Do the following to ensure the most reliable trace outcome. (Failure to follow these prerequisites will lead to an inaccurate trace and further complicate troubleshooting procedures.)
A computer with
Wireshark
installed; click here to download this open source application.
A dedicated network hub and not a switch or router; this enables Wireshark to accurately monitor the communication between printer and host.
Connection topology illustration
Illustration Key
Dedicated network "
Hub
"
PC hosting "Wireshark
" application directly connected to hub
Printer
directly connected to hub
AS400
or mainframe; make sure to connect the hub to the some WAN/LAN connection where the AS400 server resides.
There is no need to disconnect the AS/400 from the network during this setup.
Preparation and validating communication
Preparation
Connect
the network
hub
to the
same network
as the
AS/400 server
.
Use an
Ethernet (UTP) cable
to
connect the printer
or
printers
that are to be tested to the
hub
.
The printer may be offline for a few minutes until it reconnects (re-routes) its network connection.
Use an
Ethernet (UTP) cable
to
connect
a Wireshark-equipped
computer (laptop)
to the
hub
.
Verify that
all devices
(hub, PC and printer) are powered
ON
.
Verify whether the
printer
has a valid
IP address
.
To locate the printer IP address:
Print the
Network Settings
page via
Menus
>
Reports
>
Network Setup Page
.
Or, view this value on the printer's dispaly via
Menus
>
Network/Ports
>
Standard Network
>
Std Network Setup
>
TCP/IP
.
Validating communication
Verify whether the
laptop can communicate with the printer
with
"NO" packet loss
; e.g., a ping test should verify communication.
To perform ping test, click
Start
>
Run
, enter
cmd
, press
Enter
or click
OK
.
Verify that the
AS/400 server can still print
to the printer by releasing a test job from the server.
If AS/400 is
unable to print
then the AS/400 operator will have to verify that the IP address on the
Device Description
is the same as the printer's IP address (as gathered in
Step 5
under
Preparation
above) and the
AS/400 operator
will have to edit the device description's IP address.
Explanation
The IP may have changed when printer was reattached to the network.
Trace Capture Steps
Log in to the AS400.
End the print writer to be used by typing "
ENDWTR Name_of_writer
".
Wait or refresh until the writer status is
END.
Launch Wireshark application.
Select the
Capture
menu and then
Options
.
In the
Capture Options dialog
:
Select interface as “
Local
”.
Select
Ethernet
as the port to monitor.
Place a checkmark next to "
Capture packet in promiscuous mode
".
In the
Capture Filter
entry field, specify the filter string
ip host (server) [host IP address]
and
printer IP address
. For example:
ip host 10.0.0.1
and
10.0.0.2
.
"Promiscuous Mode"
This mode will capture
ALL
network traffic regardless of intended target.
Click
Start
.
Start the writer by typing "
STRPRTWTR Name_of_writer
".
Wait (and refresh) until the writer status is
STR
.
Send job to the printer; check printer to see whether job has started printing.
Stop trace after job.
Monitor
Wireshark Capture Dialog to make sure packets are being captured.
Click
Stop
after the job has completed printing.
Click on
File
in menu bar, and then
Save As
to lauch save dialog.
Correct trace verification
A successful capture does not always indicate that the
correct
records have been captured. Thus,
verification
is necessary.
To verify:
Open trace in Wireshark.
Under
Filter
, input
tcp.port == 5001
, where
5001
is the port used for IPDS. Click here for illustration.
Use 9100 for non-IPDS jobs.
Click
Apply
.
Verify that there are packets recorded for
port 5001
(or 9100 and 9600 for non-IPDS).
If packets are available, check the packet
Source
and
Destination
to make sure that the
IP addresses
that appear are from the AS/400 and the printer.
For example, if the AS/400 IP is
157.184.116.27
and printer IP is
10.194.76.88
, then the packets captured should show
Source
and
Destination
info like this (for bi-directional communication between server and printer). Click here for an illustration.
If you do not see the IP address of the AS/400, check to see whether you can ping the IP address from the laptop or PC.
If not, then you may be tracking the wrong IP address for the host. Check with the customer's network admin.
Scroll to the end of the trace and see if the last packet is a
FIN
or
RST
, which signifies that job has completed. Click here for illustration.
If any of the verification steps fail, see section below.
Submit trace for escalation
Send the trace file to
TSC Level 3
who in turn sends it to PE.
Please send the trace with the following information:
Description of job that was performed when Tace A was captured.
Result of job that was performed when Tace A was captured.
Printer that AS/400 was printing to when Tace A was captured.
Example of
good submission
:
Trace1.pcap is the trace captured from a 20-page job sent to T654 that printed with missing bar code on page 3.
Trace2.pcap is the trace captured from the same job sent to T644 that printed correctly.”
Example of
better submission
:
“Captured the following traces of a 20-page job first sent to T654 and then to T644: T654_missing_barcode_pg3.pcap and T644_OK_barcode.pcap”
Both examples are good and acceptable. However, the second example is better because the filenames are descriptive enough to be easily understandable and unambiguous. That is, you know exactly which file is which after downloading from database or email.
Cannot get a good trace?
If you've performed the steps correctly but still fail verification (
Step 3
), repeat
Steps 1
and
2
to see if there are items that you missed.
Common culprits
Use of a network switch instead of hub
Use of an incorrect IP address for the AS400 server or printer
Starting the trace after the job has printed
Stopping the trace too early (while job is still printing)
If you are not able to capture the trace, please report the problem to PE with the following info:
Sample of trace that was captured so we can cross-verify.
Description of what job was performed when trace in #1 was captured.
Diagram or description of setup used during network trace capture
Description of problems encountered during network trace capture.
Description of any limitations or restrictions in customer's current network setup; e.g., customer does not want to detach printer from network, etc.
Hub Importance
You may need to set up port mirroring on the switch; otherwise, it may be necessary to use a simple hub to make the traffic reach the sniffing system. It should be noted that some devices advertised as hubs are in fact switches that use various filters or intelligence to prevent the workstations from seeing each other's packets; with this type of device, getting a good trace may not be possible.
LEGACY ID:
HO3616
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