KB374 - How can I test a PCC-10/PCLTA-10/PCLTA-20/PCLTA-21 network interface card?

Question

I finished installing the driver and the card. Now I want to test and diagnose it to see if everything is working properly. How can I do this?

Answer

You can test your card using the LonWorks Plug 'n Play applet. Launch it from Start - Settings - Control Panel. This applet lets you check both the card and the LonWorks channel. Make a note of the NI Application name so that, if necessary, you can set the NI Application back to the original setting after testing.

While LonMaker uses the "xxxVNI" NI Application, some third-party network integration tools use the "NSIxxx" or "xxxL7" NI Applications. Check with the network integration tool documentation for the required NI Application type. If you select the wrong one, your network integration tool may not work with the network interface.

Change the NI application to either "NSIPCLTA" or "PCC10L7" and then press the "Apply" button. Failure to press the "Apply" button could put this applet in the wrong mode.

Test button
Press the "Diagnostics" button in the LonWorks Plug 'n Play applet. Then press the "Test" button. If you get statistics that are similar to the following, your card is working fine.

LonWorks® PCC10/PCLTA10/PCLTA20 Device Driver
Version: 2.01
Card Type: PCLTA-20 / LMPA
Driver Status:
	Loaded Image Size: 57344
	Interrupt Count: 126261
------ Network Interface Node Status ------
CRC Errors:		[00000]
TX Timeouts:		[00000]
Lost (APP) Messages:	[00000]
Missed (NET) Messages:	[00000]
Most recent error:		0
Reset Cause:		External

Note that some CRC errors are expected on a LonWorks channel and do not mean there is a problem with the channel. You should only be concerned if you see a lot of CRC errors between consecutive "Test" results.

Comm button
The "Comm" button can be used to test whether your card can send or receive a packet from/to the network, such as a service pin message. Before using this feature, you may need to change the NI application. Like above, change it to either "NSIPCLTA" or "PCC10L7" and press the "Apply" button. Then press the "Diagnostics" button.

Use the "Comm" button to test whether or not your card can receive service pin message from the network. Press the "Comm" button, and select"Yes" when you are asked "Do you want to proceed?" The Diagnostics window should display "Now waiting for a service pin message." Go ahead and press the service pin on any device on the network that is connected to the card to make the device send out a service pin message. If the card is working properly, you will receive the service pin message and you will see the following message in the Diagnostics window, indicating that your card received the message.

Received service pin, pinging node:
   Neuron ID: 00 03 70 97 25 00 
  Program ID: 80 00 01 05 33 8A 04 03 
** Ping Passed **
** Ping Passed **
** Ping Passed **

Press the "Quit" button to terminate the test, otherwise the "Ping Passed" message will continue to show up.

Service button
To test if your network interface card can send out a service pin message to the network, use the "Service" button. If you press this button, you will see the following message:

Sending service pin message.

If you have another network interface card that can monitor the service pin message, you can tell if your card is sending out the packet. You can also use the LonManager Protocol Analyzer to see if the packet has been sent out to the network.

Don't forget to change the NI Application name back to the original application and press the "Apply" button. The "Apply" button must be pressed in order to change the application type. Failure to do so may cause your Network Integration tool to fail.

Related Products

PCC-10
PCLTA-10
PCLTA-20
PCLTA-21