DCA ISCA SDLC Connections Fail On Pentium Pro Systems

 Last reviewed: March 19, 1998
Article ID: Q174642
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft SNA Server versions 2.11, 2.11 SP1, 2.11 SP2, 3.0, and 3.0 SP1

SYMPTOMS

A SNA Server using a DCA Intelligent Synchronous Communications Adapter (ISCA) SDLC adapter on a system with a Pentium or Pentium Pro processor (133Mhz or faster) and using a 56Kbps SDLC line may experience one or more of the following problems:

- The SDLC connection stays in a "Pending" state after it is started. - The SDLC connection goes to an "Active" state and the 3270 LUs become "Available", 

  but it can take a minute or more before all of the sessions are "Available".
- If the SDLC connection is "Active" and the 3270 LUs are "Available", 3270 sessions 
  experience very slow response times. Each screen update may take 30 seconds
  or more to complete.
- The SDLC connection drops after it is "Active" causing a message similar to the 
  following to be logged in the Windows NT Application Event Log:

      Event ID: 23
      Source: DCA SDLC Link Service
      Description: Connection <connection name> using Link Service DCASDLC1 failed.
                               Qualifier = 0x'0015'
Another symptom of this problem is that enabling SNA Server traces for the DCA SDLC Link Service and restarting the SNA Server service may correct the problems that were being experienced before enabling the traces. When tracing is enabled, the SDLC connection activates and the response times return to the level expected for a 
56Kbps SDLC line.

CAUSE

The cause of the problem is unknown.

RESOLUTION

The DCA SDLC Link Service has been updated to correct the problems that have been reported when using the DCA ISCA SDLC adapter on systems with Pentium or Pentium Pro (133MHz or faster) processors. The updated driver can be used with SNA Server 2.11 and 3.0.

The following steps may provide an interim solution until the updated driver can be obtained and applied to the SNA Server:

  1. Start the SNA Server Trace program (snatrace.exe).
2. Select the DCA SDLC Link service (i.e. DcaSdlc1) as the component to trace. 3. Enable Full Internal Tracing, Data Link Control, and Level 2 Messages as the trace 
   options.
4. Click Apply and close the SNA Server Trace Program. 5. Stop and Restart the SNA Server service.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server versions 2.1, 2.11, 2.11 SP1, 2.11 SP2, 3.0, and 3.0 SP1.

A supported fix for SNA Server version 2.11 is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for more information.

This problem was corrected in SNA Server version 3.0 Service Pack 2. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces): 

   S E R V P A C K

KBCategory: kbbuglist kbnetwork
KBSubcategory: prodsna snasdlc
Additional query words:
Keywords : kbbug2.11 kbbug3.00 prodsna snadlc kbfix3.00.sp2
Version : 2.11 3.0 3.0 SP1

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Last reviewed: March 19, 1998
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