IGMP Configuration

Q: Which managed switches support IGMP? 
A: All Sixnet Managed switches fully support IGMP. 

Q: What versions of IGMP do Sixnet switches support? 
A: The ET, SL, SLX, EK and EF series all support IGMP V1 and V2. The EL Series supports IGMP V1, V2 and V3. 

Q: Do Sixnet switches support IGMP Snooping? 
A: Yes, all Sixnet switches support both active and passive IGMP Snooping. Active snooping actively controls the flow of multicast data; passive snooping only listens to the IGMP messages on the network. 

Q: What are the differences between the multicast suppression modes in the ET, SL(X), EK/EF series? 
A: The multicast suppression modes suppress packets as follows:

• None–Multicast packets are sent to all ports unless IGMP is enabled and one or more clients have sent IGMP Report requests.
• IP Multicast Groups–Multicast packets corresponding to IP multicast groups (with MAC addresses starting 01:00:5e) are suppressed unless one or more clients have sent IGMP Report messages. Multicast packets with other addresses (any other packet with a MAC address starting 01) are sent to all ports.
• All Unreserved Multicast–Multicast packets with reserved multicast addresses (01:80:c2:00:00:0x where x is 0..f) are sent to all ports. All other multicast packets are suppressed unless one or more clients have sent IGMP Report messages.

Message Rate Limiting Configuration

Q: Which managed switches support Message Rate Limiting? 
A: All Sixnet switches support Message Rate Limiting. 

Q: What exactly does Message Rate Limiting do? 
A: Message rate limiting restricts the amount of Broadcast and Multicast traffic that passes through the switch. It has no effect on other types of communication, such as unicast. 

Q: Is message rate limiting adjustable? 
A: On all ET, SL, SLX, EK and EF switches, rate limiting is not adjustable; it can only be enabled and disabled on a per-port basis. The rate limits are fixed based on message type and priority. The rates are as follows:

The EL series supports fully adjustable rate limiting on both ingress and egress. This can be done on a per-port basis.

RSTP Configuration

Q: Which managed switches support RSTP? 
A: All Sixnet managed switches fully support RSTP. By default, all EL series switches will have RSTP enabled. All SLX series switches with firmware 5.0 or newer will also have RSTP enabled by default. 

Q: How many switches can I connect in an RSTP network? 
A: You can have a maximum of 40 hops in an RSTP network. Hops are the number of connections between the two farthest points on the network. In most practical networks, this means you cannot have more that 40 switches between any two points. 

Q: Can RTR and RSTP be enabled on the same switch? 
A: Yes, however, a particular port may only be used for one protocol or the other. For example, if a port is part of a Real-Time-Ring, that port cannot also participate in a spanning tree.

RTR Configuration

Q: What is Real-Time-Ring? 
A: Real-Time-Ring is a Sixnet proprietary protocol that provides extremely fast failure recovery in the event of a network break. It is many times faster than RSTP. However, it can only be configured in a ring, whereas RSTP can be arranged in almost any configuration. 

Q: How quickly does the Real-Time-Ring protocol recover from a failure? 
A: RTR can typically recover in 30 ms (milliseconds) plus 5ms per hop. For example, a four-switch ring would normally recover from a failure in 50 ms. 

Q: How many switches can I connect in a Real-Time Ring? 
A: While there is no maximum, the larger the ring gets, the longer the network will take to recover from a failure. Our ring switches have been field tested with over 80 switches in a single ring. 

Q: Which managed switches support Real-Time-Ring? 
A: All Sixnet SL, SLX and EK/EF model switches support Real-Time-Ring on firmware versions 4.4.1000 and later. The EL series supports Real-Time-Ring on all firmware versions. Legacy managed switches (ET series) do not support Real-Time-Ring. 

Q: Can I use RTR with another brand of ring switch, or another ring protocol? 
A: No, RTR may only be used to connect to other Sixnet RTR-capable devices. 

Q: How many rings can I configure using RTR? 
A: You can configure up to four independent rings, as long as your device has enough ports to do so. For example, a five-port managed switch such as the SLX-5MS-1 switch can only support two rings, because it does not have enough ports to support four rings. However, the 10-port SLX-10MG-1 switch does support the full four-ring limit. 

Q: Can RTR and RSTP be enabled on the same switch? 
A: Yes, however, a particular port may only be used for one protocol or the other. For example, if a port is part of a Real-Time-Ring, that port cannot also participate in a spanning tree.

SLX-5MS-MDM

Q: I can dial into the 5MS-MDM; however, I can’t communicate with any of the devices connected to it. 
A: Verify that you have entered the IP address of the 5MS-MDM switch into the “Default Gateway” field of the device(s) you are trying to communicate with. For example, if the IP address of the 5MS-MDM switch is 192.168.1.54, then the default gateway of the devices connected to the 5MS-MDM switch must be 192.168.1.54 as well. 

Q: When dialing from my computer, I am getting error code 678, etc. 
A: These are actually Microsoft error codes. Make sure you have disabled firewalls on your PC and that they are allowing PPP connections on the remote site. 

Q: I am calling the 5MS-MDM switch and it rings, but never answers. 
A: Make certain you have followed the instructions for the Dial-In scenario from appendix F of the Software User Manual. 

Q: My switch will not power up. 
A: Please refer to the “Switch will not start up” guide.

VLANs on SLX Series Switches

Q: Which managed switches support VLANs, and what modes are supported? 
A: All Sixnet Managed switches fully support both port and tag based VLANs. 

Q: What are the differences between port based and Standard VLAN modes? 
A: Port based VLANs are the simplest type of VLAN. They do not pass VLAN information from one switch to another, and should generally be used if only one managed switch on the network will be used for VLANs. Standard VLAN mode uses the IEEE 802.1Q standard and can pass VLAN data from switch to switch, allowing for switch ports which can pass data from multiple VLANs simultaneously. 

Q: Is the Management VLAN configurable? 
A: The Management VLAN is configurable on gigabit models only. This includes all models with part numbers such as SLX-xxMG-1. All non gigabit model switches may only have default management VLAN of 1. 

Q: Do SLX Series switch support VLAN “Trunking”? 
A: Yes, however what is often referred to as a VLAN trunk or channel is called a Network port in SLX series switches. See section two for more details. 

Q: What is the difference between Shared and Independent learning modes? 
A: Shared learning mode keeps one address database for all VLANs, while Independent mode will create a separate database for each specified FDB. This allows the user to have one or more VLANs in separate databases, often useful when the same data is transmitted by the same MAC address on two different ports. Typically, servers or devices with redundant network interfaces would require the use of Independent mode.

SLX-6RS Configuration

Q: I cannot detect any ring switch(s) on my network using the Ethernet Switch Tools utility. 
A: Check the following:

• Make sure that you are connected to a non-ring port. For example, Port 3 is usually not configured for a ring.
• If the switch was configured to have a Modbus IP Address through the Ethernet Switch Tools utility, then make sure the PC’s IP Address is on a compatible subnet. For example, if you configure the Modbus IP Address to be 10.20.30.40 with a mask of 255.255.255.0, then your PC should be IP Address 10.20.30.X , mask 255.255.255.0, where X = a number from 0–254 (excluding 40, which is configured for the ring switch).
• Ensure you have the most current version of the Ring switch tools. The current version as of April 2010 is v1.9. The most current version can always be downloaded from the link below:

Ring Switch Ethernet Switch Tool  

Q: The Ring LED on my ring switch is flashing. Why is this? 
A: Check the following:

• Make sure you are using all of the ports that are configured for a ring. If the ring is broken, the ring LED will flash.
• Make sure the Ring switch is connected to another ring switch or managed switch that is configured for Real-Time-Ring on the ports connected to it.
• Verify that the Ethernet cable works on other ports/devices.
• If the port is a fiber port, verify that you are using the same type of transceivers on both devices and the same type of fiber cable. Refer to the Fiber User Guide for more information on troubleshooting fiber issues.

Q: My ring switch will not power up. 
A: Please refer to the Sixnet Power-Up Guide. 

Q: My Ring switch is still not working. How can I get it repaired? 
A: Please email a detailed description of the model type, date code and/or serial number, and a detailed description of the problem to Support@sixnet.com

Connecting Fiber Devices

Q: I see no link activity on the fiber transceiver(s). 
A: Please see Section 4 above. 

Q: Can I connect a device with an SC or ST connector on one end to a device that has an LC connector on the other end? 
A: Yes, many vendors sell fiber optic cables with different connector types on each end. 

Q: Do we sell fiber optic cable, or do we recommend a specific vendor? 
A: No, Sixnet does not sell fiber optic cable nor do we recommend a specific vendor. 

Q: I have tried all the steps in Section 4, but they still have only intermittent or no communications on the link. Is there anything else I can do? 
A: Please send a complete description of the problem, model number, and the date code/serial number of the unit to Support@sixnet.com to be issued an RMA number for the evaluation and repair of the unit.

PoE Products

Q: Can I use Sixnet PoE devices with product that’s require something other than the PoE standard 48VDC? 
A: No, It must be 48VDC. 

Q: Can I pass PoE through another device? 
A: No, The Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) port must be directly connected to the Powered Device (PD). 

Q: What is the switch’s power consumption for the EB-5ES-PSE? 
A: 2 W (5-port without fiber) + PoE, and 3 W (5-port with 1 fiber) + PoE Typical for all ports to be active at 100 Mbps. 

Q: What is the PoE Power consumption? 
A: Up to 15.4 watts per channel (per 802.3af standards). 

Q: How do I know which model I should use for my powered device, -A or -B? 
A: The vendor of the powered device will specify if they use the signal pair for both communication and PoE on pins (1,2,3,6), or if they use a separate pair for PoE on pins (4,5,7,8). 

Q: My powered device doesn’t seem to be working. How can I tell what the problem may be? 
A: Look at the PoE LED. This is the Green LED that is either integrated into the RJ45 port (on switch models) or is below the PoE ports (on injector models). It indicates the PoE status of the port. 
The LED status can be the following: 

ON (green) 
A valid Powered Device (PD) is detected and the switch or injector is sourcing power on this port. 

OFF 
No valid Powered Device (PD) is detected, so no power is being sourced. 

Periodically Blinks ON 
No valid Powered Device (PD) is detected or the connected device is drawing too little current (<10 mA) so no power is being sourced. 
However, the switch or injector is periodically looking for a valid device. This condition may occur when you have connected a PoE splitter but it has not been connected to a load yet. 
Once the connected device (such as a splitter) is loaded and draws more than 10 or 15 mA, then power will be sourced. 

Error Code Blink 
Some models may blink an error code. If you see the same sequence of blinks repeatedly, note the blink sequence and contact SIXNET for more information. 

Disclaimer

It is the customer's responsibility to review the advice provided herein and its applicability to the system. HMS makes no representation about specific knowledge of the customer's system or the specific performance of the system. HMS is not responsible for any damage to equipment or connected systems. The use of this document is at your own risk. HMS standard product warranty applies.

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