Firefox Workstation Diagnostics

This document, a preliminary specification (Revision 0.1) from Digital Equipment Corporation dated December 23, 1987, outlines the diagnostic strategy for the Firefox Workstation.

The primary objective is to isolate hardware faults to a Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) with a high degree of accuracy (targeting 97% isolation). The strategy employs a three-tier approach to testing:

1. Power-Up Self-test (PST): A fast, EPROM-resident test run automatically on system power-up or by console command. It aims to quickly check all testable system functions, including M-bus and defined Q-bus options, to ensure the system can boot and to identify "stuck-at" faults.
2. System Test: A more comprehensive test that runs concurrently on modules (unlike the sequential PST) to detect intermittent faults, module interaction faults, and provide higher confidence in system functionality. It's initiated from the console and based on VAXELN.
3. System Utilities: Complementary tools (e.g., disk formatter, Ethernet loopback, graphics monitor patterns) stored in EPROM, designed to detect and isolate faults not easily captured by software tests, often requiring loopback connectors or visual checks.

These diagnostic tools are intended for end users, customer service engineers (CSSE), manufacturing, and design engineering, offering different levels of test coverage and capabilities across "customer," "field service," and "manufacturing" modes. Key goals include achieving high fault isolation percentages (e.g., 97% for combined tests in manufacturing/CSSE modes) and integrating with network management tools for configuration and status reporting. Nongoals include chip-level fault isolation and extensive fault-insertion evaluation.

The document emphasizes that the information is subject to change and should not be construed as a commitment to any specific product or program.