Transcend Information ETHERLINK III User Manual



THER

ARALLEL

EISA B N

ETWORK

SER

Members of the 3Com EtherLink III family of

adapters

INK

M A

UIDE



III

ASKING

ASTER

DAPTERS

Part No. 09-0666-001 Published October 1995

3Com Corporation

5400 Bayfront Plaza

■

Santa Clara, California

■

95052-8145

■

© 3Com Corporation, 1995. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without permission from 3Com Corporation.

3Com Corporation reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make changes in content from time to time without obligation on the part of 3Com Corporation to provide notiﬁcation of such revision or change.

3Com Corporation provides this documentation without warranty of any kind, either implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and ﬁtness for a particular purpose. 3Com may make improvements or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this documentation at any time.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LEGENDS:

If you are a United States government agency, then this documentation and the software described herein are provided to you subject to the following restricted rights:

For units of the Department of Defense:

Restricted Rights Legend: Use, duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions

as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii) for restricted Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 48 C.F.R. 52.227-7013. 3Com Corporation, 5400 Bayfront Plaza, Santa Clara, California 95052-8145.

For civilian agencies:

Restricted Rights Legend: Use, reproduction or disclosure is subject to restrictions set forth in

subparagraph (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights Clause at 48 C.F.R. 52.227-19 and the limitations set forth in 3Com’s standard commercial agreement for the software. Unpublished rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.

The software described in this documentation is furnished under a license agreement included with the product either as a separate document or on the software distribution diskette in a root directory ﬁle named LICENSE.TXT. If you are unable to locate a copy, please contact 3Com and a copy will be provided to you.

3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may not be registered in other contries.

3Com, EtherDisk, EtherLink, EtherLink II, EtherLink Plus, Parallel Tasking, SmartAgent, SoftHub, and Transcend are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. 3TECH and AutoLink are trademarks of 3Com Corporation. 3ComFacts is a service mark of 3Com Corporation.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM, AT, Personal System/2, Micro Channel, and OS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. UL is a trademark of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Novell and NetWare are trademarks of Novell, Inc. CompuServe is a trademark of CompuServe, Inc. Anixter is a trademark of Anixter Bros., Inc. AT&T is a trademark of American Telephone and Telegraph Company. UNIX is a trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Other brand and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

Manual revised by John Jeter. Edited by Nancy Kurahashi. Technical illustrations by Tim Buckreus. Production by Becky Whitmer.

IFETIME

ARRANTY

3Com’s EtherLink FDDILink have a Lifetime Warranty.

To ensure the very best 3Com service and suppor t, take the time to complete the product registration card.

Any defective 3Com adapter will be repaired or replaced, at 3Com’s option, for as long as the adapter resides in its original IBM Personal System/2 software is covered by the standard 90-day limited software warranty).





, TokenLink

, and 3Com Impact



, or compatible computer (driver



III 16/4, Fast EtherLink,



ISDN ISA adapters



Personal Computer,

Customers in the countries shown below should send the completed registration card to the appropriate address. Customers in other non-U.S. locations should send the registration card to the U.S. address on the front of the card.

■

Asia

3Com Asia Ltd., Marketing Department Room 2506-07, 25/F., Citibank Tower Citibank Plaza, Central Hong Kong

Australia, New Zealand

■

3Com Australia, Marketing Department 99 Walker Street Level 7 North Sydney New South Wales 2060 Australia

Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta

■

3Com Mediterraneo Srl, Marketing Department Via Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1 20093 Cologno Monzese MI Italy

Japan

■

3Com Japan, Marketing Department Shinjuku Sumitomo Building 23F 2-6-1 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 163-02 Japan

■

Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg

3Com Benelux B.V., Marketing Department Nevelgaarde 8-9 3436 ZZ Nieuwegein Netherlands

■

France, Israel

3Com France, Marketing Department Immeuble McKinley BP 965 1, Avenue de l’Atlantique 91976 Les Ulis Courtaboeuf Cedex France

■

Germany, Austria, Switzerland

3Com GmbH, Marketing Department Gustav-Heinemann-Ring 123 D-81739 Muenchen Munich West Germany

■

Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark

3Com Nordic, Marketing Department Torshamsgatan 39 Box 1110 164 22 KISTA Sweden

■

United Kingdom, Eire

3Com UK Ltd., Marketing Department Pacific House Third Avenue Globe Park Marlow-on-Thames Buckinghamshire, SL7 1YL England

ONTENTS

BOUT

Introduction 1 How to Use This Guide 1 Conventions 2

NTRODUCTION

Features 1-2

NSTALLING

Inspecting the Adapter 2-2 Installing the Boot PROM 2-2 Inserting the Adapter 2-2

Conﬁrming Adapter Installation 2-4

Connecting to the Network 2-5

Connecting to the On-board Transceiver 2-5

Connecting to an External Transceiver 2-6

Auto Select Media Type 2-8

ONFIGURING

EtherDisk Diskette 3-2 Conﬁguring the Adapter 3-2

Using a NOS Other Than Windows 95 3-2 Using Windows 95 3-3

Software Option Settings 3-4

Media Type 3-5 Network Driver Optimization 3-5 Full Duplex 3-5 Changing the Settings 3-6

HIS

THE

Connecting to Thin Ethernet Cable 2-5 Connecting to Twisted-pair Cable 2-6

UIDE

EISA A

THE

DAPTER

OADING

ETWORK

RIVERS

Locating the Network Drivers 4-2 Accessing DOS 4-2 Loading NetWare ODI Drivers 4-3

One Adapter in a Client 4-3

AutoLink Requirements 4-4 AutoLink Installation 4-4

Multiple Adapters in a Client 4-7

Finding the Adapter’s Slot Number 4-9

One Adapter in a Server 4-10

Driver Installation with NetWare 4-10

Multiple Adapters in a Server 4-11

Finding the Adapter’s Port Address for Multiple Adapters 4-12

Driver Installation with NetWare 4-13 Loading Windows 95 Drivers 4-14 Loading Drivers in Non-NetWare Environments 4-15

NDIS Drivers 4-15

Additional Drivers 4-16 Using Transcend PC Link SmartAgent Software 4-16 Desktop Management Interface 4-17

ERFORMING

Troubleshooting with the Diagnostic Tests 5-2 Starting the Diagnostic Program 5-3

Running the Group 1 Tests 5-4

Running the Group 2 Test 5-5

Assembling a Loopback Plug 5-5 Starting the Group 2 Test 5-5

Running the Group 3 Test 5-6

Setting Up an Echo Server 5-6 Starting the Group 3 Test 5-7

Getting Help If a Test Fails 5-8

Changing the Test Setup 5-10 Miscellaneous Checks 5-11

Link Beat LED 5-11

PECIFICATIONS

Adapter Speciﬁcations A-1 RJ-45 Connector Pin Assignments A-2 AUI Connector Pin Assignments A-2 Cable Requirements A-3

ROUBLESHOOTING

AND

IAGNOSTIC

ESTS

ECHNICAL

On-line Technical Services B-1

3Com Bulletin Board Service B-1

Access by Modem B-1 World Wide Web Site B-2 ThreeComForum on CompuServe B-2 3ComFacts Automated Fax Service B-2

Support from Your Network Supplier B-3 Returning Products for Repair B-4

LOSSARY

NDEX

IMITED

FCC C

LASS

ARRANTY

B C

UPPORT

ERTIFICATION

TATEMENT

CISPR B C

CE N

OTICE

OMPLIANCE

IGURES

1-1 3C592 Adapter Backplates 1-2 1-2 Procedure Overview 1-3

2-1 Hardware Installation Overview 2-1 2-2 PCI and EISA Bus Slots in an EISA Computer 2-3 2-3 Connecting Thin Ethernet Cable 2-5 2-4 Slide Latch 2-7 2-5 Connecting the AUI Cable 2-7

3-1 Adapter Conﬁguration Overview 3-1 3-2 Auto Installation Screen 3-7 3-3 Main Menu 3-7 3-4 Multiple Adapter Option Conﬁguration 3-9 3-5 Changing Adapter Options 3-9

4-1 Overview of Loading Network Drivers 4-1 4-2 AutoLink Information Screen 4-6 4-3 Main Menu 4-6

5-1 Troubleshooting Overview 5-1 5-2 Assembling a Loopback Plug 5-5

A-1 RJ-45 Connector Pin Assignments A-2

ABLES

Text Conventions 2 Notice Icons 2

1-1 3C592 EISA Adapter Cable and Connector Speciﬁcations 1-2

2-1 Connectors for 3C592 EISA Adapters 2-5

3-1 Software Conﬁguration Options 3-4

4-1 Accessing DOS 4-3

5-1 Diagnostic Programs 5-7

A-1 AUI Connector Pin Assignments A-2

Introduction

This guide describes how to install the following 3Com EtherLink network adapters:

BOUT



III Parallel Tasking

HIS

UIDE



10 Mbps EISA bus master



3C592-COMBO (10BASE-T, thin coax, and thick coax) adapter

■

3C592-TPO (10BASE-T ) adapter

■

Also included is information about installing network drivers, troubleshooting the adapter, and using the diagnostic tests if an adapter malfunction occurs.

Throughout this guide, the product number 3C592 designates both members of the EtherLink III family of 10 Mbps EISA adapters.

How to Use This Guide

The following table shows where to ﬁnd speciﬁc information in this guide.

If you are looking for:

Information about the 3Com EISA bus master network adapters

Instructions for installing the adapter Chapter 2 Procedures for connecting the adapter to the network Chapter 2 Instructions for configuring the adapter with the EISA

configuration utility Procedures for changing software option settings Chapter 3 Instructions for installing network drivers Chapter 4 Details on troubleshooting and running the diagnostic tests Chapter 5 Information on adapter specifications, pin assignments, and

cabling requirements Information on 3Com’s technical support services Appendix B

Turn to:

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Appendix A

HIS

UIDE

BOUT

Conventions

The following tables list text and icon conventions that are used throughout this guide.

Table 1 Text Conventions

Convention

Text represented as

screen display

Text represented as

commands

Keys When specific keys are referred to in the text, they are

Table 2 Notice Icons

Icon Type Description

Information Note Information notes call attention to important features or

Caution Cautions alert you to personal safety risk, system damage,

Warning Warnings alert you to the risk of severe personal injury.

Description

This typeface is used to represent displays that appear on your terminal screen, for example:

NetLogin:

This typeface is used to represent commands that you enter, for example:

print autolink.log

called out by their labels, such as “the Return key” or “the Escape key,” or they may be shown as [Return] or [Esc].

If two or more keys are to be pressed simultaneously, the keys are linked with a plus sign (+), for example:

Press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del].

instructions.

or loss of data.

■ 3C592-COMBO (RJ-45, BNC, AUI connectors)

■ 3C592-TPO (RJ-45 connector)

INTRODUCTION

The 3Com EtherLink III Parallel Tasking adapters described in this guide are members of a family of third-generation Ethernet adapters. This family includes the 32-bit bus master Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA)10 Mbps Ethernet network adapters. This guide contains installation and diagnostic information about the following EISA adapters:

The two adapters are functionally identical; they differ only in the layout of the components on each board and the type of media supported on the backplates, as shown in Figure 1-1. The name “3C592 EISA adapter” is used in this guide to refer to both EtherLink III 10 Mbps EISA adapters unless otherwise speciﬁed.

The bus master drivers supplied with this adapter are compatible with the Fast EtherLink 10/100BASE-T EISA adapter. The bus master drivers shipped on the 3C59X EtherDisk diskette are compatible with the 3Com 3C59X family of EISA and PCI bus master adapters; they are not backward-compatible with the 3Com 3C5X9 family of EtherLink III adapters.

The 3C592 EISA adapter connects your EISA-compliant personal computer to an Ethernet network wired with IEEE 802.3 standard 10BASE2 or 10BASE5 coaxial cable, or 10BASE-T twisted-pair cable. The cable speciﬁcation for each adapter type is shown in Table 1-1.

1-2 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

LED

RJ-45 connector

LED

RJ-45 connector

AUI connector

BNC connector

Figure 1-1 3C592 Adapter Backplates

Table 1-1 3C592 EISA Adapter Cable and Connector Speciﬁcations

Adapter Type Cable Specification Connector Types

3C592-TPO 10BASE-T RJ-45 3C592-COMBO 10BASE-T

Thin coax (10BASE2) Thick coax (10BASE5)

RJ-45 BNC AUI

The 3C592 EISA adapter can only be installed in computers containing EISA expansion slots.

Features

■ AutoLink

■ Automatic adapter recognition for computers running the

The 3C592 EISA adapter supports the following features:



auto installation software, which installs and



conﬁgures all Novell

NetWare DOS ODI client software into

your operating system



Windows

95 network operating system

Features 1-3

■ Auto Select Media Type capability, which enables drivers to

automatically detect the type of media connector that connects the adapter to the network

■ Network management support through Transcend



SmartAgent

■ The Desktop Management Interface (DMI), which increases

software



PC Link

the manageability of PCs by standardizing how information relating to PCs is made available and how it is accessed

■ LED notiﬁcation of link integrity and polarity reversal

The procedures described in this guide are shown in Figure 1-2.

Install the adapter in an EISA slot.

Configure the Adapter using the EISA configuration utility.

Load network drivers.

(NetWare or other)

Troubleshoot the adapter.

(optional)

Figure 1-2 Procedure Overview

This chapter describes how to install the 3C592 EISA adapter in your computer. An overview of these procedures is shown in Figure 2-1.

Inspect the adapter.

Install the boot PROM.

(optional)

INSTALLING THE EISA ADAPTER

Insert the adapter.

Connect to the network.

Go to Chapter 3, “Configuring the Adapter.”

Figure 2-1 Hardware Installation Overview

After installing the adapter, you can load the network drivers, as described in Chapter 4. If necessary, you can change the software option default settings, as explained in Chapter 3.

2-2 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE EISA ADAPTER

Inspecting the Adapter

CAUTION: Each adapter is packed in a clear plastic antistatic container to protect it during shipment. To avoid damaging any static-sensitive components after removal from the container, be sure to reduce any static electricity on your person. One way to do this is to touch the metal chassis of your computer. You can maintain grounding by wearing a wrist strap attached to the chassis.

1 Open the shipping container and carefully remove its

contents.

The package should contain the following items:

■ 3Com EtherLink III Parallel Tasking EISA bus master

adapter

■ EtherLink III Parallel Tasking EISA Bus Master Network

Adapters User Guide

■ 3C59X EtherDisk



diskette

2 Verify that you have received all items, and inspect each

item for damage.

If you ﬁnd any damage, contact your network supplier and the carrier that delivered the package.

Installing the Boot PROM

The boot PROM is optional and can be purchased separately. If you are installing it onto the adapter, follow the instructions that accompanied the boot PROM.

Inserting the Adapter

To insert the adapter into the computer, follow these steps:

1 Turn off the computer and disconnect the unit from its

power source.

2 Remove all jewelry from your hands and wrists.

Inserting the Adapter 2-3

3 Select an appropriate expansion slot and remove its

expansion cover plate.

4 Insert the adapter in the EISA slot and secure the screw.

If you have a computer with slots other than EISA slots, be sure to insert the 3C592 EISA adapter only in an EISA slot. Figure 2-2 compares the size of the slots in an EISA computer that has PCI slots. EISA slots are longer than PCI slots and deeper than ISA slots.

EISA slot

PCI slot

Figure 2-2 PCI and EISA Bus Slots in an EISA Computer

The adapter backplate should be ﬂush with the computer chassis. Be sure that the connector ﬁngers of the adapter are completely seated in the slot.

5 Replace the computer cover and reconnect all previously

connected cables.

If you are installing multiple EtherLink EISA adapters in a computer, you must run the EISA conﬁguration program after you install each adapter. See the discussions about installing multiple EISA adapters in Chapter 4.

2-4 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE EISA ADAPTER

Conﬁrming Adapter Installation

If you are installing the 3C592 EISA adapter in a computer running Windows 95, you can conﬁrm the adapter’s installation by following these steps:

1 After starting Windows 95, double-click the My Computer

icon.

2 Double-click the Control Panel icon. 3 Double-click the System icon.

The System Properties box appears, detailing your system setup.

4 Click the Device Manager tab.

A list of devices appears, arranged by type.

5 Click the Network Adapters tab.

The name of the installed 3Com adapter appears, as shown below:

3Com EtherLink III Bus-Master EISA Ethernet Adapter

This conﬁrms the adapter’s installation.

6 Double-click the adapter’s name to display a description

of the adapter and its current status.

The next dialog box conﬁrms that the adapter is working properly.

7 Click the Cancel button to leave each dialog box and

return to the Control Panel.

For on-line help information about any of the ﬁelds in the display boxes, click the question mark (?) in the upper right corner of the box and move the question mark cursor to the ﬁeld of interest and click again.

Connecting to the Network 2-5

Connecting to the Network

You must connect the adapter to the network before installing the drivers.

This section describes how to connect different types of network cables to the 3C592 EISA adapters. Table 2-1 lists the types of network cable connectors that are found on 3C592 EISA adapters.

Table 2-1 Connectors for 3C592 EISA Adapters

Cable Type Connector Transceiver Type

Thick coaxial AUI External Twisted-pair RJ-45 On-board TP Thin coaxial BNC On-board coax

Connecting to the On-board Transceiver

Each 3C592 EISA adapter is equipped with an on-board transceiver to allow easy connection to the network.

Connecting to Thin Ethernet Cable

The 3C592-COMBO adapter is factory-set to use the on-board transceiver as the default with thin Ethernet cable.

1 Connect the T connector to the adapter’s BNC connector

(see Figure 2-3).

RJ-45

connector

AUI

connector

BNC

connector

Thin Ethernet cable

Figure 2-3 Connecting Thin Ethernet Cable

2-6 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE EISA ADAPTER

2 Align the T connector’s slots with the pegs on the BNC

connector.

3 Push the T connector in and twist it clockwise until it stops.

The next step is to load the drivers, as explained in Chapter 3.

Connecting to Twisted-pair Cable

The 3C592-COMBO and 3C592-TPO adapters are both equipped with an on-board transceiver for connection to twisted-pair cable.

1 Make sure that the connector on your cable is wired

appropriately for standard 10BASE-T adapter cards.

Refer to Appendix A for RJ-45 connector pin assignments.

2 Align the RJ-45 connector on the end of the twisted-pair

cable with the notch on the adapter’s plug and insert it into the adapter socket.

The next step is to load the drivers, as explained in Chapter 3.

Connecting to an External Transceiver

You can install AUI-equipped adapters and, by employing an external transceiver, use either thin or thick coax, ﬁber-optic, or twisted-pair cabling. Follow these steps to connect to an external transceiver:

1 Locate the adapter’s AUI connector and move the slide

latch to the open position, as shown in Figure 2-4.

2 Connect the AUI cable or transceiver to the AUI connector

on the adapter, as shown in Figure 2-5.

3 Move the slide latch to the closed position to lock the

cable in place.

4 Connect the other end of the AUI cable to the external

transceiver.

Connecting to the Network 2-7

The next step is to load the drivers, as explained in Chapter 3.

If you are running Windows 95, you can conﬁrm the network connection by double-clicking the Network Neighborhood icon. The presence of the Entire Network icon in the display box conﬁrms the network connection.

Closed

Slide latch

AUI

connector

Figure 2-4 Slide Latch

RJ-45

connector

AUI

connector

BNC

connector

Open

AUI cable

Figure 2-5 Connecting the AUI Cable

2-8 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE EISA ADAPTER

Auto Select Media Type

The Auto Select Media Type function is implemented by all drivers contained on the 3C59X EtherDisk diskette supplied with the 3C592 EISA adapter. This includes NetWare ODI drivers and NDIS 2.01 drivers. It also includes NDIS 3.0 drivers for Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, and Windows NT The NDIS drivers function with 386 and later processors.

If you have one of these drivers installed, as soon as you connect a network cable to the system, the Auto Select Media Type function will detect the type of cable making the connection and automatically select that media type. If you change the type of network cable connected to the adapter, you must reload the driver in order for the Auto Select Media Type function to detect the cable type.

If the driver is unable to detect what type of cable is connected or whether there is any cable connected, the Auto Select Media Type function defaults to the type of connector that is stored internally in the EEPROM. The default setting for the 3C592-COMBO adapter is 10BASE-T (twisted-pair).



CONFIGURING THE ADAPTER

This chapter explains how to conﬁgure the 3C592 EISA adapter using the EISA conﬁguration diskette that came with your computer and the EtherDisk diskette supplied with the adapter. The conﬁguration process is shown in Figure 3-1.

Configure the adapter using the EISA configuration utility.

Copy the .CFG file from

EtherDisk

the

Change software option settings.

(optional)

Go to Chapter 4, “Loading Network Drivers.”

diskette.

Figure 3-1 Adapter Conﬁguration Overview

3-2 CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING THE ADAPTER

EtherDisk Diskette

The EtherDisk diskette supplied with the 3C592 EISA adapter contains the following:

■ An adapter conﬁguration ﬁle (!TCM5920.CGF) used by the

EISA conﬁguration utility on the EISA diskette

■ The Conﬁguration and Diagnostic Program for running

diagnostics on the adapter and changing the Media Type, Network Driver Optimization, or Full Duplex settings (if desired) after initial conﬁguration

■ Adapter drivers and instructions for driver installation

Conﬁguring the Adapter

You must run the EISA conﬁguration utility program as part of the adapter conﬁguration process.

If your computer is running Windows 95, skip the next section and follow the instructions in the section “Using Windows 95.”

If you are using a network operating system (NOS) other than Windows 95, follow the instructions in the next section.

Using a NOS Other Than Windows 95

To run the EISA conﬁguration utility program, follow these steps:

1 Install the 3C592 EISA adapter in your EISA computer.

(Refer to Chapter 2 for instructions.)

Make sure the adapter is ﬁrmly seated in the slot.

2 Insert the EISA conﬁguration diskette provided with your

computer into the ﬂoppy drive.

The EISA conﬁguration diskette that came with your computer contains a utility program that automatically conﬁgures the EISA adapter.

3 Turn on the power.

+ 54 hidden pages

Transcend Information ETHERLINK III User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual