3Com (R) Corporation
3Com EtherLink Server CD for
the 3C980C EtherLink Server NIC
Technical Notes and Frequently Asked Questions
The EtherLink Server NIC Features:
- Parallel Tasking (R) architecture for highest performance
- Bus mastering for low CPU utilization and optimal overall system
performance
- Ease of installation and Auto Select Media Type and Link Speed
- Driver support for NetWare 4.x & 5.x, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0,
Microsoft Windows 2000, and SCO Unix
- Lifetime warranty
- Full duplex enabled for switched 10/100 Mbps environments
- DynamicAccess server features (load balancing, failover, VLANs)
- Hot plug NIC installation
Frequently Asked Questions and Technical Notes
----------------------------------------------
This file contains technical notes and answers to some frequently
asked questions to help you obtain maximum performance from your
3Com EtherLink Server NICs.
Technical Notes
===============
This technical note information are additions to the
EtherLink Server Network Interface Cards User Guide.
Online versions of the user guide in HTML
formats are located in the root directory of the
3Com EtherLink Server CD. Last minute corrections
(if any) to the user guide are also located in the printed
Release Notes found in the product package.
Software Compatibility
======================
The 3C980C-TX server NIC version 2.0 software is
fully compatible with 3C980 and 3C980B-TX server NIC hardware.
Upgrading from the Previous Driver Release
==========================================
It is strongly recommended that you install the
3C980C-TX server NIC and version 2.0 software on a
server where no earlier-version EtherLink
Server NICs and drivers are installed. Installing
the software on an existing 3C980-TX configuration
will invalidate the resilient server links and VLAN
tagging that was defined in version 1.03.
Be prepared to redefine the RSL configuration and
VLAN information if you install this software over
a previous 1.0 or 1.03 release version.
Performance Considerations
==========================
Load Balancing performs better with a Switch
--------------------------------------------
When using load balancing, performance may
be impacted if all the NICs in a load balancing
group are connected to a single hub (or the
equivalent). The best performance is realized
when all the NICs are connected to a switch.
A separate PCI bus for each NIC may increase Load
Balancing performance also.
-------------------------------------------------
Because of bus contention, increased performance may
be realized when each NIC is placed on a separate
PCI bus.
Hardware Considerations
=======================
Auto-Negotiation using older 3C980 NIC
--------------------------------------
When using a 3C980 NIC with a Revision 00 ASIC, it is recommended
that both ends of the 10/100 "switched" connections be set to
100 Mbps full duplex. The ASIC revision can be viewed using the
diagnostic utility.
Slower performance may be observed when using this older 3C980
NIC. Testing indicates that the problem appears only after a
NIC failback has occurred with network connections set for
Auto-Negotiation.
Auto-Negotiation using Alteon AceSwitch 100
-------------------------------------------
This switch selects a half-duplex setting by default instead of the
better performing full-duplex when performing NWay
Auto-Negotiation. We recommend that settings on both the
switch and NIC be set to a forced mode full duplex.
Cisco Catalyst 5000
-------------------
CRC and alignment errors when connecting to a Cisco Catalyst
5000. Alignment, CRC, and runt errors may occur when the
3C980C-TX Server NIC is connected to the Cisco Catalyst 5000
switch.
Action: Do one of the following:
* Force the port speed of the switch to AUTO and set the NIC
for NWay auto-negotiation (IEEE 802.3u).
* Force the ports on the switch and the attached NICs to the
same settings (i.e., SPEED = 100 and DUPLEX= Full duplex).
Once the speed setting is forced on an NWay device, NWay
auto-negotiation is disabled. When an NWay device is
connected to a link partner that does not support or is
not set for NWay, it uses a feature called Parallel
Detection to determine the appropriate media type
(10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX) but defaults to half-duplex transfer
mode. When the NIC is in Nway mode and the switch is forced
to 100 Mbps with full-duplex operation, the NIC will
negotiate to 100 Mbps but fall back to half-duplex because
of the limitation explained above. Consequently, network
errors result from the mismatch in the transfer mode
settings. Exercise one of the two configurations mentioned
above to avoid this condition.
Window NT and Windows 2000 Issues
=================================
Refer to the README.TXT file in the WINNT subdirectory.
Novell NetWare Issues
=====================
Refer to the README.TXT file in the NWSERVER subdirectory.
Windows 95 & 98 support
=======================
3Com does not support the operation of the 3C980C-TX
Server NIC with Microsoft Windows 95 nor 98.
General Support Questions
--------------------------
For general questions about this product, contact Dell's
technical support, or visit the web site at www.dell.com
3Com, DynamicAccess, EtherLink, and EtherDisk are registered trademarks of
3Com Corporation.
(%VER 2.0o)
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.