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NI-4100 Slow on IR commands

atiofamericaatiofamerica Posts: 10
in AMX General Discussion
I am looking for an answer to a problem I am having with an NI-4100. We have had this job installed for about a year and a half everything has worked great. However on occasion the system will jam up and respond extremely slow on the IR commands. Some times it may take two minutes to give a command, then it will fire everything it has back logged in that time right in a row. Rebooting the processor does not make the problem go away, usually it returns to normal operation by the next day. Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do to figure this out?
Thanks,
Ben

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    jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    When the system is slow, I'd jump into telnet and check the CPU usage. I'd also open up diagnostics and see if there are any run-time errors occurring. I'd be quick to point to a programming problem, but you say a reboot does not fix it. What type of devices are you integrating with, particularly anything that could provide unsolicited RS-232 or IP feedback. You need to gather as much information as possible when it's getting slow. Otherwise you're going to chase your tail.

    I've been doing this for a little while now and I've never seen a system just 'go slow' on its own. I have seen a device's onboard memory start to get corrupted which caused some weird problems, but it was an Axlink IRS4 which was about 10+ years old.
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    John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,734
    If AXLINK commands are backing up in the buffers, look for an intermittent short on the AXLINK wiring. We have seen this behavior a number of times, and it is has been a bad AXLINK device, card, or wire each time, despite all assurances from the techs that such was impossible... keep looking. Several times, the dealer replaced the NetLinx, convinced it was internal... only to find the same result after replacement.
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    atiofamericaatiofamerica Posts: 10
    I have looked at the CPU usage while the problem is happening, it is only using around 30%. Do I look in the "internal diagnostics messages " for the run time errors? We are integrating with the following

    RS232
    -iPort iPod Dock
    -Marantz AM/FM/XM tuner
    -Auto Patch video switcher
    -Auto Patch audio switcher
    -Napco Gemini Security Panel
    -RadioRa Graphic EYE
    -PS Audio Power Controller 1
    -PS Audio Power Controller 2
    -B&K Surround Receiver

    IP
    -4 Proliphix thermostats


    We are also using the Duet weather

    Thanks for your help,
    Ben
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    jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Yeah - enable the netlinx internal diagnostic messages in NetLinx Studio.
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    John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,734
    From TELNET, use the command

    SHOW BUFFERS

    If anything is staying there but ZEROS, there are commands backing up. It's normal to see some numbers come and go, but if you see the same or a climbing number across many seconds or minutes, it means things are waiting to exit. Many of them prevent other things from happening while they wait.

    >Show buffers
    Show Buffers

    Thread TX RX Queued
    ---- ---- ----
    Axlink 0
    UDP 0 0-Sent=NO Waiting=NO
    IPCon Mgr 0

    Con Manager 0
    Interpreter 0
    Device Mgr 0
    Diag Mgr 0
    Msg Dispatc 0
    Cfg Mgr 0
    Route Mgr 0
    Notify Mgr 0
    Java Router 0
    ---- ---- ----
    Total 0 0 0 GrandTotal 0

    The AXLINK is the item you may see waiting. But it might be INTERPRETER, which means commands from the code are NOT being processed and are backing up. This can be due to code deadlocks or higher priority processes that are jammed, like a panel communication issue, about to go offline.
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    the8thstthe8thst Posts: 470
    What device starts responding slowly?

    Are you sure the IR is getting delayed within AMX and it is not a problem with the controlled device?

    I have seen DirecTV receivers with failing harddrives respond very sporadically to IR. The response time on a healthy DirecTV receiver fluctuates all over the map too.
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    atiofamericaatiofamerica Posts: 10
    Thanks to everyone for the help. I guess I will have to wait around until it breaks then check these things. It has the delay on all IR devices. Do you think one of the serial cards could be going bad?
    Thanks,
    Ben
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    Spire_JeffSpire_Jeff Posts: 1,917
    I have had this happen when a device is malfunctioning and generating a lot of excess traffic. If none of the other methods show you a reason for the slow down, enable notifications and turn on ALL notifications. Look to see if a specific device is generating more messages than you think warranted. Also, look for weird strings that seem meaningless.

    I have had both Pool Controllers and Security systems cause this problem.

    Jeff
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    atiofamericaatiofamerica Posts: 10
    Job Site Updat

    I finally made it back to the job site for some trouble shooting. I looked at the buffers, the Ax LINK buffers seem to climb/build rapidly then drop back to zero after a few minutes. It seems to me that when the buffers clear it can then fire the IR commands. I unhooked everything from the processor(Except the Ethernet), rebooted and the Ax Link buffers continued to do the same thing. Also, I powered off all Zigby devices, wireless TP's, and disconnected all IP control devices. I guess the only thing communication wise that I didn't turn off is the weather module. One more note is that it seems to happen in the evenings then everything works fine the next morning, all buffers at 0. Any ideas? I am on site today as well then I have to leave Sunday (Project is out of state) any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks
    Ben
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    John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,734
    If your 4100 has cards in the slots, remember that they are AXLINK too. A bad card or a poor connection can do this hang thing. REMOVE all the cards and live without them for a day and see if it clears the problem.
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    atiofamericaatiofamerica Posts: 10
    I removed the 232 card from the processor while I did the previous trouble shooting. Are the internal IR and serial ports considered AX Link?
    Thanks
    Ben
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    John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,734
    The totally internal IO parts are indeed also AXLINK, but jumpered to the processor board directly. If the problem is with them, you are out of luck, it's new processor time.

    At this point I would slip in another processor anyway to see if the problem changes. If not, it's something external. It's highly unlikely to be code...
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    wgeslerwgesler Posts: 1
    Solution Found

    The issue had to do with the latest firmware from AMX. The offending command was a basic IR setup command

    SEND_COMMAND DATA.DEVICE, "'SET IO LINK 0'"

    Even though this command set the IO link to the standard default and has been in working code for years, it now caused the system's AxLink queues to jam up and cause 2+ minute delays. This happened each time the system was rebooted.
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