Monitoring a BNU remote connection

Use the following procedure for monitoring a BNU remote connection.

  • The BNU program must be installed on your system.
  • A link (hardwired, modem, or TCP/IP) must be set up between your system and the remote system.
  • The BNU configuration files, including the Systems file, Permissions file, Devices file, and Dialers file (and Sysfiles file, if applicable), must be set up for communications between your system and the remote system.
    Note: You must have root user authority to modify the BNU configuration files.

The Uutry command can help you monitor the uucico daemon process if users at your site report file-transfer problems.

  1. Issue the uustat command to determine the status of all the transfer jobs in the current queue as follows:
    uustat -q
    The system displays a status report like the following:
    venus 3C (2) 05/09-11:02 CAN'T ACCESS DEVICE
    hera 1C 05/09-11:12 SUCCESSFUL
    merlin 2C 5/09-10:54 NO DEVICES AVAILABLE
    This report indicates that three command (C.*) files intended for remote system venus have been in the queue for two days. There could be several reasons for this delay. For example, perhaps system venus has been shut down for maintenance or the modem has been turned off.
  2. Before you begin more extensive troubleshooting activities, issue the Uutry command as follows to determine whether your local system can contact system venus now:
    /usr/sbin/uucp/Uutry -r venus
    This command starts the uucico daemon with a moderate amount of debugging and the instruction to override the default retry time. The Uutry command directs the debugging output to a temporary file, /tmp/venus.
  3. If your local system succeeds in establishing a connection to system venus, the debugging output contains a good deal of information. However, the final line in this script, which follows, is the most important:
    Conversation Complete: Status SUCCEEDED
    If the connection is successful, assume that the temporary file-transfer problems are now resolved. Issue the uustat command again to make certain that the files in the spooling directory have been transferred successfully to the remote system. If they have not, use the steps in Monitoring a BNU file transfer to check for file-transfer problems between your system and the remote system.
  4. If your local system cannot contact the remote system, the debugging output generated by the Uutry command contains the following type of information (the exact form of the output might vary):
    mchFind called (venus)
    conn (venus)
    getto ret -1
    Call Failed: CAN'T ACCESS DEVICE
    exit code 101
    Conversation Complete: Status FAILED
    First, check the physical connections between the local and remote systems. Make sure that the remote computer is turned on and all cables are properly connected, that the ports are enabled or disabled (as appropriate) on both systems, and that the modems (if applicable) are working.

    If the physical connections are correct and secure, then verify all the relevant configuration files on both the local and remote systems, including the following:

    • Make certain that the entries in the Devices, Systems, and Permissions files (and Sysfiles file, if applicable) in the /etc/uucp directory are correct on both systems.
    • If you are using a modem, make sure that the /etc/uucp/Dialers file (or an alternate file specified in /etc/uucp/Sysfiles) contains the correct entry. If you are using dial-code abbreviations, be sure the abbreviations are defined in the /etc/uucp/Dialcodes file.
    • If you are using a TCP/IP connection, make sure that the uucpd daemon can be run on the remote system and that the configuration files contain the correct TCP entries.
  5. After you have checked the physical connections and configuration files, issue the Uutry command again.
    If the debugging output still reports that the connection failed, you might need to confer with a member of your systems support team. Save the debugging output produced by the Uutry command. This might prove helpful in diagnosing the problem.