A P P E N D I X B |
Troubleshooting and Tuning Tips |
See http://pts.emea/dev/products/sunray/furtherinfo.html#troubleshooting
This appendix contains the following sections:
Sun Ray Server Software on-screen displays (OSD) to help administrators and others identify problems visually. The most important information about the Sun Ray DTU and its current state is displayed on the screen.
The OSD icons display:
To help you locate problems, the OSD icons display a numeric icon code followed by an alphabetic DHCP state code. You can look up the meaning of the numeric OSD message codes in TABLE B-1 and the alphabetic DHCP state codes in TABLE B-2. Encryption and authentication information is also displayed when appropriate.
Tip - It is always a good idea to make sure that you are using the latest firmware. See . |
OSD icon messages and codes are summarized in the following tables:
PROM is corrupted. Check that firmware downloads are properly configured and enabled. Then power cycle the DTU. |
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The first display a user should see is OSD 1: Waiting for the Interconnect.
Definition: The DTU has passed the power-on self test but has not detected an Ethernet signal yet. This icon is displayed as part of the normal startup phase and is usually displayed for only a few seconds.
Actions to take if this icon stays on for more than 10 seconds: |
1. Check that the Ethernet cable is correctly plugged in to the back of the DTU and the other end is plugged in to the correct hub, switch, or network outlet.
A link light on the switch or hub indicates that the connection is alive.
2. If the DTU is connected through a hub or a switch, make sure that the hub or switch is powered on and configured correctly.
After the Sun Ray desktop unit has verified its network connection, the user should see the DHCP Pending display.
Definition: The DTU has detected the Ethernet carrier but has not yet received its initial parameters or IP address from DHCP. This icon is displayed as part of the normal startup phase and is usually displayed for only a few seconds.
Actions to take if this icon stays on for more than 10 seconds: |
1. Make sure that the DHCP server is configured correctly, is up and running, and has not run out of IP addresses to assign to clients.
2. Verify that your DHCP server is configured properly for network parameters.
At this point, depending on whether you have configured your Sun Ray servers to run on a LAN or a dedicated interconnect, one of the following icons may display:
Startup Wait for DHCP Information
After the DHCP server has allocated an IP address, the icon is updated with the unit's IP address; if the response is inadequate, the Sun Ray issues a DHCP inform request to attempt to obtain the Sun Ray vendor-specific parameters. The Sun Ray continues all the way through booting with just a DHCP supplied IP address but usually functions better with some additional parameters.
Code 21 A indicates that the DTU got an IP address and is waiting for a DHCP informresponse to other parameters.
Code 21 B indicates that the DTU got an IP address and IP router and is waiting for Sun Ray vendor-specific options from DHCP inform.
Note - If you see a 21 A or 21 B with a DTU IP address in a LAN deployment, the Sun Ray DTU is trying to use DHCP_INFORM to get Sun Ray-specific parameters. |
1. For LAN configurations with other (non-Sun Ray) DHCP services but no bootp proxy agent, verify the DHCP server and the Sun Ray vendor tags.
2. For routed configurations, verify that the bootp proxy agent is configured correctly in the Sun Ray DTU's subnet and that it points to one of the Sun Ray servers in the failover group.
3. For non-routed private interconnect configurations, the Sun Ray server also performs the functions of a DHCP server. Verify that it is configured properly for DHCP services.
When DHCP has finished, the Sun Ray DTU tries to connect to a Sun Ray server and the authentication manager that is running on that server.
Waiting to Connect to Authentication Manager
Definition: The DTU has received its initial parameters from DHCP but has not yet connected to the Sun Ray Authentication Manager. This icon is displayed as part of the normal startup phase and is usually displayed for only a few seconds.
Actions to take if the icon displays for more than a few seconds or if the DTU continues to reset after the icon is displayed: |
1. Make sure that the Sun Ray services, including the Authentication Manager, are up and running on the Sun Ray server.
In a LAN configuration or other routed environment:
2. Make sure that the authentication manager can be reached from the IP address assigned to the DTU.
3. Verify that the routing information the DTU receives is correct.
4. Run utquery for the DTU's IP address.
The utquery command displays the parameters a Sun Ray DTU has received. If utquery fails to display an AuthSrvr parameter, the DHCP server for Sun Ray parameters may not be reachable or may not be configured properly. Confirm that the DHCPServer and INFORMServer values are appropriate. If not, look at your bootp relay configurations and DHCP server configurations for network and Sun Ray parameters. For details of these parameters, see the utquery man page.
Downloading PROM Software
Definition: The DTU is currently downloading new flash PROM software from the Sun Ray server.
1. Wait until the download is complete.
Downloading and saving the new PROM software usually takes less than a minute. If you interrupt the download, the DTU has to download new PROM software the next time it reboots.
If the firmware download fails, the following syslog message indicates that the barrier level has been set to prevent Sun Ray DTUs with SRSS 3.1.1 firmware from automatically downloading an earlier version of the firmware:
2. Check /var/opt/SUNWut/log/messages to confirm that your configuration is set up properly.
Note - For LAN configurations, the minimum barrier level is 200. |
Definition: The DTU has just downloaded new PROM software from the Sun Ray server and is saving it to the DTU's PROM.
Wait until the download is done.
Downloading and saving the new PROM software usually takes less than a minute. If you interrupt the download, the DTU has to download new PROM software the next time it reboots.
Definition: The DTU has failed to download new firmware.
1. Check the messages file /var/opt/SUNWut/log/messages to verify the version number.
2. Correct, if necessary, with utadm -l.
Sun Ray USB Bus Busy
Definition: The Sun Ray USB bus is temporarily busy servicing a high-speed device, and the keyboard or mouse may not be responsive to user input.
This icon typically appears only during an unusually long print job and disappears when the job is done. This is an informational OSD; there is no particular action to take unless it is necessary to kill the print job.
Definition: The DTU has an Ethernet address and an IP address but has lost the Ethernet signal. This icon is displayed only after the DTU successfully boots and receives an IP address, but then loses its Ethernet signal.
1. Check that the Ethernet cable is correctly plugged in to the back of the DTU and the other end is plugged into the correct switch or network outlet.
2. If the DTU is connected through a hub or switch, make sure that the hub or switch is on and configured correctly.
Definition: This OSD, shows the Ethernet address, the currently assigned IP address, the currently connected server, the encryption status, and the DHCP state. To display it, press the three audio volume keys simultaneously.
Tip - To get the same effect on non-Sun keyboard, disconnect and reconnect the Ethernet wire. |
Link speed is also indicated (for example, 10F, 10H,100F, 100H). F stands for full duplex, and H stands for half duplex. 10 stands for 10 Mbps, and 100 for 100 Mbps.
The following icons are displayed when there might be a security breach.
Session Refused
Definition: The client is refusing to connect to a server because it is unable to verify the validity of the Sun Ray server.
This error can occur only if an unknown Sun Ray server intercepts the messages and tries to emulate a valid Sun Ray server. This is a session security breach.
Definition: The server is refusing to grant a session to the client because the client is unable to fulfill the server's security requirements.
1. Check the client's firmware version.
This error may occur with firmware versions earlier than 2.0 if the server is configured for hard security mode.
As an alternative, confirm whether your site requires hard security mode. If not, the session can be enabled with soft security mode.
Card Reader Icon
When a site policy disallows pseudo sessions, DTUs configured as token readers display the Card Reader icon instead of the Login Dialog box card.
Card Read Error
Definition: The Card Read Error OSD icon appears whenever the firmware is unable to read the card due to one of the following causes:
Prompt for Card Insertion
Definition: If the current authentication policy allows access only by card, this OSD icon appears and prompts the user to insert a card.
Access Denied
Definition: The Access Denied OSD icon appears when the current authentication policy denies access to the presented token. Specifically, this icon is displayed if a disabled card has been inserted into a DTU.
The Sun Ray administration model has seven user session types:
The first three session types have normal login processes. When there is a problem, the administrator should examine:
Caution - Sun Ray Server Software modifies certain system configuration files. In most cases, these changes are identified with SRSS-specific comments. Please do not change these modifications. |
Although the last four session types display icons on the Sun Ray DTU, they do not have login processes at all. The icons indicate that the user must take steps before a successful login is possible. If the user immediately removes and reinserts the smart card, the icon disappears, but the Wait for Session OSD remains.
These last four session types and their OSDs should not cause alarm. The user can:
Wait for Session
This OSD represents the transition state for the Sun Ray DTU. If it is displayed for an extended period, there is probably no X Window server running.
Note - The current wait icon is a white "X" cursor. In earlier releases, the wait icon was displayed as a green newt cursor. |
For the latest information regarding Sun Ray Server Software patches, check:
http://www.sun.com/software/sunray/patches.xml
Authentication Manager errors can be found in the following error logs:
The general format of the log messages is:
timestamp thread_name message_class message
Message components are defined as follows:
year.month.day hours:minutes:seconds
There are several different types of threads. The most common thread handles DTU authentication, access control, and session monitoring. These threads are named "worker" plus number. The Worker# thread names are reused when a connection terminates. Other threads are:
Messages with the same thread name are related. The exception occurs when a Worker# thread disconnects a DTU and then purges the connection information from memory. After a Worker# DESTROY message, the next use of that Worker# thread name has no relation to previous uses of the thread name (in other words, the thread names are reused).
In earlier releases than Sun Ray Server Software 3.1, the default behavior was to send a SOFT_RESET, as per the USB 1.0 Printing Specification, to printers connected to a Sun Ray DTU. Howerver, it was discovered in testing that certain printers do not respond correctly to a SOFT_RESET. In fact, in most cases, a SOFT_RESET is not necessary. Beginning with SRSS 3.1, therefore, SOFT_RESET is no longer sent by default.
Note - Unfortunately, it was not possible to test all printers. |
If a printer that worked in previous SRSS releases stops working, it may require a SOFT_RESET.
1. Create a file /etc/opt/SUNWut/printers.conf with the following entries:
where manufacturer-name and model-name are sys logged.
2. After the file is created, the printer daemon sends a 1.0 spec SOFT_RESET to the specified printer for the next print request.
Use the /opt/SUNWut/lib/utusbdevs utility to display information about the USB devices connected to a DTU.
a. To display all USB devices of all classes for the DTU whose terminal ID is specified, type:
b. To display all USB devices that are of class 7 and all subclasses of class 7 on all DTUs connected to the server or server group, type:
c. For detailed usage information, type:
The most common problems encountered with USB mass storage devices on Sun Ray DTUs are described in the following sections.
Some mass storage device types are not supported on Sun Ray. Inspect the log file /var/opt/SUNWut/log/utstoraged.log for an indication as to why device nodes were not created.
If the storage medium does not have a OS-recognizable filesystem, it will not get automatically mounted. An error message will be logged to: /var/opt/SUNWut/log/utmountd.log
If the device is unplugged, or if the user's session is disconnected from the DTU, all mount points for that DTU are automatically unmounted unless the user has open references to the mount point. In that case, the mount point becomes stale. A stale mount point persists until the administrator unmounts it manually or until the system is rebooted.
Run the following command to find stale mount points.
Note - Close all references to the mount point or terminate all processes that refer to the mount before running the umount command. |
Each time a user logs in to a Sun Ray DTU, a script automatically assigns the $AUDIODEV environment variable to that session. One utaudio(1)real-time process is assigned to each session. Refer to the audio(7i)man page for more information.
The emulated audio device follows the user session during hotdesking. The device name appears in the $AUDIODEV environment variable but is transparently interpreted by audio programs for Sun systems. Device nodes are created in the /tmp/SUNWut/dev/utaudio directory. The directory tree is completely recreated at boot time.
Caution - Do not remove the /tmp/SUNWut/dev/utaudiodirectory. Deleting this directory prevents existing users with utaudiosessions from using their audio pseudo device nodes. |
If your application uses /dev/audio, the Sun Ray server software reroutes the audio signal appropriately.
If audio features are malfunctioning:
1. To confirm whether audio is working, run the following command on the DTU:
3. Verify that audio output is selected properly, e.g., for headphones or speakers.
5. Verify that Mute is not selected.
Some applications are hard-coded to use /dev/audio for output. Sun Ray System Software provides a redirection library that you can use to correct this behavior.
1. Set the environment variable LD_PRELOAD to libc_ut.so in the shell or wrapper from which you started the audio player:
Some applications, such as intensive 3-D visual simulations, may run very slowly on Sun Ray. Other applications, such as pseudo-stereo viewers using double-buffering, or high-frequency dynamic color table flips on 8-bit visuals, do not produce the expected visual result.
You can usually improve performance by configuring /etc/system shared memory segment parameters. The exact settings depend on application demands and the number of Sun Ray users, but a convenient starting point is:
set shmsys:shminfo_shmmax = 0x2000000 set shmsys:shminfo_shmmni = 0x1000 set shmsys:shminfo_shmseg = 0x100 |
Due to the nature of the Xinerama (single virtual X display) mode of multihead, the system shared memory requirements may be even higher. To get reasonable performance, the shmsys:shminfo_shmmax parameter must be at least:
Placing the user's interactive applications, such as Netscape or StarOffice, or PC interoperability tools, such as Citrix or Tarantella, on the Sun Ray server usually helps performance by reducing network load. The applications benefit from faster transport of commands to the Sun Ray's X server.
Applications that can be configured to use shared memory instead of DGA or openGL usually perform better on Sun Ray when they used shared memory.
Sluggish Sun Ray server performance or excessive disk swapping is an indication that the Sun Ray server is under-provisioned. Under these circumstances, there is not enough virtual memory available to start an X Window server instance for a user's session.
The solution in this situation is to add more memory or increase the size of the swap partition. In other situations, network load or packet loss may be too high. In very rare cases, network cables or switch equipment may be defective.
1. To determine whether there is excessive swapping, use vmstat 5.
If there is excessive swapping, the system may be undersized or overutilized.
2. Verify that network connections are 100F.
3. Use utcapture to assess network latency and packet loss.
As latency and packet loss increase, performance suffers.
First, eliminate the most obvious possible causes:
If the Sun Ray DTU is unable to read DDC data from the monitor, then it defaults to 640 x 480 pixels.
2. Restart the Sun Ray DTU after powering the monitor on
4. Use the utresadm to set persistent display setting to override the default.
If the old icons appear on the display, either the DTU's firmware has not been upgraded or it is failing.
1. Upgrade the firmware to SRSS 3.1.1.
2. Follow the procedure to upgrade the firmware. See the Sun Ray Software 3.1.1 Installation and Configuration Guide.
You may need to use a dedicated private network.
If this message displays, use the following procedure to correct it:
1. Download the latest Java Communications API (javax.comm API version 2.0.2 and above)
2. Make sure that the supported USB-Serial Adapter is used.
The supported USB devices list is available at
http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/sunray/usb/
3. Click the Change Synchronization Settings icon and select the appropriate port (to which the Palm cradle should be connected), then click OK.
4. If the ports are not correctly shown in the Serial Port drop down menu, close the application and hot plug the device.
5. Start the application again.
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