KB932 - i.LON and SmartServer 2.2 Troubleshooting Tips

Owned by Michael Wytyshyn (Unlicensed)
02-Jan-2024
5 min read

 Problem

SmartServer 2 and .LON Basic Troubleshooting Tips.

 Solution

The best way to set and verify the SmartServer IP address is to connect a null modem cable to the SmartServer console port and use a terminal emulation program.

Most i.LON and SmartServer issues are fixed by re-formatting the i.LON flash drive and reloading the default imaged or a previously backed up image (see #12 below).

 

If you are having access the SmartServer this could mean that the Web browser you are using is not supported by the SmartServer or the SmartServer may be constantly rebooting due to a hardware failure. The last release of SmartServer 2.  software was in November 2018. This means the SmartServer was tested with Web browser available 3.-6 months prior to this time. If you are using a newer Web browser version then this could be the reason that you can no longer access the SmartServer or the SmartServer Web pages no longer work. To access the SmartServer you will need a Web browser version available at that the time of release.  

 

Troubleshooting tips

  1. Use a good FTP program to transfer files to and from the i.LON (

FileZilla is known to cause problems).

Make sure you use a FTP program that validates the FTP transfer (e.g., WinSCP, CuteFTP) and uses binary File transfer (you can't use ASCII File transfer). Windows Explorer is not guaranteed to tell you it all files got transferred properly.

FileZilla auto mode defaults to ASCII file transfer which transfers data to the i.LON in the wrong format which causes i.LON to not work properly.  In this case you will need to reformat the i.LON and re-load the factory image using binary file transfer.

  1. If you can't access the SmartServer by IP address:

a. Many reported problems have been related to a faulty Ethernet cable or the cable is not plugged in properly. Unplug and then re-plug in the Ethernet cable.
b. If you are connected directly to the SmartServer then your PC may not be on the same subnet as the SmartServer.  In this case change your PC to the same subnet as the SmartServer or add a route statement to the PC for that subnet. 
c. Some other device may be using the same IP address. Unplug the SmartServer and trying pinging its IP address.
e. The SmartServer IP address is not what you think it is, the IP address was incorrectly changed or changed by someone else.
f.  The Web page, FTP or Telnet Port #s may have been changed (See Tip 6)  

  1. If you can't change the i.LON IP address through the i.LON factory web pages then most likely you are trying to use an unsupported Web Browser.

Product Web Browser Support (KB930)

  1. Changing or verifying the i.LON IP address: 

a. Console Port (Recommended) :  Connect a 9 pin RS-232 null modem cable (you may have to use a USB-to-Serial adapter) to the i.LON console port. 

  • Use a Terminal emulation program (like putty or teraterm with 9600 bps, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control)

  • Type "show" or "show all" to see the current IP setup.

  • Type "help" or "help all" to see the commands to change the three IP settings.  You will need to change the IP address, the Subnet mask and the Gateway IP address.

         

b. Security Access Mode (temporarily sets the i.LON to 192.168.1.222) :

Hold down the i.LON Service pin for 20-30 seconds while power cycling or causing a i.LON reset (using hardware reset pin or through i.LON web page).

Note:  You will need to reboot the i.LON before the i.LON uses the new IP changes.

  1. If the i.LON web page doesn't show the expected information or you see server errors then most likely you are trying to use an unsupported Web Browser.

Product Web Browser Support (KB930)

  1. If you can't access the SmartServer Web pages, FTP or Telnet then it is possible the port # has been changed (that is, the port # is not the default value).  

By default FTP and Web page access is enabled. Telnet may or may not be enabled. 

If you can access the SmartServer console (or telnet) type "show all" to see the active ports #s and the port #s that will be active after a reboot. Port # are sometimes changed for added security. Type "help all" to get a list of commands used to change the port settings.

  1. Go to the SmartServer "Setup > System Info" Web page and make sure the General Statistics don't show any issues with RAM, Flash or CPU.

Using up i.LON resources can cause the i.LON to have delays in web access or NV updates and in some cases constantly reboot, .  This can happen if you FTP too many files to the i.LON, you have too many or too large data logs or you are supporting too many NVs/CPs. 

  1. FTP to the i.LON and check the Eventlog.txt and bootlog.txt files and see if there is any error messages.  Check if there are any new exception logs.

  1. Check for hardware failures

Connect the 9 pin RS-232 null modem cable (you may have to use a USB-to-Serial adapter) to the i.LON console port and log the i.LON bootup process (power cycle or reset) to see if there are any hardware issues reported. Use any terminal emulation program like Putty (provided on many i.LON DVDs). This information may also show up in the bootlog.txt.

Possible hardware failures: if you see the errors once it may not be a issue, if you see the message multiple times or through multiple reboots then this is probably a hardware failure you need to RMA the SmartServer if within the warranty period:

a. “Flash Disk Uncorrectable ECC Errors”
b. "Unable to write iLonFixedNvramData to serial EEPROM"
c. "Tx/Rx LEDs under Host control" - this message is expected but if the boot process ends with this message then this could be a hardware issue.
d. "Timeout waiting for Neuron ready!"

10. SmartServer Constantly Rebooting

a. This could be due to corrupted software or files on the the SmartServer Flash drive

  • In most cases, you can fix this issue by re-formatting the SmartServer and re-loading the image

  • see #12 for detail on how to re-image.

b.  See #9 for potential hardware failure.
c. If you downgraded a SmartServer 2.2 SR8 to an older software version then the SmartServer will no longer work.  SmartServer 2.2 SR8 can only have SmartServer 2.2 SP8 (4.12.006+).

There is no fix for a downgraded SmartServer 2.2 SR8 and the warranty is voided, see KB1376 for details.

EnOcean Knowledge Base - Can a downgraded SmartServer 2.2 SR8 be fixed? No (KB1376)

 

11. Upgrade to the latest Service Pack (SP) to see if this fixes your issue.  The latest SP Readme file will list known issues and workarounds.

12.  Re-load the factory image in case the i.LON software is corrupted.

      Backup your i.LON image (FTP).  Don't use FileZilla Auto or ASCII file transfer (see #1 above).

  1. Connect the RS-232 null modem cable to the i.LON console

  2. Console: Type "reboot" to reboot the i.LON

  3. Console: Stop the boot process with "!" when prompted

  4. Console: Type "format" to format the i.LON flash drive 

  5. FTP the factory/golden image to the i.LON root directory 

  6. Console: Type "reboot" to reboot the i.LON  

       See the i.LON User's Guide for details.  Check if the i.LON starts to work.

      SmartServer factory image are available in one of the locations on your PC
      c:\Program Files (x86)\LonWorks\iLon100\images
      c:\Program Files (x86)\LonWorks\iLon100\images
      c:\LonWorks\iLon100\images

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