Unix Client Ixia Chassis Windows Host

Appendix D: IxTclServer D

IxTclServer is an IxOS software module that runs as an intermediate process to support Ixia Tcl applications running on Unix/Linux clients. If you are running Ixia Tcl applications on a Unix/Linux host, those applications must be able to access IxTclServer.

IxTclServer can run either on an intermediate Windows PC located between the Unix/Linux system and the Ixia chassis (Figure D-1), or on an Ixia chassis (Figure D-2). Running IxTclServer on an intermediate system has the advantage of relieving the chassis of some of the processing load, allowing it to run faster.

Figure D-1. IxTclServer on an Independent Windows Host

TclServer Tcl script

TclHAL Network Interface

Network Network

IxServer

Ixia Chassis Windows Host Unix Client

IxOS Tcl Development Guide D-1 D Installing and Starting IxTclServer

Figure D-2. IxTclServer on an Ixia Chassis

TclServer Tcl script

TclHAL Network Interface

Network

IxServer

Ixia Chassis Unix Client

Note. It is not recommended that the IxTclServer be run on a chassis.

Installing and Starting IxTclServer

IxTclServer is included with the IxOS distribution packages, and is installed on an Ixia chassis or Windows host by the standard Ixia installers. See the Ixia Get- ting Started Guide for a further discussion. When installed on a chassis, IxTclServer is selected by default. When installed on an intermediate Windows host, it is listed among the optional components.

When IxTclServer is installed, it is automatically included in the All Users Star- tup group so that it starts automatically when any user logs in. If you need to start IxTclServer manually, you can use the icon placed on the desktop by the installer (Figure D-3).

Figure D-3. IxTclServer icon

Note. Sometimes ixTclInterpreter.exe appears in the process list as IxTCLI~1.EXE.

D-2 IxOS Tcl Development Guide Using IxTclServer

Using IxTclServer

Normally, IxTclServer requires no user interaction. In day-to-day usage, you can minimize it to reduce the number of windows on the Windows desktop.

Several options, however, are available for troubleshooting. The initial IxT- clServer window, before any clients have connected to it, is shown in Figure D-4.

Figure D-4. Initial IxTclServer Window

The lines in the main window indicate that the server is ‘listening’ for connections from clients on two ports: • Port 4555–this is the default port used to listen for connections from IxOS Tcl clients running on Unix/Linux. All standard connections will be visible in the tree beneath this node. • Port 4500–this port is used internally by several Ixia products for rapid file transfer.

When a client connects to IxTclServer, the tree displays the information about the connection (Figure D-5).

Figure D-5. IxTclServer with Connection

IxOS Tcl Development Guide D-3 D Using IxTclServer

The menus available in this window are: Table D-1. IxTclServer Menus Menu Usage

File Contains one option: ‘Exit’, which enables you to shut down IxTclServer.

IxTclServer Allows for the creation of additional ports on which IxTclServer will listen for connections. See Configuring Ports and Connections on page D-6 for more information

Tcl Interpreter The Show option opens a separate window which displays the commands that are sent through IxTclServer as well as the results received from the chassis. The contents of this screen are controlled by the Tools | Options menu. This menu option is only active when a IxTclServer connection is selected. The same window can be opened by right-clicking on a connection and choosing Show.

Tools Contains a single Options dialog, discussed in Configuring Ports and Connections on page D-6.

Help Contains a single choice: ‘About IxTclServer...’, which displays IxTclServer’s version.

IxTclServer Options To configure IxTclServer’s options, select Tools | Options from the IxTclServer menu bar. The IxTclServer Options dialog (Figure D-6) is displayed. Table D-1 describes the options.

Figure D-6. IxTclServer Options

D-4 IxOS Tcl Development Guide Using IxTclServer

Table D-2. IxTclServer Options Option Description

Output Options

Output Tcl The last Tcl command executed for a IxTclServer commands in connection is shown in the tree view. For example, in treeview Figure D-5 on page D-3 the phrase: Tcl Interpreter last cmd: session logout.

Output Tcl If a Tcl Interpreter window has been opened with the Tcl commands in Interpreter | Show menu choice, then this option indicates TclInterpreter that Tcl commands passed through IxTclServer should be window displayed in this window.

Return Tcl See Configuring Ports and Connections on page D-6 for a command description of this option. standard output

Logging Options

Log Tcl commands If selected, then a log file is created in the Ixia installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\Ixia). Each connection creates a separate log file whose name includes the year, month, day and seconds since midnight.

Log Tcl command If selected, return values from the Tcl commands are return values included in the log.

Note: If either of the Logging Options is enabled, additional CPU time is consumed creating and saving the logged data. This will slow down the execution of your test. A warning is added to the IxTclServer window when one of these options is turned on, as shown in Figure D-7.

Figure D-7. IxTclServer Window with Logging Enabled warning

IxOS Tcl Development Guide D-5 D Using IxTclServer

Configuring Ports The IxTclServer menu enables you to configure the ports that IxTclServer uses and Connections and delete connections that have been established. Table D-3 describes the con- trols on this menu.

Table D-3. IxTclServer Menu Commands Option Description

Add Socket Listener... IxTclServer’s socket interface can ‘listen’ to ports other than the default port 4555. This option adds another listener at another port.

Add Serial Listener... IxTclServer can also listen on one of the host’s communications ports. The options associated with this type of connection are shown in Figure D-8 on page D-6. The port should be one of the available ports: COM1, COM2, etc. that is not in use by another application. Specify the port as COMx where x is the port number.

Add Telnet Listener... IxTclServer can also listen on a port using the Telnet protocol. A dialog allows the port to be selected.

Delete This option deletes the currently selected connection in the main window and all associated Tcl Interpreters shown a child nodes

Figure D-8. Serial Port Characteristics

The serial connection and telnet connections are different from the socket listener connection in that they ‘speak’ Tcl. That is, an external program of any type may make a serial or telnet connection to IxTclServer and send it Ixia Tcl commands which will be executed on the Ixia chassis. The results of the commands’ execution are sent back to the external program. If the Return Tcl command standard output option was checked in the Tools | Options dialog, then any output that the command produced would also be sent to the external program.

D-6 IxOS Tcl Development Guide