m p a tib le in - c h a n n e l s ig n a lin g ( L M I) v e r s io n s
• M a x im u m p a c k e t s iz e to o s m a ll; fr e q u e n t fr a g m e n ta tio n
• N o is e ; h ig h b it- e r r o r r a te
• P o w e r s u p p ly d e fe c tiv e ( in r o u te r o r F R s w itc h )
• R o u te r o r F r a m e R e la y s w itc h d e fe c tiv e
• T e le c o m o p e r a to r is n o t p r o v id in g th e g u a r a n te e d b a n d w id th a n d /o r b it e r r o r r a te
• W in d o w s iz e to o s m a ll fo r th e a p p lic a tio n p r o to c o l tr a n s p o r te d o v e r F r a m e R e la y
( fo r e x a m p le , IP )
• W r o n g n u m b e r c a lle d ( fo r F R S V C s )

Figure A.8 The most common causes of trouble in Frame Relay environments

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A.15 Symptoms and Causes: PDH

A.15.1 Symptom: No Connection
Cause (1): Cabling fault (broken fiber, loose connector).
Cause (2): Power failure in a network component.
Cause (3): Faulty module in a network component.
Cause (4): Incorrect configuration of a network component.
Cause (5): Problems involving the operating software of a network
component.
Cause (6): Electrostatic discharge (due to the electrostatic charge on a
technician’s body, or to lightning).
Cause (7): Faulty solder joints or short circuits
(due to dust, humidity or aging).
Cause (8): Diminished laser power (due to dust, humidity or aging).

A.15.2 Symptom: PDH Alarms

Cause (1): Insufficient transmitting power at network component interface.
Cause (2): Optical reflections due to poor splices.
Cause (3): Overloaded network component.
Cause (4): Loss of frame alignment.
Cause (5): Voltage peaks caused by high-voltage switching.
Cause (6): High bit-error rate.
Cause (7): Grounding problems.

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A.16 Common Errors in PDH Networks
The following list summarizes the most frequent sources of problems in PDH
networks (in alphabetical order):

• F a ilu r e o f a m o d u le in a n e tw o r k c o m p o n e n t
• P o w e r s u p p ly fa ilu r e in a n e tw o r k c o m p o n e n t
• S t a t ic d is c h a r g e ( lig h t n in g , s t a t ic e le c t r ic it y o n t e c h n ic ia n 's b o d y )
• G r o u n d fa u lts ; w ir in g c lo s e t n o t g r o u n d e d
• C o n fig u r a tio n e r r o r in a n e tw o r k c o m p o n e n t
• B a d s o ld e r jo in ts , s h o r t c ir c u its ( a g in g , fa tig u e , d u s t, g r e a s e , m o is tu r e )
• H ig h b it- e r r o r r a te s
• J itte r , w a n d e r
• L in e b r e a k s
• V o lta g e s u r g e s d u e to h ig h - v o lta g e s w itc h in g
• L o o s e c o n n e c to rs
• C o rro d e d c o n ta c ts
• B a c k g r o u n d n o is e
• L o s s o f fr a m e s y n c h r o n iz a tio n
• In s u ffic ie n t o u tp u t s ig n a l p o w e r /r e c e iv e r s e n s itiv ity a t th e P D H in te r fa c e

Figure A.9 The most common causes of errors in PDH networks

A.17 Symptoms and Causes: SDH

A.17.1 Symptom: No Connection
Cause (1): Cabling fault (broken fiber, loose connector).
Cause (2): Power supply failure in a network component.
Cause (3): Faulty module in a network component.
Cause (4): Incorrect configuration of a network component such as incorrect
path routing configuration).
Cause (5): Problems with the operating software of a network component.
Cause (6): Electrostatic discharge (due to the electrostatic charge on a
technician’s body, or to lightning).
Cause (7): Faulty solder joints or short circuits (due to aging, wear, contami-
nation, humidity).
Cause (8): Poor laser power (due to aging, wear, contamination, humidity).

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A.17.2 Symptom: SDH Alarms

Cause (1): Insufficient signal power at network component interfaces.
Cause (2): Optical reflections due to poor splices.
Cause (3): Pointer jitter.
Cause (4): Overloaded network component.
Cause (5): Invalid pointers; loss of pointer (LOP).
Cause (6): Loss of frame alignment (LOF).
Cause (7): Voltage peaks caused by high voltage switching.
Cause (8): High-bit-error rate.
Cause (9): Grounding problems.

A.18 Common Errors in SDH Networks

The following list summarizes the most frequent sources of problems in SDH
networks (in alphabetical order):

• V o lta g e s u r g e s d u e to h ig h - v o lta g e s w itc h in g

• L o o s e c o n n e c to rs
• C o rro d e d c o n n e c to r c o n ta c ts
• N e tw o rk c o m p o n e n t o v e r lo a d e d
• L o s s o f p o in te r
• L o s s o f fr a m e a lig n m e n t
• In s u ffic ie n t o u tp u t p o w e r in a n e tw o r k c o m p o n e n t m o d u le ; la s e r a g in g

Figure A.10 The most common causes of errors in SDH networks

A.19 Symptoms and Causes:

X and V Series Interfaces
A.19.1 Symptom: No Connection
Cause (1): Incorrect pin assignments (null modem cable used in place of
a straight-through modem cable, for example).
Cause (2): Defective cable (kinked or pinched).
Cause (3): Defective connector (corroded, broken, or bent connector pin).
Cause (4): Cable too long.

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Cause (5): Interface on DTE inactive or faulty.
Cause (6): No power supply to DCE.
Cause (7): DCE not connected to network.
Cause (8): Incorrectly configured DCE
(pulse rather than tone dialing; active modem loop).
Cause (9): Line busy (another system is transmitting).
Cause (10): X.21 protocol error (C or I signal not set to ON).
Cause (11): X.21 protocol error
(transitions on C/T or I/R not within timing limitations) caused
by invalid state transitions (lead signal changes).

A.19.2 Symptom: Diminished Throughput; Long Response

Times
Cause (1): Poor line quality.
Cause (2): High BER due to excessive cable length between DTE and DCE.
Cause (3): X.21: DTE–DCE cable of critical length, causing timing problems
(critical length at 64 Kbit/s is 781 meters, at 2,048 Kbit/s is
24 meters. See “Diagnosing Problems in X and V Series Interfaces”
for details.).
Cause (4): High BER due to electromagnetic interference along the
DTE–DCE connection.

A.20 Common Errors in X/V Series Connections

The following list summarizes the most frequent sources of problems in V and X
Series DTE–DCE interfaces in telephone networks (serial PC ports, modems) in
alphabetical order:

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E r r o r s a t D T E s a n d D C E s , te le p h o n e n e tw o r k s :
• B E R h ig h d u e to e le c tr o m a g n e tic in te r fe r e n c e in s e r ia l p o r t m o d e m c o n n e c tio n
• B E R h ig h d u e to e x c e s s iv e c a b le le n g th b e tw e e n s e r ia l p o r t a n d m o d e m
• C a b le fa u lt b e tw e e n s e r ia l p o r t a n d m o d e m ( k in k o r s h a r p b e n d in c a b le )
• C o n n e c to r fa u lt ( c o r r o d e d , b r o k e n , o r b e n t c o n n e c to r p in )
• C o n n e c to r p in a s s ig n m e n ts in c o r r e c t
( n u ll m o d e m c a b le a s o p p o s e d to s tr a ig h t- th r o u g h m o d e m c a b le )
• In te r fa c e a t D T E ( P C s e r ia l p o r t, r o u te r p o r t) in a c tiv e o r d e fe c tiv e
• L in e b u s y ( a n o th e r s y s te m is tr a n s m ittin g )
• M o d e m c o n n e c tio n to te le p h o n e lin e in te r r u p te d ( n o c a r r ie r )
• M o d e m in c o r r e c tly c o n fig u r e d ( p u ls e in s te a d o f to n e d ia lin g ; w r o n g n u m b e r d ia le d )
• M o d e m lo c k e d : t h e m o d e m 's r e d ia lin g lo c k w a s a c t iv a t e d a f t e r s e v e ra l
u n s u c c e s s fu l d ia lin g a tte m p ts ( n o c a r r ie r , w r o n g b a u d r a te , d e s tin a tio n b u s y )
• M o d e m n o t c o n n e c te d to n e tw o rk
• M o d e m n o t c o n n e c te d to p o w e r
• O u ts id e lin e a c c e s s ib le o n ly th r o u g h P A B X ( n o c a r r ie r w ith o u t o u ts id e d ia lin g
p r e fix )
• P o o r lin e q u a lity

E r r o r s a t D T E s a n d D C E s , c ir c u it-s w itc h e d d a ta n e tw o r k s (X .2 0 , X .2 1 ):
• B E R h ig h d u e to e le c tr o m a g n e tic in te r fe r e n c e in D T E - D C E c a b le
• B E R h ig h d u e to e x c e s s iv e D T E - D C E c a b le le n g th
• D T E - D C E c a b le is o f c r itic a l le n g th ( in X .2 1 ) , c a u s in g tim in g p r o b le m s
( c r itic a l le n g th a t 6 4 K b it/s is 7 8 1 m ; a t 2 0 4 8 K b it/s 2 4 m .
S e e , " D ia g n o s in g P r o b le m s in X a n d V S e r ie s In te r fa c e s " , fo r d e ta ils )
• C a b le d e fe c tiv e ( k in k e d o r p in c h e d )
• C o n n e c to r d e fe c tiv e ( c o r r o d e d , b r o k e n , o r b e n t p in )
• C o n n e c to r p in a s s ig n m e n ts in c o r r e c t ( n u ll m o d e m c a b le in p la c e o f
s tr a ig h t- th r o u g h m o d e m c a b le )
• D C E n o t c o n n e c te d to n e tw o rk
• D C E n o t c o n n e c te d to p o w e r
• In te r fa c e in D T E is in a c tiv e o r d e fe c tiv e
• L in e b u s y ( a n o th e r s y s te m is tr a n s m ittin g )
• M o d e m lo o p a c tiv a te d in a d v e r te n tly ( b y c le a n in g p e r s o n n e l, fo r e x a m p le )
• M o d e m lo o p n o t d e a c tiv a te d a fte r te s tin g
• X .2 1 p r o to c o l e r r o r ( C o r I s ig n a l n o t s e t to O N )
• P o o r lin e q u a lity

Figure A.11 The most common causes of errors in X and V Series interfaces

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