Release Notes for EP100TX NDIS 2 MAC Driver V2.00 for DOS, WFW, OS/2 and Win95
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New features in V2.00
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- The driver now supports Win95 as well. It was last tested on Beta build 426.
- The driver now supports IBM Lan Server versions 3.0 and 4.0 . An automatic
installation file is included in the driver kit.
- The driver was successfully tested on IBM OS/2 V3.0 (WARP).
- The release kit format was changed to accommodate the additional operating
systems.
- The driver's INIT code was restructured. This fact will not be visible
to users. A PCI sanity routine was added to the driver, checking sanity of
the machine's PCI subsystem.
- For the DECchip 21140 an autosensing mechanism was added. It senses, during
driver initialization, the data rate in which the network is operating -
10Mb or 100Mb .
- A keyword was added to the PROTOCOL.INI selection of keywords, controlling
the transmit threshold of the device. The keyword, "TX_THRESHOLD" , may
improve performance especially in the 100Mb networks. In some cases, however,
too small a threshold may cause a large loss of packets which could bring
down the network connection.
- The previous release had a problem which made it impossible to use two
EP100TX adapters on the same system. The problem was fixed in V2.00 .
Testing performed prior to release
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All testing described below was carried out on combinations of the
following parameters:
- Devices: DECchips 21140.
- Different implementations (boards) of the devices named above, with
various SROM programming.
- Network data rate: 10Mb or 100Mb.
- Local bus: PCI.
- Operating systems: DOS, WFW31, WFW311, OS/2 2.x, OS/2 3.0, Win95.
- Networking OS: Lan Manager(client, server), Lan Server(requester, server),
Windows and Win95 native networking components. All these components
have several different versions.
- Various network setups: Upper protocols (e.g. TCP/IP, NetBEUI), internal
parameters (protocol buffer size, network orientation - connection or
connectionless, and more).
- Various device parameters: Num of buffers, thresholds.
- Serial connections and variations: Tp, Tp full duplex, AUI, BNC.
- Machine-specific parameters: CPU speed, PCI bridge implementations, BIOS
and PCI BIOS implementations, memory, multiple NICs.
NDIS2 conformance:
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MTTOOL conformance test was run on the DOS driver in many different
combinations. All tests were point-to-point configurations using
the in 10Mb or 100Mb playing with driver's parameters (threshold, num
of buffers), doing the testing on different machines (with varying CPU
speed and PCI implementation).
Testing was smooth besides:
1. Several tests failed in 100Mb mode due to the high data transfer
rate. We consulted Microsoft on the matter and were granted a waiver.
Setups:
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We tried different setups, parameter combinations, etc. Among these:
- Multiple NICs setups: Two NICs of ours - using the same or different
devices, one of ours and other vendor's NIC. These were tried on
LanServer 3.0, 4.0, WFW 3.1 and 3.11 .
Both automatic installation and manual installation were tried.
- PROTOCOL.INI parameter variations: Num of rcv/tx buffers, Tx threshold,
SW CRC, and more.
- SROM parameter variations: Changing version num, changing default media,
using legacy format boards, coexistence with PROTOCOL.INI values.
- Serial-connection variations: FD/not FD, TP/AUI/BNC.
Using hard-coded values or autodetected values.
- Autodetection/autosensing variations: Trying the different devices,
trying several run-time scenarios, trying strange cases (i.e. -
connecting the cable after initialization, pulling it out in the
middle of transactions, sticking two cables in the same time, ...) .
All this in different machines and OS/NOS combinations.
- Removal and reinstallation in different OS/NOS combinations.
- Coexistence with other devices - Networking devices and others.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.