Cisco Headend System Release 2.5 Guía Del Usuario
749640 Rev D
Troubleshoot the EAS With the getEASdata Utility
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Chapter 12
Troubleshoot the EAS With the getEASdata Utility
Overview
Introduction
The Federal Communications Commission established the Emergency Alert System
(EAS) in 1994 as a tool for government officials to quickly transmit important
emergency information that is targeted to specific geographical areas. Digital cable
system operators need a reliable EAS at their headend to ensure that their
subscribers receive national, state, and local warning messages about emergency
conditions.
To ensure the reliability of a system operator’s EAS, Cisco engineers developed the
To ensure the reliability of a system operator’s EAS, Cisco engineers developed the
getEASdata utility. The utility helps system operators troubleshoot their EAS by
reporting EAS-related errors and retrieving data associated with system components
that pertain to the EAS. The following list includes some of the EAS-related data
retrieved by the getEASdata utility:
•
•
Emergency Alert Controller (EAC) network configuration
•
Emergency Alert Receiver (EAR) and Multi-Media Message (MMM) Server
processes
Note: The EAR server monitors and receives EAS-related messages and then
Note: The EAR server monitors and receives EAS-related messages and then
passes the messages to the MMM server for formatting and processing.
•
Files in the /export/home/easftp directory
•
Files converted to audio interchange file format (AIFF) and loaded onto the
broadcast file server (BFS) carousel
Note: Files in AIFF are high-quality sound files
Note: Files in AIFF are high-quality sound files
•
Configuration data in the orbix.hosts file
•
Timing data comparing when the EAS message was transmitted by the EAC and
received by the DNCS or the Application Server
•
The Value Added Service Provider (VASP) entry for the MMM Server process
When to Use the getEASdata Utility
The getEASdata utility is a troubleshooting tool. Use the getEASdata utility if you
discover that EAS messages are not displaying on test DHCTs in the headend within
5 minutes of transmitting that EAS message.
Note: Refer to Before Running the getEASdata Utility, next in this chapter, for
Note: Refer to Before Running the getEASdata Utility, next in this chapter, for
additional system requirements that must be true for the getEASdata utility to be
useful.
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