Planet ENW-3500f User Manual

SMART COM PCMCIA

ENW-3500-F

10/100Mbps Ethernet PC Card

Trademarks

Copyright  PLANET Technology Corp.
Contents subject to revision without prior notice.
PLANET is a registered trademark of PLANET Technology Corp.
All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

FCC Warning

FCC Class B ID KA2FEPC65001

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in
a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Shielded interface cables must be used in order to comply with emission

limits.
You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by

the party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the
equipment.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to
the following two conditions:

(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference

that cause undesired operation.

Reversion:

User's Manual for PC card, model: ENW-3500-F
Part No.: EM3500F

Rev: 1.01 (July, 1998)

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION................................................1

General Description ...............................................1

About Fast Ethernet...............................................2

About Auto-negotiation ..........................................3

LED Indicators........................................................5

Summary of Features.............................................6

2. HARDWARE INSTALLATION...........................9

Unpack and Inspect ...............................................9

Hardware Installation............................................10

Remove the PC Card...........................................14

Connect the Network Cable .................................16

Connecting for Fast Ethernet...........................16

Connecting for 10Mbps Ethernet.....................17

3. SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION AND

INSTALLATION ...............................................19

A. ENW-3500-F SPECIFICATIONS.....................21

1

Introduction

Thank you for choosing ENW-3500-F, the value leader
among PC-Card Fast Ethernet adapters. This chapter
provides a general description of ENW-3500-F Series
features, with a summary of features at the end of the
chapter. Installation instructions are given in Chapter 2.

General Description

The ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card is a credit­card sized Fast-Ethernet adapter for connecting a notebook
PC to an IEEE 802.3 or 802.3u Ethernet network. The
notebook PC must be equipped with a Type II or Type III PC
Card slot.

NOTE: The terms "PC Card" and "PC Card slot" are used throughout

this manual to refer to those objects as defined in the

Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association

(PCMCIA) standards.

The ENW-3500-F automatically detects the parameters of
its Ethernet environment, and automatically negotiates and
determines its own speed and duplex settings as required for
maximum performance in its environment.

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Inside its compact PC-Card package, the ENW-3500-F holds
an Ethernet controller, network processing interface, 64 Kb
RAM data buffer, a 68-pin PC Card Standard front-end plug
which connects to the notebook PC, and a 15-pin back-end
receptacle for connecting the media coupler. The ENW­3500-F requires no pre-installation setup –– simply insert
its front end into the notebook PC's PC-Card slot.

The ENW-3500-F is supplied with a media coupler which
plugs into the back end (15-pin receptacle) of the ENW­3500-F. The other end of the media coupler has a RJ-45
receptacle which receives the network cable. The media
coupler features LED indications for linkage and activity
states, and for the speed and duplex settings.

About Fast Ethernet

Fast Ethernet is a network technology specified by IEEE
Standard 802.3u. It extends the traditional 10Mbps (10
megabit / sec) Ethernet technology to achieve 100Mbps (100
megabit/sec) transmission and reception. Because Fast
Ethernet retains the traditional Ethernet CSMA/CD
(Carrier Sense, Multiple Access, Collision Detect) protocol, it
remains wholly compatible with 10Mbps Ethernet while
providing a tenfold increase in network capacity.

The Fast Ethernet standard specifies three subtypes,
corresponding to three media types:

100Base-TX (using two twisted pairs in EIA 568
Category 5 UTP or STP cable)

100Base-T4 (using four twisted pairs in a Category 3,
Category 4, or Category 5 UTP cable)

2 Introduction

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

100Base-FX (using two fiber-optic strands).

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Cards offer half­duplex 100Base-TX operation (in Category 5 twisted-pair
cable environments). These products do not support
100Base-T4 or 100Base-FX operation. To provide for
traditional 10Mbps Ethernet operation in twisted-pair cable
environments, the ENW-3500-F series also offers 10Mbps
Ethernet operation, in full-duplex and half-duplex modes.
Selection of the best operation mode in any given
installation is automatically governed by auto-negotiation.

About Auto-negotiation

The basic idea of auto-negotiation can be understood by
reflecting for a moment on the familiar process of making a
dialup connection between two modems. You have probably
heard some gravelly−sounding exchanges between your
local modem and a modem at the other end of a telephone
line. (These exchanges are ordinarily played out through a
speaker in your local modem). As irritating as those few
seconds of noise may be, they do let you know that your
modem and the remote modem are on the job, preparing for
your intended communication with the remote computer.

The preparatory work of the two modems during those few
seconds before you see the "Connect” message is to negotiate
the best data communication scheme which is supported by
both modems, and which is suitable for the quality of the
telephone-line connection between them. The parameters to
be settled between the two modems include best baud rate,
compression method, and error correction method. When
the two modems have tested the phone-line quality and have

Introduction 3

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

switched to the combination of parameters which will
provide the best data communication, then you are given the
"Connect” message which signals the end of the inter­modem negotiation and the beginning of your intended
communication with the remote computer.

Auto-negotiation between devices within an Ethernet LAN
is similar in concept, but much briefer. The two devices
involved in the auto-negotiation will be your ENW-3500-F
Series PC Card and the hub or switch through which it is
connected into the LAN. (Switches ordinarily provide auto­negotiation functionality; hubs usually do not.) The
parameters to be negotiated between the ENW-3500-F and
its supporting hub or switch include speed (100Mbps = Fast
Ethernet, or 10Mbps = traditional Ethernet) and duplex
mode (half-duplex or full-duplex).

Startup communication between the two devices occurs
when both devices are operating, the cable connection
between them is good, and the connected notebook PC's
network software is loaded. As soon as those conditions are
satisfied, the preparatory process of auto-negotiation
between the ENW-3500-F and its supporting device begins
and proceeds automatically.

If the supporting hub or switch has auto-negotiation
functionality, then it and the ENW-3500-F exchange a series
of messages in which each device signals its capabilities and
listens for corresponding information about the other. The
auto-negotiation process requires only a few milliseconds,
and the two devices select the best communication
parameters supported by both devices.

If the supporting device does not have auto-negotiation
functionality, then its monotone (single capability) message

4 Introduction

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

will be recognized by the ENW-3500-F auto-negotiation
facility, and the ENW-3500-F will simply switch to the one
of its own capabilities which matches that of the supporting
device.

Once the auto-negotiation is completed, then the line is
ready, and it will provide an optimal data channel between
the ENW-3500-F and the supporting device. The line will
remain ready without further auto-negotiation action until
the linkage is broken. Auto-negotiation then reoccurs at
any time that the linkage is restored, again making the line
ready for optimal data communications.

LED Indicators

The media coupler features three LED indicators:

1. 10/100 Indicator
Steady green indicates Fast Ethernet selected.
Dark indicates 10Mbps Ethernet selected.

2. Half /Full Indicator
Steady green indicates Full-Duplex selected.
Dark indicates Half-Duplex selected.

3. Ln/Act Indicator
Steady green indicates that there is good linkage to the

network ("Linkage" state, quiescent).
Flashing green indicates that the ENW-3500-F is

transmitting or receiving ("Activity" state). In 10Mbps
mode, flashing will be regular and periodic. In 100Mbps

Introduction 5

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

mode, flashing may be irregular, with longer dark
periods during heavy traffic activity.

Summary of Features

Features of Model ENW-3500-F Fast Ethernet PC Card:

• 100Mbps and 10Mbps data rates in compliance with
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards 100Base-TX and
10Base-T

• Complies with PCMCIA V2.x, JEIDA V4.x, and 16-Bit
PC Card Standards

• PC Card Standard 68-pin front-end connector

• 15-pin back-end connector for media coupler

• Built-in 64KB RAM data buffer

• Full-Duplex capable in 10Mbps mode

• Autonegotiation per IEEE 802.3u specification

• No manual setup switches –– fully automatic con-

figuration

• Low power consumption (2 watts max.)

• Electronics miniaturization by VLSI and surface-mount

fabrication technologies

• Laser-welded stainless steel case

• RJ-45 connector with auto-detection of network speed

6 Introduction

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

• Software support:

Install Program
Diagnostic Program
NDIS 2.0 for Banyan
NDIS 2.0 for IBM Lan Support/Services
NDIS 2.0 for IBM Wrap Server, Lan Server, and

Communication Manager 1.x

NDIS 2.0 for MicroSoft Lan Manager for DOS
NDIS 2.0 for MicroSoft Network Client 3.0 for DOS
NDIS 2.0 for WIN/TCP PathWay Access
SUN PC-NFS V5.0
NetWare Client32 for Windows 95
NetWare Client32 for DOS/Windows 3.1
NetWare Server 3.12
NetWare Server 4.x
NetWare DOS ODI
NetWare Lite
Personal NetWare
Windows 95
Windows 95 OSR2
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 4.0
Packet Driver for NCSA
Packet Driver for FTP PC/TCP
Packet Driver for IPX
Packet Driver for Winsock

Introduction 7

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

8 Introduction

2

Hardware Installation

Unpack and Inspect

NOTE: Under ordinary circumstances, the ENW-3500-F Series Fast

Ethernet PC Card will not be affected by static charge as
may be received through your body during handling of the
unit. In special circumstances where you may carry an
extraordinarily high static charge, it is good practice to reduce
the charge by touching a ground before handling the ENW­3500-F.

Open the shipping carton and carefully remove all items. In
addition to this User's Guide, ascertain that you have:

• One ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card

• One plastic storage bag for the PC Card

• One media coupler

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

• One ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card Driver
diskette

Triangle
cast into
plastic
marks top
side of plug

ENW-3500-F

Fast Ethernet PC Card

Media Coupler

In the event that any item is missing, or if you find any
mismatch or damage, promptly contact your dealer for
correction.

Hardware Installation

Follow these four steps to install the ENW-3500-F:

Step 1 Insert the ENW-3500-F

Under the PCMCIA standard and the corresponding
Japanese JEIDA standard, PC Cards may safely be "hot
swapped" –– it is not necessary to switch the computer's
power off before installing or removing the ENW-3500-F, or
any other PC Card.

Find/select an open Type II or Type III PC Card slot on your
notebook computer's side or rear panel. Hold the ENW­3500-F with the colorful splash label upward. Insert the
front end of the PC Card into the PC Card slot, and slide the
PC Card all the way into the slot until it reaches a firm-stop.

10 Hardware Installation

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Type II or Type III
PC Card slot(s)

PLANET Logo
Label facing up

NOTE: Many notebook PCs feature a stacked pair of PC card slots,

logically (but not physically) designated as Slot 1 and Slot 2.
It is most usual for the lower one of the two slots in the stack
to be designated Slot 1, but there are exceptions. In the
subsequent procedure for ENW-3500-F software installation,
it may be necessary for you to know whether your ENW­3500-F is installed in Slot 1 or Slot 2. Under Windows 95,
you can check by opening the Control Panel / PC Card
display. Under DOS it is also possible to make a software
check, but it is more difficult. If you are unable to determine
the ENW-3500-F's slot number in advance, then you can
make a trial-and-error determination later, according to
instructions given in the Software Installation section of this
chapter.

Step 2 Attach the Media Coupler

The back-end receptacle of the ENW-3500-F remains acces­sible (approximately flush with the case of the computer)
when the ENW-3500-F is properly seated in its PC Card
slot. Taking care to keep the top side of the media coupler
plug up, insert the plug into the ENW-3500-F's receptacle

Hardware Installation 11

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

until it is firmly seated and latched. (The top-side of the
plug is labeled with a triangle molded into the plastic.)

Keep the triangle mark on top
when you plug the media
coupler into the ENW-3500-F

NOTE: When the media coupler plug is firmly seated, it is held in

place by small latching hooks at either side of the plug. To
avoid damage when detaching the plug from the ENW-3500­F, it is necessary to depress the latch wings of the plug. See
the following section, "Remove Ethernet PC Card."

Step 3 Connect to the Network Medium

Make the network connection by running a UTP cable from
the supporting hub to your media coupler. Simply plug one
end (RJ-45 connector) of the cable into an available hub
port, and plug the other end (RJ-45 connector) into the RJ­45 socket of the media coupler.

12 Hardware Installation

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Ethernet Hub

Media Coupler

Ethernet / Fast

RJ-45 Connectors

UTP Cable

UTP cable connecting media coupler to the supporting hub

Step 4 Confirm Connection (Ln/Act Indicator)

When the power of the notebook/computer is ON, the ENW­3500-F is firmly seated in the slot connector, and the media
adapter plug is firmly engaged (and latched) in the back-end
receptacle of the ENW-3500-F, the media adapter has a good
cable connection to the supporting hub, and the supporting
hub is power on and functioning properly, then the media
coupler Ln/Act LED glows steady green ("linkage" state).

If the Ln/Act LED remains dark without apparent cause,
then the most likely fault is poor engagement of the 68-pin
front-end plug. Review the following section titled "Remove

Hardware Installation 13

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

the ENW-3500-F," then remove the ENW-3500-F from its
slot. Repeat the procedures of the above Step 1, "Insert the
ENW-3500-F," taking care to ensure that the ENW-3500-F
is right side up and front-end first, and that it seats firmly
in a suitable PC Card slot of your notebook. Repeat
procedures of Steps 2 and 3 as necessary get the Ln/Act
LED confirmation.

NOTE: You might need to wait a few seconds following notebook

powerup, or following insertion of a PC Card, for the software
processing to be completed. The Ln/Act indicator will remain
dark until the software processing is completed.

Remove the PC Card

Follow these two steps to remove the ENW-3500-F its slot:

Step 1 Disconnect the Media Coupler Plug from the ENW-3500-F

Unplug the media coupler from the ENW-3500-F before
ejecting the ENW-3500-F from the PC Card slot. The media
coupler plug is held in place by small latching hooks at
either side of the plug. To remove the media coupler plug
from the ENW-3500-F, it is necessary to unlatch the hooks
by depressing the two small latch wings of the plug. Use
thumb and forefinger to squeeze the latch-wings into the
plug body and gently pull the plug out of its receptacle.

14 Hardware Installation

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

⊗

Don't pull the connector without depressing the clip wings

WARNING: Pulling the coupler plug out of its receptacle without

Hardware Installation 15

depressing the clip wings will cause damage to the plug.

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Step 2 Eject the ENW-3500-F from the Computer

Firmly press the computer's PC Card Eject button to
disengage the ENW-3500-F from the slot connector. The
ENW-3500-F will then protrude from the PC Card slot. Grip
its protruding end between your fingers and withdraw it
from the PC Card slot.

Connect the Network Cable

Category 5 UTP cable is good enough to qualify under both
the Fast Ethernet cabling rules and the traditional Ethernet
cabling rules. The maximum individual cable run between
any station and its supporting hub or switch is 100m. The
maximum individual cable run joining two hubs is 10m in
general, but is 100m when both hubs qualify as Ethernet
Class 2 Repeaters (all Ether models of Ethernet hubs do
qualify). But these cable runs may need to be shorter than
the given individual maximum lengths, because their
lengths are also restricted by the rule that the maximum
aggregated cable run between any two stations is 205m.

Connecting for Fast Ethernet

Category 5 UTP cable is required for Fast Ethernet
operation. The maximum cable run between the ENW­3500-F and the supporting hub is 300 ft. The cable must be
"Straight" (not a "Crossover" cable), with a RJ-45 plug at
each end. Make the network connection by plugging one
end of the cable into the RJ-45 receptacle of the media­coupler, and the other end into a port of the supporting hub.

16 Hardware Installation

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Connecting for 10Mbps Ethernet

Category 3, Category 4, and Category 5 UTP cable, as well
as EIA/TIA - 568 100-ohm STP cable, all qualify under
traditional Ethernet cabling rules. The maximum cable run
between the ENW-3500-F and the supporting hub is 300 ft.
The cable must be "Straight" (not a "Crossover" cable) with
RJ-45 plug at each end. Make the network connection by
plugging one end of the cable into the RJ-45 receptacle of
the ENW-3500-F, and the other end into a port of the
supporting hub.

Hardware Installation 17

3

Software Configuration

and Installation

Configuration of the ENW-3500-F is automatic; the notebook
PC automatically detects the available resources and
allocates to the ENW-3500-F the resources it requires.
Exceptions are with older notebooks PC that are equipped
with PC Card slot hardware but which have no Socket
Services nor Card Services software. To provide for these
exceptions, the ENW-3500-F Series software diskette
includes programs that interface with such hardware and
allow you to specify the necessary configuration parameters.
For further information see the Readme.txt file on the
diskette.

NOTE REGARDING DOS OS: Before installing the ENW-3500-F

Series software for operation under DOS with expanded
memory support (EMM386.EXE loaded and activated), it is
necessary to exclude the address range D000 - D7FF. Check
the CONFIG.SYS file to ascertain that the DEVICE command
which loads EMM386.EXE includes the NOEMS switch and
range data in accordance with this example,

DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS X=D000-D7FF

For normal software installation follow these steps:

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

1. Insert the ENW-3500-F Series software diskette into the
computer's diskette drive.

2. Enter the INSTALL command. If the diskette is drive
A, for example, type:

A:\INSTALL.BAT

then the Return/Enter key.

3. Follow onscreen instructions.

4. When the INSTALL run is completed, restart the
computer.

For additional help on software installation, consult the
Readme.txt file on the ENW-3500-F Series software
diskette.

20 Software Configuration and Installation

A

ENW-3500-F

Specifications

Network Type:

• Ethernet 100Base-TX

Ethernet IEEE 802.3u standard for 100Mbps baseband

CSMA/CD local area network

• Ethernet 10BASE-T
Ethernet IEEE 802.3 standard for 10Mbps baseband

CSMA/CD local area network

Jumperless Hardware
Autonegotiation functionality
Media interface: RJ-45
EMI Certifications:

FCC Class B
VCCI Class 2

CISPR B
Canada ICES-003, Class B

CE Certification
Host interface: ISA Bus (Bus Master)
I/O base address assigned by Plug and Play system
Interrupt Number Assigned by Plug and Play system
Physical Dimensions: 85.6 × 54.0 × 5.0 mm

ENW-3500-F Series Fast Ethernet PC Card User's Guide

Environment:

Storage: −20° to 80°C, (4° to 176° F)
Operating: 0° to 55° C, (32° to 131° F)
Humidity: 10% to 90% non-condensing

Power Consumption: 2.0W
PCB Construction: 2 layers
Device Drivers*

• NDIS 2.0 for Banyan • NDIS 2.0 for IBM Lan

Support/Services

• NDIS 2.0 for IBM Wrap Server,

Lan Server, and Communication
Manager 1.x

• NDIS 2.0 for MicroSoft Network

Client 3.0 for DOS

• SUN PC-NFS V5.0 • NetWare Client32 for Windows

• NetWare Client32 for

DOS/Windows 3.1

• NetWare Server 4.x • NetWare DOS ODI

• NetWare Lite • Personal NetWare

• Windows 95 • Windows 95 OSR2

• Windows NT 3.51 • Windows NT 4.0

• Packet Driver for NCSA • Packet Driver for FTP PC/TCP

• Packet Driver for IPX • Packet Driver for Winsock

• NDIS 2.0 for MicroSoft Lan

Manager for DOS

• NDIS 2.0 for WIN/TCP

PathWay Access

95

• NetWare Server 3.12

22 ENW-3500-F Specifications

EM3500F