ACS R8 PC Admin query.

[smith1660]

I have been getting this system ready to put into place for a friend.

Programing the system functions via station 10 is no problem - but I did find button programming had me making errors because of the slight differences between stations.

So I tried the PC Admin software on an XP PC and it worked very well for the button programming...for a while.

Then it just quit connecting anymore for no apparent reason.

The exact time that it quit was during the 'Retrieve System Information' function - it said there was an error, and from that minute on has refused to connect.

The connection was made via a USB to serial adapter using either COM 1 or 2 and worked instantly from the very 1st attempt, until it quit altogether.

Any idea of how to correct this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[zakabog]

If you use a terminal emulator like PuTTY does it allow you to open the COM port? It could just be an issue with the serial adapter or USB ports.

[smith1660]

Good question.

Thanks Zakabog.
I am headed there soon to get it installed and have it all packed for travel already - so that question will stand until I get back from the installation.

One thing I do have there is a spare PC old enough to have a DB9 serial port, so I will try it from that one as long as I have enough time, just for the sake of knowing...

[smith1660]

A mystery, still.

The system is in place and functioning acceptably - all except for the PC Admin.

It was attempted from a total of 5 different PCs, some with normal serial ports, some with the USB to serial adapters - many times - and the best it did was to connect briefly, then fail.

Part of what -may- be wrong is that I did make my own cable by using the info found at all the below articles as time & life did not allow me the luxury of buying a pre-made 355AF (due to a forced - sudden house move).

I am enclosing my collection of info here in case anyone wishes to clarify or correct or perhaps provide a better solution for a home-made adapter...

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Some cabling info here:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1344059

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(Next info is from:
http://www.iaug.org/p/fo/et/thread=18449)

RJ45 pin DB9 Female
1 9
2 1, 6, 8
3 4
4 5
5 2
6 3
7 no connection
8 no connection

I bought a serial cable already made up from Radio Shack.
I stripped back one end, matched the color wires to the pins using a continuity tester.
Then I soldered 1, 6 and 8 together and attached one wire to it.
Then I put a piece of heat shrink tubing over the end and crimped it to an RJ45.

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(Next info is from:
http://www.cabling-design.com/refere...-TIA-561.shtml)

Here a useful pinout for anyone who wants to connect their PC to devices such as key or PBX (Private Branch eXchange) phone system or other devices that have a serial port connected to a 8P8C jack. In fact, phone systems may have more than one port of this kind. For example, Avaya Partner ACS and Avaya Merlin Magix have two ports with this pin layout - the Admin port and the SMDR port.
Please note that there are several competing pinouts for this kind of connection. For example, Cisco console adapter has different pin layout even though it is also a DB9-to-8-pin connector device.

EIA/TIA-561 Pin Layout and RS-232 pin assignments:

RJ45 DB9 DB25 Signal Description
1 9 22 RI Ring Indicator
2 1 8 DCD Data Carrier Detect
3 4 20 DTR Data Terminal Ready
4 5 7 SG Signal Ground
5 2 3 RXD Received Data
6 3 2 TXD Transmitted Data
7 8 5 CTS Clear To Send
8 7 4 RTS Request To Send

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(From here=> http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=568649)

db9===========rj-45
PIN 1 ORANGE 2 CD
PIN 2 GREEN 5 RD
PIN 3 YELLOW 6 TD
PIN 4 BLACK 3 DTR
PIN 5 RED 4 SG
PIN 6 BROWN 7 DSR
PIN 7 WHITE 8 RTS
PIN 8 n/a CTS
PIN 9 BLUE 1

db9====rj-45
1 2-- Orange
2 5-- Green
3 6-- Yellow
4 3-- Black
5 4-- Red
6 ?(7?)
7 8-- White
8 7(?)-- Brown
9 1-- Blue

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More info here:

http://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28029728/How-to-program-Avaya-Partner-ACS-phone-system.html

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More cable info at these:

http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=6237

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1575198

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1350768

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Page 34 here has some info=>

http://downloads.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/100065043

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Ultimately what I did was to compare all the above for consistencies and used what was most consistent between all of them to connect a sliced off, nicely stranded CAT5 cable with a DB9 breakout adapter - and carefully verified correctnedd/connection via continuity.

As said above - it worked very well - for a while - and now it will not.

I suspect that the Admin port is what gave up, which means it may cast a shadow upon the ACS's main module and that perhaps it is time to seek a good deal on a spare.

Thanks for any further info !!