Lucent Technologies PassageWay Service Provider For PARTNER Communications System Getting Started

							PC Serial Ports
A-8
Given the scenario described in item (1) above (that is, a mouse on COM1, a
fax/modem card on COM2, and the PassageWay Service Provider on COM3),
you might buy a bus mouse and configure it to use, say, IRQ2 or IRQ5.  This
would then permit you to move the PassageWay Service Provider onto COM1
(IRQ4), where it then could be used simultaneously with both the mouse and
the fax/modem.
Likely candidates for conversion from a serial interface to some other interface
include mice (which can be converted to bus mice) and serial printers (which
can be converted to an additional parallel printer port).
Workaround 3:  If your serial port hardware permits you to select IRQs
other than the default ones (IRQ3 and IRQ4), make use of one or more
unused IRQs in your system to assign to each COM port a unique IRQ.
This solution is generally not possible for built-in serial ports since these are
usually “hard-wired” and cannot be changed.  Although most add-on cards
containing serial ports permit you to change the IRQs assigned to them, many
cards do not let you select IRQs other than IRQ3 and IRQ4.  For example, an
internal modem card generally has jumpers or switches that permit you to
administer the serial interface on the card to be COM1, COM2, COM3, or
COM4, but the I/O port addresses and IRQs associated with each of these
configurations are usually fixed to the settings in the table.
Fortunately, some serial port add-on cards do permit you to select IRQs other
than 3 or 4 (the additional choices are often IRQ2 and IRQ5).  If your serial
port hardware provides this flexibility — and at least one of the IRQ numbers
available as an option is currently unused in your PC setup — you can solve
the IRQ conflict directly. 
						

							PC Serial Ports
A-9
For example, consider once again the scenario of a COM1 mouse, a COM2
fax/modem card, and a COM3 PassageWay Service Provider.  If the COM3
serial port is located on an add-on card that permits IRQs other than 3 or 4 to
be selected, you could configure the COM3 serial port to use a different
(available) IRQ in your system, say IRQ5.  After making the necessary
changes to the card (for example, adding or removing some jumpers or
adjusting the positions of some switches), the last step would be to configure
Windows to monitor IRQ5 rather than IRQ4 for the COM3 serial port -- this is
accomplished using the Windows Control Panel under the “Ports” option (see
your Windows documentation for details).
If you attempt this solution, you must be certain that you do not choose an
IRQ that is in use by some other device in your system -- if so, you will only
trade one type of IRQ conflict for another.  You should be aware that many
common add-on cards use IRQs, including network cards and multimedia
sound cards, both of which are commonly used under Windows.  Your PC
hardware vendor can assist you in configuring IRQs.  You may also need to
consult the documentation for your PC and any add-on cards that are
installed to determine which IRQs, if any, are available on your system. 
						

							PC Serial Ports
A-10
Selecting an Add-On Serial Port
Card
This section presents advice on how to choose an add-on serial port card for
use with the PassageWay Service Provider.  Because the PassageWay
Service Provider does not have any unique requirements with respect to serial
ports, this advice applies generically to selecting a serial port for use with any
peripheral.
In general, there are two main things to consider when selecting a serial port
for use with the PassageWay Service Provider:
  1.  Choose a card that offers the flexibility to configure its serial port IRQs
to values other than IRQ3 and IRQ4 (for example, to IRQ2 or IRQ5).
   This capability often proves to be very beneficial, especially if you are
purchasing the card to add a COM3 and/or COM4 port to your
system.  As was described at length in “Workarounds and Solutions
to the IRQ Conflict Problem,” for PCs that do not support IRQ sharing
(which includes most PCs, unfortunately), the ability to relocate the
IRQ for COM3 or COM4 away from the defaults (IRQ4 and IRQ3,
respectively) represents the only direct solution to conflicts that may
arise when attempting to use COM1 along with COM3 or COM2 along
with COM4 under Windows.
   If you know that your PC does not support IRQ sharing, or if you are
not sure, it is a good idea to purchase a card with this capability.  If
you know that your PC supports IRQ sharing, this capability is not as
potentially important. 
						

							PC Serial Ports
A-11
  2.  For best performance with the PassageWay Service Provider, choose
a card that has hardware support for high-speed communications.
   The PassageWay Service Provider operates at a data rate of 4800
baud, and it relies on Windows to manage the flow of data through
your PCs serial port.  Depending upon your configuration, Windows
may have problems maintaining high data rates through traditional
serial ports.  In these situations, a serial port designed for high-speed
communications can eliminate such problems while providing a
reduced load on the microprocessor (thus increasing the
performance of Windows during data transfers relative to standard
serial ports).  In most cases, the price differential for such a card is
quite modest and a worthwhile investment.
   Many serial port cards on the market (and most built-in serial ports)
use either the 8250 or 16450 Universal Asynchronous Receiver
Transmitter (UART) as their key component.  Although these UARTs
can operate at high speeds, they do not assist the PCs
microprocessor in dealing with high-speed data transfer.  Under
Windows, in particular, data can be lost at high baud rates using
these UARTs.  If this data loss occurs, the PassageWay Service
Provider cannot function properly.
   Whenever possible, select a serial port card that uses the 16550
UART.  This industry-standard UART is an improved version of the
16450 with hardware support to help offload the microprocessor
during high-speed data transfers.  Windows 3.1 has built-in support
for the 16550, so no special software configuration is required to
obtain the benefits of the 16550s enhanced capabilities.  In addition,
any high-speed peripheral can benefit from the 16550 (for example, a
9.6-Kbps or 14.4-Kbps data and/or fax modem), not only the
PassageWay Service Provider.
   In general, since there is no way of knowing ahead of time if your
particular PC configuration requires an enhanced serial port for the
PassageWay Service Provider, Lucent strongly recommends that you
purchase a card based on the 16550 UART to insure trouble-free
operation with the PassageWay Service Provider. 
						

							Index
IN-1
 C
Centralized Telephone Programming, 3-7
COM ports
overview, A-1
Connect
starting, 3-9
troubleshooting, 4-19
 D
documentation conventions, 1-5
 E
Extension Programming
helpful hints, 3-8
overview, 3-2
starting, 3-9
system administration capabilities, 3-7
troubleshooting, 4-16
 H
help, 1-6
 I
installation checklist, 2-9
installing
PassageWay adapter, 2-10
PassageWay Service Provider, 2-14
serial cable, 2-10
 P
PARTNER Extension Programming
helpful hints, 3-8
overview, 3-2
starting, 3-9
system administration capabilities, 3-7
troubleshooting, 4-16
PassageWay adapter
installing, 2-10
troubleshooting, 4-15
PassageWay Connect
starting, 3-9
troubleshooting, 4-19
PassageWay Service Provider
components, 2-4
installing, 2-14
overview, 1-1
removing, 2-31
requirements, 2-6
setting up, 2-9
troubleshooting, 4-2
uninstalling, 2-31 
						

							Index
IN-2
 S
serial cable
installing, 2-10
serial ports
overview, A-1
support, 1-6
 T
TAPI
installing PassageWay Service
Provider, 2-14
removing PassageWay Service
Provider, 2-31
setting up, 2-9
troubleshooting, 4-2
technical support, 1-6
troubleshooting
Connect, 4-19
Extension Programming, 4-16
overview, 4-1
PARTNER Extension
Programming, 4-16
PassageWay adapter, 4-15
PassageWay Connect, 4-19
PassageWay Service Provider, 4-2
TAPI, 4-2
 U
uninstalling
PassageWay Service Provider, 2-31
user responsibilities, 1-5