A The Boot Line Prompt

When the OmniStack boots, it requires basic information so that it can configure itself. The
switch is delivered with factory default configuration parameters that provide basic informa-
tion; however, you can change or customize the configuration parameters using the OmniS-
tack Boot Line prompt. You can only access the Boot Line configuration through an ASCII
terminal.
Customizing parameters can be helpful when troubleshooting your system. Changing configu-
ration items in the boot process allows you to:
• Stop the boot process
• Boot from a SLIP device
• Boot from a ZMODEM connection
• Revert back to factory default settings
• Boot/load with a different set of parameters
To enter the Boot line prompt, see the section that follows. See Boot Prompt Basics on page
A-3 for documentation on basic Boot prompt commands. If you are configuring an OmniS-
tack, see Configuring an OmniStack on page A-6.

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Entering the Boot Prompt

Entering the Boot Prompt

Perform the following steps to reach the Boot prompt.
1. Connect an ASCII terminal (or computer with a terminal emulator) to the console port on
the OmniStack. The default communication parameters are:
• 9600 bps
• 8 data bits
• 1 stop bit
• no parity
• no hardware flow control (Windows 95)
2. Turn on the switch.
3. You should see text scrolling on the terminal, indicating that the boot is starting. If you do
not see any text within a few seconds of turning on the switch press the <Return> key. If
you still do not see any text on the screen, verify your connections, turn off the switch,
and turn it back on again.
4. Once the boot process starts you have approximately two (2) seconds to interrupt the
boot. Press any key during this time to enter the Boot prompt.
The following screen prompt displays.
[Boot]:

See the following section for documentation on basic Boot prompt commands.

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 Boot Prompt Basics

Boot Prompt Basics

To get a list of commands enter a question mark (?). A screen similar to the following is
shown:
? - print this list
@ - boot (load and go)
p - print boot params
c - change boot params
l - load boot file
g adrs - go to adrs
d adrs[,n] - display memory
m adrs - modify memory
f adrs, nbytes, value - fill memory
t adrs, adrs, nbytes - copy memory
e - print fatal exception
n netif - print network interface device address
L - list ffs files
P - Purge system: removes ALL ffs files
R file [files] - remove ffs file(s)
S - save boot configuration
V - display bootstrap version
$dev(0,procnum)host:/file h=# e=# b=# g=# u=usr [pw=passwd] f=#
tn=targetname s=script o=other
Boot flags:
0x02 - load local system symbols
0x04 - don't autoboot
0x08 - quick autoboot (no countdown)
0x20 - disable login security
0x40 - use bootp to get boot parameters
0x80 - use tftp to get boot image
0x100 - use proxy arp
0x1000 - factory reset

available boot devices: sl ffs zm

[Boot]:

The commands for this menu are described in the sections below.

♦ Important Note ♦
The Boot prompt is case sensitive. Always enter letters
in lowercase or uppercase as indicated in the menus.

Resuming Switch Boot (@)

If you wish to continue the boot process, enter the @ command at the prompt. This loads the
last saved configuration.

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Boot Prompt Basics

Displaying Current Configuration (p)

For an OmniStack, a screen similar to the following appears:
Boot device : ffs
Boot file : mp4.img
Startup script : /flash/mp4.cmd
Console params : 9600,n81c
Modem params : 9600,n81d
Boot flags : 0xb
Other :
dvip:eric-mpx,198.206.181.69,255.255.255.0,198.206.181.255;

For information on modifying this screens, see Configuring an OmniStack on page A-6.
To change the configuration of the boot parameters, enter c at the prompt. For more informa-
tion, see Configuring an OmniStack on page A-6

Loading the Last Configured Boot File (l)

To load the last configured boot file, enter the l command. For an OmniStack, a screen simi-
lar to the following is shown:
Boot device : ffs
Boot file : /flash/mp4.img
Startup script : /flash/mp4.cmd
Console params : 9600,n81c
Modem params : 9600,n81d
Boot flags : 0xb
Other : dvip:no_name,172.16.183.20,255.255.0.0,172.16.255.255;

Loading /flash/mpm.img...24872 + 1780264 + 314784

entry = 0x45f00000
[Boot]:

Listing Available Files in the Flash Memory (L)

To list all of the available files in the flash memory that you could load onto the switch, enter
the L command. A screen similar to the following is shown:
Files available in "/flash":
mp4.cmd
mp4.log
ae4.img
es4.img
mp4.img
mp4.cnf
mp4.cfg
switch.ascii
[Boot]:

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 Boot Prompt Basics

Deleting All Files in the Flash Memory (P)

To delete all flash memory files, enter the P command at the prompt. The following message
is displayed:
WARNING: This will remove ALL the files in the system.
Do you want to do this? ->

Enter y at the prompt to continue. The following message is shown

Erasing Flash File System...Done...Rebooting...

The switch will automatically reboot at this point. Since there are now no files in the flash
memory, you are returned to the boot prompt.

Deleting Specific Files in the Flash Memory (R)

To delete a specific file from the flash memory, use the R command followed by the file
name. You can delete a single file or multiple files with a single command. For example, to
delete the mpm.cmd file, you would enter R followed by a space, and then mpm.cmd, as
shown:
R mp4.cmd

To delete the mpm.cmd and the mpm.log files, you would enter R, a space, mpm.cmd, a space,
and them mpm.log, as shown:
R mp4.cmd mpm.log

Saving Configuration Changes (S)

To save any changes to the configuration parameters, enter the S command at the prompt.
The following message appears to confirm when the process is complete:
Saving boot information...done
[Boot]:

Viewing Version Number (V)

To view the version number of the bootstrap shell, enter the V command at the prompt.

♦ Important Note ♦
Some of the option within the Boot Line configuration
menu are for programmer’s internal debugging
purposes or for customer service diagnostics. Alcatel
does not recommend that you invoke any menu
options not described in this section.

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Configuring an OmniStack

Configuring an OmniStack
Perform the following steps to configure an OmniStack. You can press Ctrl-D at any time to
return to the Boot prompt.
1. At the Boot prompt, enter a lowercase c to begin configuring parameters. A prompt simi-
lar to the following displays.
'.' = clear field; '-' = go to previous field; ^D = quit
Boot device : ffs

2. To change the switch’s boot device, (i.e., the device it will read the boot file from) enter
ffs for the MPM’s flash file system (the default), sl for SLIP, or zm for ZMODEM.
For SLIP boots, you will be downloading the switch’s image file from another computer,
so you must have an assigned IP address for the SLIP connection. Also, you must config-
ure other SLIP specific parameters for you computer as well as for the other computer.
Leave these fields blank if you are not using SLIP. For ZMODEM boots, you can enter the
zm command, followed by the baud rate. For example, to use a ZMODEM boot with a
baud rate of 192000, you would enter:
zm:19200.
By entering the baud rate, you can run the ZMODEM connection temporarily at a higher
baud rate. 19200 is the maximum transfer rate for ZMODEM transfers. Due to limitations
in some PC’s and other equipment, you may be limited to a 9600 baud rate.
A screen prompt similar to the following displays.
Boot file : /flash/mp4.img

3. Enter the boot file name or press the <Return> key to accept the default. For FTP down-
loads, the path you should enter is relative to the log-in (i.e., remote) directory. A screen
prompt similar to the following is displayed:
Local SLIP addr:

4. If you are using SLIP, enter the local SLIP host name and its IP address. Other wise press
the <Return> key and leave it blank. A screen prompt similar to the following displays:
Startup script : /flash/mp4.cmd

5. Enter the MPM command file name or press the <Return> key to accept the default
(mpm.cmd). A prompt similar to the following displays.
Console params : 9600,n81c

6. You can change the parameters for the console port. To change the value, enter the baud
rate (1200, 9600, or 19200, or 38400), the parity (n for none, e for even, or o for odd), data
length (7 or 8), stop bits (0, 1, or 2), and port type (c for console, s for SLIP, or a for auxil-
iary).
For example, 19200n81c sets the console port to 19,200 baud, no parity, 8-bit data length,
1 stop bit, and console mode.
A screen prompt similar to the following displays.
Modem params : 9600,n81d

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 Configuring an OmniStack

7. You can change the parameters for the modem port. To change the value, enter the baud
rate (1200, 9600, or 19200, or 38400), the parity (n for none, e for even, or o for odd), data
length (7 or 8), stop bits (0, 1, or 2), and port type (m for modem, s for SLIP, or a for auxil-
iary).
For example, 19200n81m sets the modem port to 19,200 baud, no parity, 8-bit data length,
1 stop bit, and modem mode.
A screen prompt similar to the following displays.
Boot flags : 0xb

8. To accept the default (oxb) and perform a normal boot, press the <Return> key. To restore
the factory-configured boot process, enter 0x1000. The following flags should only be
used for internal debugging or Customer Service diagnosis:.
• 0x02 Load the local system symbols.
• 0x04 Do not autoboot.
• 0x08 Quick autoboot (no countdown).
• 0x20 Disable login security.
• 0x40 Use bootp to get the boot parameters.
• 0x80 Use tftp to get the boot image.
• 0x100 Use proxy arp.
• 0x1000 Factory reset.
A screen prompt similar to the following displays.
Other : dvip:no-name,192.168.10.1,255.255.255.0,192.168.10.255;

9. You can enter the default VLAN IP parameters by entering them in the following format:
dvip:<host name>,<IP address>[,<IP mask>[,<IP broadcast address>]]

10. The following screen prompt displays.

[Boot]:
Enter an uppercase S to save any parameters you changed. (See Appendix C, “The Boot
Line Prompt,” for documentation on additional Boot prompt commands.) The following
screen prompt displays.
[Boot]:

11. Enter an @ to boot your OmniStack.

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Configuring an OmniStack

Page A-8