Russian equipment. Part 1. MLink
Inspired by the article "No one is to blame, but what to do?" . I wanted to give a small answer and show that even if everything is bad in this country, it is not so.
We had a testing device manufactured in Russia: MLink-DL-MX4E1. In the documentation, the device is called a “control module with cross-connect functions”. We use it as an E1 to Ethernet converter, and so on we will call it. Manufacturer - the company "Microlink" . It cannot be said that it was done at the highest level, and can be on equal footing with foreign counterparts, but it performs its main functions.
The converter is placed in a 19-inch rack and occupies one unit. The front panel contains two power connectors (220 and -48 V), an RS232 control port, an Ethernet port, a power indicator, a connector for an external clock source, and a slot for an additional module. In our case, this is the MX4E1-MS module with 4 E1 ports, respectively, an Ethernet port, an RS232 control port (two connection speeds are used for the two ports) and an alarm indicator. Here I need to remember that at first we received a board, which in the connectors on the rear panel was a mirror image of what we needed and did not insert into the slot, we had to wait until they send a new one.
Reasonable design converter does not shine. This is evidenced, for example, by a grounding bolt located in the middle, which is loose on all M-Linkes without exception. In the plastic -48 V power connector, simply without any fixing, the crimped ends of the cable are inserted. Because of this, the connection is not very reliable. Sometimes when touched, the power supply disappears and arcing is possible. The control port is not made in the form of RG-45, as usual, but DB9, but there were suitable connectors and a description of the pinout, so it was not difficult to solder the necessary cable.
Otherwise, everything is more or less well.
Access to converters is possible through the console, or through telnet. Each device must have its own network number in the range of 0-999 (default number is 001). Once connected, a black window is displayed without an invitation. A login / password prompt appears only after entering a line like $ nnn% mm, where nnn is the network number and mm is the slot number.
Then a window appears with a choice of various settings.
All that is needed is to connect E1 ports to Ethernet, configure the 16th E1 channel time slot (see E1 , we need PCM31 mode) used for signaling, the converter operating mode (router / bridge), the IP address for remote control , MAC address (on delivery they were the same for all) and SNMP, if necessary. Ethernet was needed at both ends, and between them an E1 channel, respectively, 2 converters were needed, on which the same mode of the 16th time slot should be configured. All this is done in the appropriate menu items. After completing the configuration, the configuration needs to be applied and saved. I do not think it is worth setting the details and the syntax of the commands in detail.
The software allows monitoring, collecting statistics. So, for example, the E1 port status window looks like:
The disadvantage of devices is the incompleteness of the command line interface: after entering the wrong character, you can delete it and enter the right one, but you still won't be able to perform it. Need to re-enter. In addition, if you do not exit the telnet session correctly (just by closing the terminal window, for example), the next time you log in, the device will not ask for a login / password.
Manuals in Russian (of course) are a bit confusing, but very detailed. We must pay tribute to the Microlink, especially since the confusion may be due to my little experience. Whatever it was, to understand with the help of manuals, Google and "some kind of mother", as they say on Habré, it is quite possible.
After setup and installation, the scheme has been functioning for several months. During this time, the following problems appeared. Time 2, the device failed for some unknown reason and had to be rebooted, after which the link was restored. After the end of the telnet session, you can only re-enter in 5-7 minutes. Telnet only works if it is on the same subnet as the converter. But I'm not sure about this, perhaps the problem is not with the device. The most interesting is ping. The converter may not respond to it within 30-40 minutes, before starting to ping, if you do not connect directly.
No more complaints.
')
The client software is attached to the equipment, which is designed to facilitate configuration and monitoring. But the wretchedness of the interface, hangs and the need to use a USB key predetermined its place in the software archive.
<What did I want to say with this post? In our country there is a technique that can be used, but it is not popular. I believe that they have almost piece orders. If there was a demand, then, sooner or later, the quality would be brought up to the level of foreign equipment. But, unfortunately, our people society has formed the opinion that everything that makes us bad. And you just need to interact with suppliers and strain them in order to improve quality and usability.>
We had a testing device manufactured in Russia: MLink-DL-MX4E1. In the documentation, the device is called a “control module with cross-connect functions”. We use it as an E1 to Ethernet converter, and so on we will call it. Manufacturer - the company "Microlink" . It cannot be said that it was done at the highest level, and can be on equal footing with foreign counterparts, but it performs its main functions.
Iron
The converter is placed in a 19-inch rack and occupies one unit. The front panel contains two power connectors (220 and -48 V), an RS232 control port, an Ethernet port, a power indicator, a connector for an external clock source, and a slot for an additional module. In our case, this is the MX4E1-MS module with 4 E1 ports, respectively, an Ethernet port, an RS232 control port (two connection speeds are used for the two ports) and an alarm indicator. Here I need to remember that at first we received a board, which in the connectors on the rear panel was a mirror image of what we needed and did not insert into the slot, we had to wait until they send a new one.
Reasonable design converter does not shine. This is evidenced, for example, by a grounding bolt located in the middle, which is loose on all M-Linkes without exception. In the plastic -48 V power connector, simply without any fixing, the crimped ends of the cable are inserted. Because of this, the connection is not very reliable. Sometimes when touched, the power supply disappears and arcing is possible. The control port is not made in the form of RG-45, as usual, but DB9, but there were suitable connectors and a description of the pinout, so it was not difficult to solder the necessary cable.
Otherwise, everything is more or less well.
Software
Access to converters is possible through the console, or through telnet. Each device must have its own network number in the range of 0-999 (default number is 001). Once connected, a black window is displayed without an invitation. A login / password prompt appears only after entering a line like $ nnn% mm, where nnn is the network number and mm is the slot number.
Then a window appears with a choice of various settings.
All that is needed is to connect E1 ports to Ethernet, configure the 16th E1 channel time slot (see E1 , we need PCM31 mode) used for signaling, the converter operating mode (router / bridge), the IP address for remote control , MAC address (on delivery they were the same for all) and SNMP, if necessary. Ethernet was needed at both ends, and between them an E1 channel, respectively, 2 converters were needed, on which the same mode of the 16th time slot should be configured. All this is done in the appropriate menu items. After completing the configuration, the configuration needs to be applied and saved. I do not think it is worth setting the details and the syntax of the commands in detail.
The software allows monitoring, collecting statistics. So, for example, the E1 port status window looks like:
The disadvantage of devices is the incompleteness of the command line interface: after entering the wrong character, you can delete it and enter the right one, but you still won't be able to perform it. Need to re-enter. In addition, if you do not exit the telnet session correctly (just by closing the terminal window, for example), the next time you log in, the device will not ask for a login / password.
Manuals in Russian (of course) are a bit confusing, but very detailed. We must pay tribute to the Microlink, especially since the confusion may be due to my little experience. Whatever it was, to understand with the help of manuals, Google and "some kind of mother", as they say on Habré, it is quite possible.
After setup and installation, the scheme has been functioning for several months. During this time, the following problems appeared. Time 2, the device failed for some unknown reason and had to be rebooted, after which the link was restored. After the end of the telnet session, you can only re-enter in 5-7 minutes. Telnet only works if it is on the same subnet as the converter. But I'm not sure about this, perhaps the problem is not with the device. The most interesting is ping. The converter may not respond to it within 30-40 minutes, before starting to ping, if you do not connect directly.
No more complaints.
')
Additional chips
The client software is attached to the equipment, which is designed to facilitate configuration and monitoring. But the wretchedness of the interface, hangs and the need to use a USB key predetermined its place in the software archive.
A bit away from the topic
<What did I want to say with this post? In our country there is a technique that can be used, but it is not popular. I believe that they have almost piece orders. If there was a demand, then, sooner or later, the quality would be brought up to the level of foreign equipment. But, unfortunately, our people society has formed the opinion that everything that makes us bad. And you just need to interact with suppliers and strain them in order to improve quality and usability.>
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/77693/
All Articles