AIFS

Comms GUI User Guide

January 2000
Version 1.0

Comms GUI User Guide, version 1.0

Date of Issue: January 2000
Copyright: 2000 by Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced
by any means or in any form without the express permission of
the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology.
This documentation was prepared for Commonwealth Bureau of
Meteorology by:
Wordware Pty Ltd
1/321 Whitehorse Road
Nunawading VIC 3131

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................
Basic CMSS Concepts..........................................................................................................
Storing Data...............................................................................................................................8
Messages and Files.....................................................................................................................8
Addressing Scheme....................................................................................................................8
Priority Scheme..........................................................................................................................9
Message Switching.....................................................................................................................9

Getting Started...................................................................................................................
Starting the Comms GUI..........................................................................................................10
Understanding the Comms GUI................................................................................................10
Global buttons..................................................................................................................11

Communication Alarms.....................................................................................................
Viewing Alarms........................................................................................................................13
Responding to a Report Error Alarm........................................................................................14
Responding to a Line Outage Alarm.........................................................................................14
Clearing the Top Alarm............................................................................................................14

Messages..............................................................................................................................
Message Numbers....................................................................................................................16
Viewing Messages....................................................................................................................16
Message Information................................................................................................................16
Message Buttons......................................................................................................................18
Understanding SEND...............................................................................................................19
Correcting and Sending Messages............................................................................................19
Searching for Messages............................................................................................................19
Speeding up the search....................................................................................................20
Bulk Resend.............................................................................................................................20
Messages to the original destination (the client).............................................................20
Messages to the Decoders (and database).......................................................................21
Reports to any destination...............................................................................................21

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CMSS

Using the Comms Message Editor....................................................................................

Basic concepts of the Message Editor.......................................................................................22
Editing text...............................................................................................................................23
Number of columns..................................................................................................................25
Viewing Files............................................................................................................................25
Displaying WMO T4 charts.............................................................................................25

Circuit Control....................................................................................................................
Entering the Circuit Control Display........................................................................................27
Circuit Control GUI.................................................................................................................28
Top section (display and selection area)..........................................................................29
Second section (control buttons for all circuits)..............................................................30
Third section (information on the selected circuit)..........................................................30
Fourth section (control buttons for the selected circuit)..................................................31
Differences between the STOP and CLOSE commands....................................................31

System Status......................................................................................................................
Fax System (Hylafax).........................................................................................................
Overview..................................................................................................................................34
Entering the Fax Control Display.............................................................................................35
Fax Control GUI......................................................................................................................36
Modem display and use....................................................................................................36
Message queue display and use.......................................................................................37
Display and control of selected messages........................................................................38
Refreshing the GUI display..............................................................................................39
Fax related alarms....................................................................................................................40

Log File Displays.................................................................................................................

Displaying Log Records and messages.....................................................................................42

Printing Facilities................................................................................................................
Using the Print Button..............................................................................................................43
Changing the printer........................................................................................................43
Printer Address................................................................................................................43

Table GUIs...........................................................................................................................
Normal Mode...........................................................................................................................44

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Enter Query Mode....................................................................................................................45

Finding records................................................................................................................45
Adding New Records................................................................................................................45
Updating an Existing Record....................................................................................................46
Deleting Existing Records........................................................................................................46
Summary of Button Functions..................................................................................................46

Appendix A: Pulldown Menu Functions.........................................................................

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: Comms window when application first started.........................................................10
Figure 2: Comms message editor.............................................................................................22
Figure 3: Buttons for controlling a selected circuit (fourth section).........................................28
Figure 4: CMSS status GUI.....................................................................................................33
Figure 5: Hylafax system.........................................................................................................34
Figure 6: Fax Control GUI.......................................................................................................36
Table 1: Comms GUI global buttons........................................................................................11
Table 2: Alarm buttons............................................................................................................13
Table 3: Identification numbers prefixes..................................................................................16
Table 4: Message information sections....................................................................................17
Table 5: Message function buttons..........................................................................................18
Table 6: Effects of function keys on cursor movements...........................................................23
Table 7: How to edit text.........................................................................................................24
Table 8: Top section fields.......................................................................................................29
Table 9: Control buttons for all circuits (second section).........................................................30
Table 10: Text line descriptions (third section).........................................................................30
Table 11: Control buttons for selected circuit (fourth section)..................................................31
Table 12: Message queue information fields............................................................................37
Table 13: Message display and control buttons........................................................................39
Table 14: Oracle table GUI.......................................................................................................44
Table 15: Table GUI button functions......................................................................................46
Table 16: Pulldown menu functions.........................................................................................47

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CMSS

Introduction
The Comms Graphical User Interface (GUI) allows operators/users to control the
operations of the Communications system. In particular it allows users to:

correct faulty incoming messages

manually enter messages

read service messages from other AFTN and GTS centres

monitor and control the communications lines.

The GUI is a standard Motif application. Motif, a product of the Open Software
Foundation (OSF), is a graphical user interface built on X.

Note:

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CMSS will continue to operate even if no GUIs are running

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Basic CMSS Concepts

CMSS stands for Computer Message Switching System.
Its primary functions are:

Send and receive meteorological messages and files (for example, charts).

Produce bulletins (or collectives) of meteorological reports in accordance with

WMO/GTS rules.

Interface to message Decoders to allow data to be decoded, plotted, fed into

numerical models etc

Allow local messages to be manually entered

Storing Data
Every message that is received by CMSS is immediately stored in a large circular file
called MSGIN (short for Message In). Typically this file is large enough to contain the
last 1-7 days of data.
Similarly all sent messages are stored on a large circular file called MSGOUT (short
for Message Out).

Messages and Files

Two forms of data are processed in CMSS:

Messages, which are up to 15,000 characters long and typically in ASCII

Files, which are normally large graphic images for example, Postscript, Gif, T4
charts, however they can include ASCII text files.

Note:

One difference between how CMSS handles Messages and Files is that
most messages can be edited in the CMSS GUI, but files cannot be
edited

Addressing Scheme
CMSS uses a nine-character addressing scheme to determine where to send incoming
messages. That is, associated with every outgoing connection are one or more addresses
that must be 3 to 9 characters in length.
There are some restrictions and conventions with the first character of the address.
These are:

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CMSS

A = AFTN address. If an address is nine characters long and starts with an A then
it is assumed to be an AFTN address and is sent down the default AFTN output
line (with the leading A removed)

G = Group address.

X = By convention (but not mandatory) fax addresses start with X. If an address

starts with an X and is followed by 4 or more digits then the digits are assumed
to be the actual fax number.

Z = dummy address

Note:

Some addresses, like e-mail addresses, do not fit into 9 characters. For
these addresses the input conversion table and the output Client
Address table are used to convert between 9 characters CMSS
addresses and foreign addresses.

Priority Scheme
CMSS uses a four level priority scheme A, B, C and D.
A is the highest priority and D is the lowest. D is also the default.
When sending messages to the AFTN, CMSS converts its priorities to AFTN priorities
as follows:

A DD

B FF

C GG

D GG

Message Switching
Each incoming message is checked to determine where it is to be sent. Typically
messages are switched based on:

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International Header: TTAAII and CCCC

File Name

Station Number

Destination addresses defined in the incoming message (eg AFTN addresses)

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Getting Started
Starting the Comms GUI
To start the Comms GUI:
1.

Log on to the system.

2.

Go to the Application Manager window.

3.

Click the Comms icon.

The Comms window displays.

Understanding the Comms GUI

Figure 1: Comms window when application first started

The Communications (Comms) Graphical User Interface (GUI) is divided into five
sections:

The left side of the window displays global buttons that relate to key commands
(see Table 1).

The lower part of the window contains buttons relating to alarms, see
Communication Alarms.

The screen in the centre of the window varies, depending on the global button that
is activated.

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CMSS

The pulldown menus at the top of the window provide for lesser-used functions.

The buttons above the screen provide other Comms functions, see Viewing
Messages.

When you click on a button, the following may occur:

If you issued a significant command, a green pleaseconfirm message displays

in the middle of the window.

If you issued an invalid command, a red message displays in the middle of the
window.

If you click a button and there is no response, it may be that:

the command is already activated for example, if you click the STOP button
for a stopped circuit

the button is inactive (its colour is slightly shaded (greyed out) and does not
change appearance when clicked).

Global buttons
The left side of the window contains the global buttons. You can click these buttons at
any time to change the display in the window.
Table 1: Comms GUI global buttons
Button

What it does

MSGIN (Message in)

Displays the last message received. Thereafter,

use other buttons to display any recently received
message.

MSGOUT (Message out)

Displays the last message sent to any destination.

Thereafter, use other buttons to display any
recently sent message.

REPORTS

Displays the last report received. Thereafter, use

other buttons to display any recently received
report.

REJECT

Displays the most recently rejected message.

This button is optionally

displayed (it is a
configuration option)

An incoming message is normally rejected due to

serious header or trailer errors.

SERVICE

Displays the last incoming message that the

Comms operator is required to read.
A Service message is typically a notification about
a line or computer outage, or a request for missing
messages.

Prep Msgs

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Displays a list of Prepared Messages.

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Button

What it does
These are proformas that Comms operators use to
prepare their own messages.

LOG

Displays information about recent system activity,

including all communication alarms.

Decode LOG

Displays information about every incoming report

or message that the system has tried to decode.

ALARM FILE

Displays a list of the most recent communication

alarms.
The alarms marked with an asterisk (*) are those
that the operator has not yet cleared from the
bottom of the screen.

Dcd Alarms

Displays a list of recent reports and messages that

were not able to be decoded.
Reports and messages not decoded are typically
due to formatting or coding errors.
The alarms marked with an asterisk (*) are those
that the operator has not yet cleared from the
bottom of the screen.

JOURNAL
Bulk RESEND

Displays summary information about every

message sent out.
Allows messages that were previously sent to be
sent again to a given destination.
This is normally used if the destination has had a
computer failure and lost previously sent data.

CIRCUIT CONTROL

Allow monitoring of all incoming and outgoing

links.

FAX CONTROL

Allows monitoring of the fax delivery system.

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Communication Alarms
Comms alarms display at the bottom of the window and are used to inform the Comms
operator of an important event.
Depending on the system configuration, alarms from two alarm files may display:

Comms alarms
These alarms relate to the sending and receiving of messages. They include
warnings about link failures and corrupted messages received, such as messages
with header or trailer errors.

Decode (Dcd) alarms

These alarms relate to the decoding of incoming reports and messages. Most
reports received are coded according to various rules. Most decoding errors occur
in manually coded reports.

Each alarm is prefixed with a seven-character code, the last character being A, I, W or
E:
A - action (user action required)
I - information (no user action required)
W - warning
E - error.
Six buttons are used for alarms.
Table 2: Alarm buttons
Button

What it does

CLEAR

Clears the alarm at the top of the list

EXPLAIN

Displays a detailed explanation of the alarm

ALARM MSG

Displays the message for the alarm at the top of the list

PURGE

Clears all outstanding alarms

DECODE ALARMS

Displays decoding alarms

COMMS ALARMS

Displays communication alarms

Viewing Alarms
1.

To switch the messages displayed between the two alarm types, use the COMMS
ALARMS and DECODE ALARMS buttons on the bottom right-hand side of the
window.

Responding to a Report Error Alarm

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When there is an error in a report, the system displays an alarm in the red box at the
bottom of the window. An example of such an alarm is:
MMRC213ACMA01MSG3001198ERROR:UNEXPECTEDGROUPFOUND(331++)

To correct the error:

1.

Click the ALARM MSG button.

The report displays on the Editor screen with the 331++ group highlighted.

2.

Use the Editor to type the correct text for the message.

3.

Click the SEND button.

The message is decoded and stored in the database (if correct).

Note:

Click the EXPLAIN button for information about the alarm message.

Responding to a Line Outage Alarm

An example of the most common line outage alarm is:
TCP0361XXX01REFUSEDCONNECTION

This alarm indicates that a destination (XXX01) has refused an attempt to connect with
it. This alarm is repeated at 15-minute intervals until the problem is fixed.
To respond to a line outage alarm:
1.

Check that the line is operating correctly.

2.

Contact the remote site to find out if their computer is running and able to receive
calls.

3.

Click the CIRCUIT CONTROL button and watch the connection attempts (the
system retries every ten seconds).

Note:

Click the EXPLAIN button to obtain more information.

Clearing the Top Alarm

1.

After actioning the top alarm message, click the CLEAR button on the bottom left
of the screen to remove the alarm from the screen.

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Messages
An important concept in Comms is that of a message and a report.

A message is the unit of data that is sent and received by Comms and is always
surrounded by a communications header and trailer.
The traditional GTS message must be less than 15,000 characters. Normally
AFTN messages are less than 1,800 characters long.

A report is a single coded observation from a station.

Each message contains one or more reports.

For example, on the GTS, countries combine the reports from their stations into a single
message which they then send to other countries.
As a message travels through Comms it is stored in various files. These files are
normally viewed from the Comms GUI.
The files are:

MSGIN
Message in - used to store all incoming messages. Depending on how the system
is configured, this file normally contains at least the last 24 hours of messages.

REPORTS
Contains incoming reports as determined by the message recognition system. That
is, the Recogniser locates each report within a message and then stores them
individually on the REPORTS file.

REJECT
Contains all messages considered to be invalid by Comms (mainly due to errors in
header or trailer). This file is optional.

MSGOUT
Message out - used to store all messages sent out to each destination. Normally, a
message is added to MSGOUT immediately after it is sent.

SERVICE
Contains all service messages received. A service message is a message that needs
to be read by a Comms operator.

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Message Numbers
Each message in Comms is given a unique identification number. This number is often
used in alarm messages and trace logs.
The identification number consists of a file identifier plus a message number. For
example, if the message identification number in MSGIN is 1000222, then the message
number is 222.
The prefix to the identification numbers in each file is given in Table 3.
Table 3: Identification numbers prefixes
File

Prefix

MSGIN

1nnn

MSGOUT

2nnn

REPORTS

3nnn

REJECT

4nnn

SERVICE

5nnn

Viewing Messages
To view messages:
1.

Click the MSGIN, REPORTS, REJECT, MSGOUT or SERVICE button for

the file you require.
A new series of buttons display across the top of the window to allow functions
such as searching the file. A text area containing the message also displays.
Immediately above the text area, two lines of information about the message are
displayed. See Message Information.

You can edit the message, if required, unless it is a binary message or a graphics file.

Message Information
Two lines of message information are displayed immediately above the message text.
The format of these two lines is:
FILE#nnnnnpRCVDdate<JNL#nnnn>

search_info

FROMrrrccTOaddr..addr

status

The information contained in each part of these information lines is shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Message information sections
Information section
FILE

Description
The file in which the message is stored.

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CMSS

Information section

Description

nnnnn

The message number.

Message priority - A, B, C or D.

RCVD date

Receive date.

<JNL #nnnn>

Journal identifier (optional).

search_info

When Comms GUI is in message search mode,

information about the search is shown here.

rrrcc

Circuit from which the message was received.

addr

Destination address(es) for where the message is to be

sent.

status

Message status information. The status may be:

IGNORED
This message will not be processed, probably because its
incoming circuit is being ignored or because it is a
duplicate
REJECTED
The message will not be processed due to an error in it
DUPLICATE
The message is identical to an earlier message and so will
not be processed
REPORT
This is a report, not a complete message
PART OF SPILT MSG
Seen only on MSGOUT messages sent to AFTN. It means
that we had to split a long message into parts for the AFTN.

Message Buttons
The function of each message-related button, located across the top of the window, is
shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Message function buttons
Button
EARLIER

What it does
Display the message sent or received immediately
before the currently displayed one.
To display an earlier message on the file, enter the
number of messages earlier in the text field to the right of
the EARLIER button and press Enter.
For example, to display a message 100 earlier than the
current message, type 100 in the field and press Enter.

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Button
LATER

What it does
Display the message sent or received immediately after
the currently displayed one.
To display a later message on the file, enter the number
of messages later in the field to the right of the LATER
button and press Enter.
For example, to display a message 100 later than the
current message, type 100 in the field and press Enter.

TOGGLE

Toggle between the currently displayed message or

report and the original message that it came from.
Normally, this is used to look at the original message that
a report came from.

SEND

Send the message or report to the addresses displayed

on the screen above the message, and to the database,
if possible.
Normally, SEND is used to send a corrected message or
report to the database.

SEND ADDR

Send the message to the destination(s) that you have

entered.
The system also attempts to recognise the message and
store it in the database.

SEARCH

Use to find a specific message by entering various

search criteria.

SE EARLIER

Display the next earliest message that satisfies the

search criteria previously entered.
To display an earlier message on the file that satisfies the
search criteria, type the number of messages earlier in
the field to the right of the SE EARLIER button and press
Enter.

SE LATER

Display the next latest message that satisfies the search

criteria previously entered.
To display a later message on the file that satisfies the
search criteria, type the number of messages later in the
field to the right of the SE LATER button and press
Enter.

SUMMARY

Provide details of the message being displayed or

example, its length and what reports in it were
recognised.
This function is useful for fault diagnosis.

Understanding SEND
If you modify (edit) a message before you SEND it then the message will be re-decoded
and stored in the Database if required.

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CMSS

If however you do not modify the message then it will simply be sent to the customers
listed and no attempt will be made to recognise the contents of the message or send it to
the database.

Correcting and Sending Messages

If a report in an incoming message is found by the Recogniser/Decoder to contain an
error, an alarm is displayed.
To correct a coding error in a received message:
1.

Click the ALARM MSG button to display the message/report in error. Often, the
field in error is highlighted.

2.

Correct the error in the displayed message. See Using the Comms Message Editor.

3.

Click the SEND button.

The message/report is recognised and decoded if required. If the correction is
incorrect, a new alarm is raised.

4.

Click the CLEAR button to clear the alarm from the screen.

Searching for Messages

The search function allows you to display a particular message based on various search
criteria, such as station number or WMO TTAAII.
To conduct a search:
1.

Click the MSGIN, MSGOUT, REJECT, REPORT or SERVICE button to

display the required file.

2.

Click the SEARCH button.

3.

Enter one of more search criteria and press Enter or click the OK button.
A linear search is started on the file from the latest message.
As the search progresses, the display is updated to indicate the number of
messages checked and how far back in time.
The latest message that satisfies the criteria displays.

Note:

4.

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The search may take a long time depending on the size of the file. You
may terminate the search at any time by clicking the QUIT button that
displays when the search is started. To speed up the search, see
Speeding up the search.

If required, click the SEARCH EARLIER button to find the next earliest
message that satisfies these criteria.

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Speeding up the search

To speed up the search for old messages, use the RECEIVE TIME (less than) function.
This causes the search to start from the time specified.
You can also display more than one message at a time by using the DISPLAY nnn
MESSAGES function, where nnn is the number of messages to display.

Bulk Resend
Sometimes there is a need to resend a lot of messages. This occurs when a destination
computer fails and messages that were previously sent are lost.
For WMO/AFTN connections there are processes in place that enable such data to be
automatically resent. However, some places do not implement these processes. It is
therefore necessary to be able to resend a lot of messages from the Comms GUI.
A request to resend messages would come via a Service Message or a telephone call.
You can send:

messages to the original destination (the client)

messages to the Decoders (and database)

reports to any destination.

Messages to the original destination (the client)

To resend messages:
1.

Click the Bulk RESEND button.

A menu displays containing options for resending the messages.

2.

Type the required circuit in the CIRCUIT field.

3.

Enter either the range of message numbers in the SEQUENCE NUMBER

RANGE fields, or the time period when the messages were sent in the TIME
RANGE fields.

Messages to the Decoders (and database)

Due to a database problems you may need to restore data. To do so:
1.

Click the Bulk RESEND button.

A menu displays containing options for resending the messages.

2.

Enter the required circuit (normally DCD01).

3.

Enter the report type in the REPORT TYPE field.

4.

Enter the time period when the messages where sent in the TIME RANGE fields.

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Reports to any destination

To send reports to any destination:
1.

Click the Bulk RESEND button.

A menu displays containing options for resending the messages.

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2.

Enter a dummy circuit of RPT.

3.

Enter the report type in the REPORT TYPE field.

4.

Enter the time period when the messages where sent in the TIME RANGE fields.

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Using the Comms Message Editor

Comms uses a standard Motif Text Area to display and edit messages, as shown Figure
2.
Figure 2: Comms message editor

Only ASCII messages are editable. Graphics files or binary messages (GRIB/BUFR)
cannot be edited.
The editing functions include copying, deleting and moving characters, words or blocks
of text.

Basic concepts of the Message Editor

The Text Area is 80 columns wide and about 24 lines (rows) long.
If a message is more than 24 lines, a scroll bar automatically appears on the right-hand
side of the text area.
To use the scroll bar:
1.

Position the mouse pointer on the scroll bar.

2.

Hold the left mouse button down while dragging the pointer up to move backwards
through the message or down to move forwards through the message.

To edit text, the mouse pointer must be placed within the Text Area. When you move
the mouse pointer into the text area an insert cursor appears and starts blinking. The
insert cursor is sometimes called an I-beam and appears as a large I symbol. The insert
cursor is the position at which inserted characters are added.

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Moving the insert cursor

Initially, the insert cursor appears before the first character of the message. You can
move the insert cursor using the mouse pointer or the keyboard.
Using the mouse:
1.

Move the pointer to the required location.

2.

Click the left mouse button.

The insert cursor moves to the location of the pointer.

Using the keyboard:

A combination of keys such as CONTROL+HOME means press the CONTROL key
and, while keeping it pressed, press the HOME key and then immediately release both
keys.
Table 6: Effects of function keys on cursor movements
Keys

Moves the cursor...

up arrow

Up one line

down arrow

Down one line

left arrow

Left one character

right arrow

Right one character

CONTROL+right arrow

Right one word

CONTROL+left arrow

Left one word

HOME

Beginning of current line

CONTROL+HOME

Beginning of message

END

End of current line

CONTROL+END

End of message

PAGE UP

Up one page

PAGE DOWN

Down one page

Editing text
The Message Editor is always in Insert Mode. You can insert or delete text.
Inserting text
Make the required changes by typing into the text. The text is inserted at the insert
cursor location point.

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Deleting text
1.

To delete one character of text to the right of the insert cursor, press the DELETE
key.

2.

To delete one character of text to the left of the insert cursor, press the
BACKSPACE key.

3.

To delete all text from the insert cursor to the end of the line, press the
CONTROL+DELETE keys.

Advanced editing functions

You can use blocked text for editing messages as shown in Table 7.
Table 7: How to edit text
To...
Block some text

You ...

Position the insert cursor at the beginning of

the text to be blocked.

Click and hold down the left mouse button.

Drag the pointer to the end of the text to be

blocked.

Highlight the text block.

Press and hold down the SHIFT key.

Click and hold down the left mouse button.

Drag the pointer to the correct end of the

block.

Position the pointer over the word.

Quickly double-click the left mouse button.

Position the pointer over the line to be

blocked.

Quickly triple-click the left mouse button.

Block a message

Quickly quadruple-click the left mouse button.

Clear the blocked text

Click the left mouse button.

Delete the blocked text

Press DELETE.

Copy the blocked text

Position the pointer at the location to copy the

text.

Click the middle mouse button.

Type in the new text.

The block is automatically deleted.

The new text replaces the blocked text.

Change the size of the block

Block a word

Block a line

Replace the blocked text

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Number of columns
By default the Text Area is 80 columns wide. However some old systems like AFTN
require messages to be only 69 columns wide. You can change to a 69 column display
by choosing the < Columns: 6980> option on the <View> pulldown menu.
View >> Columns: 6980

Note:

If you attempt to type in more than 80 (or 69) characters in a line then
CMSS automatically word-wraps to a new line.

Viewing Files
Large graphics files may be received and switched by CMSS. An example of a graphics
file is a WMO T4 chart.
Some graphics files are automatically viewable in CMSS however for some files
(typically gif) it is necessary to press a button to view the file. The reason for this is
that it can take a lot of computer resources to make the file viewable so we only do this
when you explicitly wish to view the file.
When you first come attempt to display such a file, the following is displayed in the
Editor Window:
THIS MESSAGE (FILE) IS NOT VIEWABLE
You must then press the <View File> button under the <View> pulldown menu to
display the file.
View >> View File
Displaying WMO T4 charts
WMO T4 charts have a TTAAII and CCCC associated with them like any other GTS
product however these fields are not immediately visible when you display a T4 chart.
To determine these values you must press the <SUMMARY> button.

Note:

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WMO T4 charts (files) are switched on TTAAII and CCCC like any
GTS message. This differs from non-GTS files which are switched on
filename.

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Circuit Control
A circuit is an online connection on which messages are sent or received.
There are circuits to printers, the fax system (Hylafax), AFTN, and other national
meteorological centres.
The Circuit Control display is designed to control these circuits. Its functions include:

Displaying the number of messages queued to each output destination

Due to the relatively slow speed of most communication methods compared to
computers, there are often long queues to some destinations.

Deleting old or incorrect messages queued to a destination.

Useful if there is an extended outage on an international line.

Stopping transmission to a destination

Used if the destination asks for data to be held. For example, if their computer is
down.

Ignoring messages on an incoming circuit

Due to problems on a line, it is possible for all incoming data to be garbled for an
extended period. Until the line is fixed it is sometimes useful to ignore (discard)
data from this circuit.

Entering the Circuit Control Display

There are two ways to enter the Circuit Control display:
1.

Click the CIRCUIT CONTROL button on the left side of the Comms display.
This displays circuits alphabetically.
Or

2.

Enter the circuit name (three to five characters) that you want to display in the
field to the right of the CIRCUIT CONTROL button and press Enter.
This enters Circuit Control with the circuit you have chosen at the top of the
display.

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Circuit Control GUI

There are four parts to the Circuit Control display as shown in the diagram below:

The top section consists of about 20 lines of information, one for each connection.
Note: This display refreshes automatically every three seconds.

Below the top section are eight buttons (second section) that allow you to alter and
control the lines and connections displayed in the top section.

Below the second section is a window that contains information about the circuit
you have selected (third section).

In the lower part of the screen there are buttons that control the selected circuit
(fourth section).

Figure 3: Buttons for controlling a selected circuit (fourth section)

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Top section (display and selection area)

The top section contains one line of information for each circuit. Each line consists of
five fields as described in Table 8.
Table 8: Top section fields
Field

Description

SIDE

IN or OUT indicates whether the circuit is an input or output

circuit. Output circuits are always displayed before input circuits.

QUEUE

For output circuits, this shows the number of messages currently

queued for transmission.
An asterisk (*) indicates that a messages is currently being
transmitted.
A second asterisk (**) indicates that as well as sending a message,
a second message has been formatted and prepared for
transmission (done for performance reasons).

ROUTE

The five-character name used to identify a connection/circuit.

STATUS

Shows the circuit status. The status codes are:

ST - Stopped (output circuits only)
CL - Closed
DR - Draining (output circuits only)
IG - Ignored (input circuits only)
The default status (blank) indicates that the circuit is open and
started.

MESSAGE

Provides greater detail on the current connection status, including:

Connected - Successfully connected to the destination
Open. Call UP - Successfully connected to the destination
Open and Idle - No connection, attempts to make one when a
message is ready for transmission.

Selecting a circuit
To select a circuit:
1.

Type the circuit name in the field to the right of the CIRCUIT CONTROL
button.
Or
Click on the appropriate line in the top section of the display with the left mouse
button.
The selected line appears in reverse-video in the diagram above.

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Second section (control buttons for all circuits)

The eight buttons in this section perform the functions shown in Table 9.
Table 9: Control buttons for all circuits (second section)
Button

What it does

Up

Moves the display in the top section up one line.

Down

Moves the display in the top section down one line.

Page Up

Moves the display in the top section up by half a page.

Page Down

Moves the display in the top section down by half a page.

Start All

Sends a start command to every output circuit.

Stop All

Sends a stop command to every output circuit.

Open All

Sends an open command to every circuit.

Close All

Sends a close command to every circuit.

Third section (information on the selected circuit)

This is a five-line text window that displays information about the selected circuit. The
content of each line is described in Table 10.
Table 10: Text line descriptions (third section)
Line
Line 1

Description
Starts with a detailed description of the circuit.

For output circuits, the right-hand side contains a field with

the format Mnnnn, Dnnnn.

For input circuits the right-hand side contains a field with the
format Dnnnn.

The information in these fields give the process ID (PID) of the

driver process that is controlling the line, and the process that is
formatting the data for output lines.
Dnnnn = driver process identifier.
Mnnnn = msgprep process identifier.

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Line 2

For output lines, this contains information such as the AIFS

address and the destination machine name.

Line 3-5

For output lines, this contains the start of the message currently
being sent.

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Fourth section (control buttons for the selected circuit)

This section contains buttons that refer to the selected circuit only. Most of these
buttons are in pairs with only one being selectable (active) at a time.
Also included in this section is a field that allows you to alter the transmission sequence
number for the selected output circuit. To do this:
1.

Type the new sequence number in the nnn: field located between the DRAIN and
CLOSE buttons and press Enter.

The function of each button in the section is described in Table 11.

Table 11: Control buttons for selected circuit (fourth section)
Button

What it does

START

Allows messages to be sent (output circuit only).

STOP

Stops transmissions on the selected output circuit.

UNDRAIN

Resumes transmission on the selected circuit (opposite of

DRAIN).

DRAIN

Discards any new messages queued for transmission on the

selected circuit.

OPEN

Opposite of CLOSE. Attempts to reconnect the selected circuit

to the destination host.

CLOSE

Disconnects the selected circuit. Stops any messages from

being sent or received.

OUTQ
(Output Queue)

Displays details of the messages that are queued for

transmission.

CANCEL

Cancels the messages that are queued for transmission on the

selected circuit. That is, stop them from being sent.

Differences between the STOP and CLOSE commands

For output circuits both the STOP and the CLOSE commands stop messages from
being sent. The differences between these commands are:
CLOSE
The CLOSE command disconnects Comms from the line. This means that, depending
on the type of communications line, the destination computer will notice the effect of the
command. The CLOSE command takes effect immediately. If a message is currently
being sent, it is aborted immediately and the destination computer will probably notice
the truncated message. The CLOSE command is used less often than STOP.
Example:

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The CLOSE command is used if there is to be a local communications outage, such as

a LAN outage. By using the CLOSE (or CLOSE ALL) command, you can stop
alarms from being raised as Comms tries unsuccessfully to connect to the destination
during the outage.
The CLOSE command is also used in extreme cases where Comms is unable to
exchange messages with the destination but everything appears normal. Performing a
CLOSE and then an OPEN will cause the link to be re-initialised and may clear the
problem.
STOP
The STOP command stops data from being sent. As the line is not affected, the
destination will not notice the change. The STOP command only takes effect after the
current message is sent, so the destination will not see a truncated message or a jump in
sequence numbers.
Example:
The STOP command is often used when the destination is going to have a computer
outage and requests that all data be held until further notice.

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System Status
There is a display that allows you to quickly check CMSSs health. It is started by
choosing the <System Status> option on the Miscellaneous (<Misc>) pulldown on the
CMSS GUI.
Amongst other things, this display shows the number of messages processed and the
health of key processes.
These key processes are displayed in green, amber or red depending on how quickly
messages are being processed.
For Message Analysis (msganal) the display is red if data is waiting but nothing has
been processed for 2 seconds.
For the Recognizer (recogn) the display is amber (caution) if data is being delayed for
more than 5 seconds or if the number of messages waiting exceeds 100. The display is
red if messages are delayed for more than 30 seconds.
For Message Switching (msgswtch) the display is also amber if the delay exceeds 5
seconds or 100 messages and the display is red if the delay exceeds 30 seconds.
Figure 4: CMSS status GUI

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Fax System (Hylafax)

Overview
The following diagram shows the components of the fax system and how they are
connected.
Figure 5: Hylafax system

The following points summarises the operation of the fax system:

A separate fax software product called Hylafax is used to send faxes.

Comms passes the message and the destination telephone number to Hylafax via
the FAX01 circuit.

Fax addresses always start with an X. If the X is followed by a string of numbers

they are assumed to be the real fax number. Alternatively the X address may
indicate the name of the company, in which case a lookup table is used to find the
fax telephone number.
Use the Fax Tables option in the Tables pulldown menu to display the relationship
between addresses, telephone numbers and companies.

To see the status of the Hylafax system, click the FAX CONTROL button. In
particular, it shows:

all the Fax modems and their status

what messages are queued for transmission.

This display also allows you to cancel queued messages or to change their priority.

If Hylafax is unable to send a message to a particular fax number, it retries at set

intervals.
After a set number of retries it gives up and an alarm is raised on the Comms GUI.

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It is the responsibility of the Comms operator to resend the message. The most
likely action is to contact the receiver by phone to check that their fax machine is
working.
For most errors, Hylafax retries at two-minute intervals for a maximum of five
attempts before giving up and raising an operator alarm.

Fax messages are not journalled until they are successfully sent.
Fax messages are stored on MSGOUT as soon as they are passed to Hylafax, not
when they are successfully sent by Hylafax. Therefore, check the Journal to
confirm that faxes have been sent.

Log messages are generated whenever a fax attempt succeeds or fails.

Hylafax uses an internal fax number or ID to define a message sent to a specific

destination.

Hylafax always sends the next fax on the free modem with the lowest number. For
example, modem fax01 is used more than modem fax12.
This is very important when dealing with faulty modems. For example, if fax01 is
faulty, Hylafax may keep trying to use it and so seriously disrupt all fax
transmissions.

Entering the Fax Control Display

1.

Click the FAX CONTROL button on the left side of the Comms display.

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Fax Control GUI

Figure 6: Fax Control GUI

By default the fax GUI updates (refreshes) every 10 seconds.

The fax GUI is divided into three sections:

modem display, see Modem display and use

message queue display, see Message queue display and use

display and control of selected messages, see Display and control of selected
messages.

Modem display and use

Displays the status of all fax modems in use by Comms. These modems should be
consecutively named fax01, fax02, fax03 etc.

Note:

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If the modem names are not consecutive, contact the Computing

Manager to rectify the problem.

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The modem status should be one of the following:

Running and idle

The modem is available to send a fax.

Sending job nn.

The modem is currently sending a fax, where nn is the Hylafax identifier for the
message being sent.

Initialising server
The modem is initialising (occurs before each message is sent) .

Waiting for modem to come ready.

Similar to Initialising server.

Disabling a modem

Note:

Comms GUI does not currently allow you the disable faulty modems.
If you need to disable a modem, contact the Computing Manager.

Reasons for disabling a modem are:

the modem is faulty.

the LAN terminal server connected to the modem is faulty

the telecom line connected to the modem has failed.

Message queue display and use

This area displays the status of each message queued to be sent in transmission order.
The information displayed includes the fields described in the following table.
Table 12: Message queue information fields
Field

Description

FAXID

Internal Hylafax transmission number.

MSGNUM - AIFS

Comms message number, normally the same number as in

MSGIN.

IDENT - AIFS

Comms product identifier, normally five digits.

ADDRESS

Destination of the fax.

PRTY

Priority A, B, C or D.

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Field

Description

DIALS

Number of dial attempts so far, and the maximum number of

dial attempts allowed.

TTS

Time to send, this field is only used when an attempt to send

a message fails.
After a failure, the next attempt to send the message occurs
after a certain delay (as set in the system configuration).
The TTS field defines the earliest time at which the next
attempt is made.

STATUS

The most common statuses are:

Queued and waiting
The message will be sent when a modem becomes free.
Being processed
An attempt is underway to send the message.
Busy signal detected
The attempted send for the message failed because the
remote fax machine was busy. Another attempt will be made
to send at the time shown in the TTS field.
No carrier detected
The most probable cause is that the receiver is not a fax
machine.
No answer (T.30 T..)
The most probable cause is that the receiver is not a fax
machine.
Blocked by concur...
This occurs when multiple messages are queued to the same
destination. This message will not be sent until the other
message going to the same destination is sent (at the time
specified in the TTS field).
This is designed to stop the system from tying up all the fax
modems to a destination that is believed to be unavailable
for example, busy with another call.

Display and control of selected messages

You can select and display a queued message. When selected, you can perform a
number of actions on it by clicking the appropriate button below the display.
To select a message:
1.

Place the mouse pointer over the required message in the message queue display
area.

2.

Click the left mouse button.

The message text displays in the Selected Message window.

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3.

Perform the appropriate action using the buttons below the display.

The function of each button is described in Table 13.

Table 13: Message display and control buttons
Button

What it does

CANCEL

Deletes the message from the transmission queue. That is,

no more attempts will be made to send it.

SEND NOW

Forces the message to be sent as soon as possible that is,

it jumps all other messages on the queue.

[A] [B] [C] [D]

Adjusts the priority of the message (and its place in the queue)
according to which button is clicked.

CLIENT INFO

Displays information about the client/company being called. It

includes the telephone number of the remote fax machine, the
company name, and a contact number.

FAX INFO

Displays raw Hylafax information about the status of the

message. Most of this information is not relevant to users
except for:
ndials - the number of times the destination has been called
so far
maxdials - the maximum number of times the destination is
called before Hylafax gives up and raises an alarm.

Refreshing the GUI display

By default, the GUI display is refreshed every ten seconds. When a refresh occurs, the
data is updated and all displays are reset. That is, the display in each window is set to
the top of the list.
If you have scrolled down a list, it may be inconvenient, if without warning the display
switches to the top of the list.
The REFRESH button works as a toggle to turn the automatic refreshing on and off.
If you want to stop or start the automatic refresh:
1.

Click the REFRESH button.

The automatic refresh is on when the square on the REFRESH button is recessed.

Fax related alarms

If one of the Hylafax central controlling processes, faxq or hfaxd, is not running, no
fax will be sent. If this happens, a red message similar to the following displays near
the top of the GUI.
"faxq"NOTRUNNING!!
"hfaxd"NOTRUNNING!!

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Contact the Computing Manager immediately.

The most common fax related alarm messages are described below.

CFN008IFAXmsgnumSENDTOdestination[ID=nn]FAILED
(failed)NOMORERETRIES

This alarm occurs when Hylafax has stopped trying to send the message to the
destination. This normally occurs because five attempts have been made to contact
the destination and they have all failed.
It is the Comms operators responsibility to resolve the problem.
a. The most likely action is to contact the customer, ask them to check their fax
machine, and resend the message to them using the RESEND button.
b. If you click the ALARM MSG button while this alarm is shown, the message
text and details about the customer displays.
c. You can determine the exact cause of the failure by checking the LOG for
messages. For example:
FROMFAXXFERLOG[ID=nn][LINE=fax02][REASON="Busy
signaldetected"]

FAX006AfaxnnUNABLETOCONNECTTOLANPORT
(terminalserver/port)

This alarm indicates that Hylafax is unable to connect to a fax modem on the
LAN.
This may be a serious LAN error.
a. Contact the Computing Manager immediately.

CFN012ASERIOUSERRORNODIALTONEONFAXLINEfaxnn

This is a very serious error. It indicates that the local telephone line may be faulty.
a. Contact the Computing Manager immediately.
Hylafax will continue to use this modem for other fax transmissions which will
also fail.

WAT101AWARNING:FAXPROCESSprocess_idNOTRUNNING

This alarm is generated by the Watchdog process.

It indicates that part of the Hylafax system is not running, and consequently faxes
are not being sent.
a. Contact a Communications Programmer or the Computing Manager
immediately.

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Log File Displays

Each of the LOG, Decode LOG, ALARM FILE, Dcd Alarms, and JOURNAL
buttons displayed on the left side of the Comms GUI display the relevant file of the
same name.
For a description of the type of information displayed for each button, see Table 1:
Comms GUI global buttons.
Each of these files is circular in nature, That is, each new entry overwrites (replaces)
the oldest in the file. If you page up or page down (PgUp or PgDn) through these files,
eventually you will get back to where you started from.
The information displayed for each file is in two parts:
1.

2.

The top section displays:

about 20 entries from the file starting with the latest

all the entries start with a time stamp

a row of dashes ( - - - ) is used to separate the latest record from the oldest.

The bottom section contains a series of buttons that:

allow you to navigate in the file

change the records displayed in the top section.

Displaying Log Records and messages

You can extract or search for records in any of the log files.
To extract records:
1.

Click on the EXTRACT button.

This allows multiple records to be found and displayed simultaneously. It also
allows you to display the messages that the records refer to.

To search for records:

1.

Type the required search string in the Enter search text field.

2.

Press Enter on the keyboard

Or
Click on the Search Up or Search Down buttons.
This displays the next matching record on the bottom line of the top section.

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Printing Facilities
There are two methods for printing to a LAN printer from the Comms GUI:
1.

Use the Print button on the Comms GUI.

2.

Resend a message to a Comms address that has been pre-defined to map to a LAN
printer.

Using the Print Button

1.

Select Print from the File menu on the Comms GUI.

This option allows you to print the Log, Journal, or Alarm page currently displayed, or
to print the currently displayed message.
Some of the displays, such as Circuit Control, cannot be printed.
By default the Print option prints to the default printer as defined by the server.
Changing the printer
You may change the default printer that your Comms GUI uses by:

setting the Unix environment variable $CMSS_PRINTER.

or

typing the name of the printer you want in the Printer Name field on the dialog
box that displays when you select the Print option.

Note:

Any printer name that you use must already be defined on the Unix
Server.

Printer Address
In most systems, one or more AIFS addresses (2-9 characters long) are used to send
messages to a printer. Normally, this facility automatically sends selected messages to a
local printer. However, Comms GUI allows you to use this facility to resend (using the
RESEND button) a message to a printer.

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Table GUIs
Comms GUI interfaces to many of the database tables that control Comms. These
Table GUIs all run as separate applications to the main Comms GUI. This means that
each of the Table GUIs can be operated separately from the Comms GUI.
One obvious difference between the Tables GUIs and the normal Comms GUI is their
look. The Tables GUIs were developed using an Oracle product designed to build
database table interfaces.
Table 14: Oracle table GUI

The Tables GUIs have two distinct modes, Normal and Enter Query. They are
always started in Normal Mode. It is important to understand the difference and to
know which mode the GUI is in at any given time. The mode affects the way the GUI
behaves and what actions the buttons perform.

Normal Mode
Normal mode is used to insert new records into the table or to delete or copy existing
records.
The Table GUI is in Normal mode if the Enter A Query, Copy, Insert, Delete, Save
and Arrow buttons are enabled.

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Enter Query Mode

Enter Query Mode is used to find (select) existing records from the table.
To enter Enter Query Mode:
1.

Click the Enter A Query button.

The following occurs:

a. The Enter A Query button label changes to Run The Query.
b. The Copy, Insert, Delete, Save and Arrow buttons are disabled.
c. The message ENTERQUERY displays on the console at the bottom of the GUI
display.
d. All fields on the GUI are cleared and change to a light blue colour.
Finding records
To find existing records in a table do the following:
1.

Click the Enter A Query button.

2.

Type the details of the records to be found in the various fields.

Note: % is a wildcard character. For example X% will match any field
starting with X.

3.

Click the Run The Query button.

The first record that satisfies the criteria displays.

4.

Use the arrow buttons to display other found records that satisfy the criteria.

Adding New Records

1.

Ensure you are in Normal Mode.

2.

Click the Clear or Insert button if there is data in the fields (as a result of a
previous query).

3.

Enter the new information.

4.

Click the Save button.

Alternatively you can create a new record by copying an existing one and changing it.
To do this:

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1.

Display the record you want to copy.

2.

Click the Copy button

3.

Update the copied record.

4.

Click the Save button.

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Updating an Existing Record

To update an existing record:
1.

Display the record you want to update.

2.

Update the record as appropriate.

3.

Click the Save button.

Deleting Existing Records

To delete an existing record:
1.

Display the record you want to delete.

2.

Click the Delete button.

3.

Click the Save button.

Summary of Button Functions

Table 15: Table GUI button functions
Button

What it does

Enter A Query

Clears the screen and changes the system to Enter Query

Mode.

Run The Query

Performs the query and returns to Normal Mode.

Insert

Creates an empty record for data to be typed into.

Copy

Copies an existing record.

Save

Saves all changes to the database.

List Values

In some fields, this button is highlighted. If it is

highlighted, it displays a list of valid values for the field.

Restore

Undo all pending changes and revert to the last query.

Clear

Undo all pending changes and leave the form blank.

Exit

Close the Table GUI.

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Appendix A: Pulldown Menu Functions

Across the top of the screen are a series of pulldown menus that allow access to buttons
that operate less used facilities. The Computing Manager is the main user of the menu
functions. These functions are described in Table 16.
Table 16: Pulldown menu functions
Menu title
File

Options
Print
Exit

Description
Print the currently displayed message or
Log page.
Exit the Comms GUI.

Admin

Add Line

Contains system administration facilities.

Delete Line
Line Loading Statistics
Update Control Tables
Quiet the Watchdog
Tables

GTS Bulletin Switching

Fax Quick Lookup

Gives access to the various database

tables that control much of the operation
of Comms.

Fax Addresses
File Switching
Misc

Stop Decoders

Miscellaneous tasks

Start Decoders
Quiet the Watchdog
Raw Journal
View

View File

By default some graphics files are not

viewable in MSGIN. This is because of
the amount of processing required to
convert them into a format that Comms
GUI can use. If you are looking at a file
in MSGIN that is not viewable, then
select View File and wait while the file is
converted.

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