(C)Copyright 1998-2003 3Com. All rights reserved (C)Copyright 1998-2003 Marvell. All rights reserved -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter NDIS4 Miniport Driver for Windows NT4 (x86) This file contains 1 Overview 2 Required Files 3 Installation 3.1 Installing the driver 3.2 Updating the driver 4 Parameters 5 Troubleshooting -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Overview EL2K_NT4.SYS is the NDIS4 32-bit Miniport driver for the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter Families. This driver supports only Windows NT4 (x86). This README file explains how to install the Miniport driver on a machine running Windows NT4 (x86). This EL2K_NT4 NDIS4 Miniport driver cannot be used with other Windows versions than Windows NT4 (x86). 2 Required Files To install the driver, the following files are required: 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter NDIS4 Miniport driver oemsetup.inf installation setup script OEMNADSK.HLP installation help file OEMNADSK.DLL installation dialogs 3 Installation 3.1 Installing the driver Read the installation instructions in the adapter manual carefully. Follow these instructions to install the adapter in your computer. 1. Start Windows NT4 (x86). 2. Click START / SETTINGS / CONTROL PANEL / NETWORK. 3. Select ADAPTERS. 4. Click ADD. 5. Select HAVE DISK. 6. Depending on the type of installation medium used (e.g. CD-ROM, floppy diskette, network drive, etc.) enter the path to the required files. 7. Click OK. 8. Select the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter Families entry that matches your adapter. 9. Click OK. 10. Select the appropriate configuration (see section "Driver Options" in this readme file for details). NOTE: We strongly recommend to install the latest Windows NT4 (x86) Service Pack *after* successful installation of the driver. 11. Click OK. 12. Restart your system. 3.2 Updating the driver You can use the CONTROL PANEL / NETWORK / ADAPTERS / 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter / UPDATE button to update an already installed driver for your 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter . Please note that the latest version of the EL2K_NT4 driver is available for download from our web site: http://www.3Com.com 4 Parameters The EL2K_NT4.SYS driver supports various advanced options. CAUTION: Setting any advanced driver options can dramatically change the behaviour of the driver. This can lead to serious system or network problems. So care must be taken when any driver options are set by the user. If the driver is ever misconfigured in such a way that it no longer operates properly, then remove and re-install the driver. This causes the default values for all options to be restored. To set the advanced driver options, proceed as follows: 1. Start the Registry Editor tool REGEDIT. 2. All of the driver's options are stored in the system's registry database. Open the path to the driver's options: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM \CurrentControlSet \Services \EL2K_NT4x \Parameters Where the 'x' in EL2K_NT4 must be replaced by the instance number of the driver, i.e. EL2K_NT41, EL2K_NT42, etc. 3. The following actions can be executed: - Modify an existing driver option by double-clicking it. - Create a new driver option: Select EDIT > NEW, select the type for the new option: "String", "Binary" or "DWORD". The type required by each particular driver option is listed in the "Type:" field in the description below. - Delete an existing driver option: Select the option to be deleted, click EDIT > DELETE. In this case, the driver will use its built-in default for the deleted option. 5. After you have finished changing the driver options, reboot the machine. NOTE: The machine must be rebooted before any changed options can take effect. The following is a list of advanced options supported by the EL2K_NT4 driver. NOTE: If an advanced option is not present in the registry, you may create it via EDIT / NEW. Note that in the absence of any option, the driver will use its built-in default value for that option, as described by "Default value:" below. The EL2K_NT4.SYS driver allows you to modify several options in order to optimize the operation of your 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter . The parameters supported by the driver are described below. Bus Type ---------- Registry Name: "BusNumber" Default value: next available adapter found when driver installed Valid range: depends on system configuration This parameter specifies the adapter instance to which the driver shall be bound. You can choose from a list of bus/slot combinations for which the system has found one or more instances of the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter . When you add, remove,or move any adapters to, from, or between PCI slots, this list will change. Network Address --------------- Registry Name: "NetworkAddress" Default value: burned-in adapter address Valid range: 0y-00-00-00-00-01 to FE-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF (hexadecimal), where at least the "locally administered" bit 2h (i.e. bit #1) in the 'y' nibble must be set and the multicast" bit 1h (i.e. bit #0) must not be set CAUTION: Each individual network MAC address can only be used once in a network. Assigning the same address to more than one adapter in the same network is not allowed and can cause serious network problems. To use a network MAC address other than the one burned into the adapter, enter the network address in the following hexadecimal format: XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX (e.g. 02-00-5A-98-12-34). If the network address field blank is left blank (or a different number of digits is specified), the network address burned into the adapter will be used. Maximum Frame Size ------------------ Registry Name: "MaxFrameSize" Default value: 1514 (decimal) Valid range: 12..9014 (decimal) This parameter specifies the maximum frame size in bytes that the driver will support. The performance of your network usually increases when a large packet size is used. Do not use values larger than 1514 if you are not sure if your network supports jumbo frames. Link Speed ---------- Registry Name: "Speed_" = port designator (A or B) Default value: 1 (Auto) Valid values: 1 = "Auto" 2 = "10" 3 = "100" 4 = "1000" - "Auto" Auto-negotiate Speed - "10" Force Speed to 10 MBit - "100" Force Speed to 100 MBit - "1000" Force Speed to 1000 MBit This parameter is only available for the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter . Number of Receive Buffers ------------------------- Registry Name: "MaxReceives" Default value: 50 (decimal) Valid range: 3..500 (decimal) This parameters defines the number of receive buffers allocated by the driver. If the system does not have enough resources the driver will fail to load. Increasing this value may improve performance. Number of Transmit Buffers -------------------------- Registry Name: "MaxTransmits" Default value: 50 (decimal) Valid range: 4..200 (decimal) This parameters defines the number of transmit buffers allocated by the driver. If the system does not have enough resources the driver will fail to load. Increasing this value may improve performance. Interrupt Moderation -------------------- Registry Name: "Moderate" Default value: 1 (On) Valid values: 1 = "On" 0 = "Off" If more than the specified rate of interrupts occur, the function Interrupt Moderation groups these interrupts so that several data packets can be handled per interrupt. This will lead to lower CPU utilization but may increase the latency. Max IRQ per Sec --------------- Registry Name: "FixedIntMod" Default value: 5000 (decimal) Valid range: 1000..30000 (decimal) This parameter specifies the interrupt rate for Interrupt Moderation. If Interrupt Moderation is set to "Off" it will be ignored. Log Status Messages ------------------- Registry Name: "MessageLog" Default value: 1 (Status Messages) Valid values: 0 = "All Messages" 1 = "Status Messages" 2 = "Warnings" 3 = "Errors" 4 = "None" This parameter specifies the messages, which are to be logged in the Event Log. - "All Messages": This option should only be used for test purposes. - "Status Messages": In this mode the driver will generate an event log entry every time the link status changes. - "Warnings": In this mode you will only receive warning or error messages. - "Errors": In this mode you will only receive error messages. - "None": All driver messages will be suppressed. It is not recommended to use this value. AutoNegotiation --------------- Registry Name: "AutoNegotiation_" = port designator (A or B) Default value: 1 (On) Valid range: 0 = "Off" 1 = "On" 2 = "Auto-Sense" NOTE: If this parameter is set to "Off" and 'DuplexCapabilities' is set to "half and full duplex" the driver will override the setting and use "On" instead. NOTE: Copper adapters do not support "auto-sense". This setting will be treated like "On". This parameter defines the auto-negotiation mode and can be set for each port individually, which is helpful if the port at the other end of the cable is limited in its capabilities. Using the default setting, the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter should automatically detect the capabilities of the peer port. DuplexCapabilities ------------------ Registry Name: "DuplexCapabilities_" = port designator (A or B) Default value: 3 (half and full duplex) Valid range: 1 = "half duplex" 2 = "full duplex" 3 = "half and full duplex" NOTE: This parameter is ignored if 'AutoNegotiation' is set to "auto-sense". This parameter can be used to limit the duplex capabilities the port reports during auto-negotiation. This parameter can be set for each port individually, which is helpful if the port at the other end of the cable cannot handle all possible combinations. Using the default setting, the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter should automatically detect the capabilities of the peer port. FlowControl ----------- Registry Name: "FlowControl_" = port designator (A or B) Default value: 3 (Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Flow Control) Valid range: 0 = "No Flow Control" 1 = "Asymmetrical Flow Control" 2 = "Symmetrical Flow Control" 3 = "Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Flow Control" Modes: - Symmetrical Flow Control: Both link partners are allowed to send PAUSE frames. - Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Flow Control: Both or only the remote link partner are allowed to send PAUSE frames. - Asymmetrical Flow Control: Only the local link partner is allowed to send PAUSE frames. - No Flow Control: No link partner is allowed to send PAUSE frames. NOTE: This parameter is ignored if 'AutoNegotiation' is set to "Off". This parameter can be used to set the flow control capabilities the port reports during auto-negotiation. This parameter can be set for each port individually, which is helpful if the port at the other end of the cable cannot handle all possible combinations. Using the default setting, the 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter should automatically detect the capabilities of the peer port. Role ---- Registry Name: "Role_" = port designator (A or B) Default value: 0 (Auto) Valid range: 0 = "Auto" 2 = "Master" 3 = "Slave" NOTE: This parameter will be used only for copper adapters. For two 1000Base-T ports to communicate, one must take the role of the master (providing timing information), while the other must be slave. Usually, this is negotiated between the two ports during link establishment. If this fails, a port can be forced to a specific setting with this parameter. Preferred Port -------------- Registry Name: "PreferredPort" Default value: 1 (A) Valid range: 1 = "A" 2 = "B" NOTE: This parameter is only available for dual link adapters. Use this parameter to set the preferred port the RLMT (Redundant Link Management Technology) will use for all network traffic, if more than one port has an active link to the network. RLMT Mode --------- Registry Name: "RlmtMode" Default value: 1 (CLS) Valid range: 1 = "CLS" 3 = "CLP" 7 = "CLPSS" NOTE: This parameter is only available for dual link adapters. Use this parameter to set the operational mode for the RLMT: - "CLS" (Check Link State): RLMT uses the link state reported by the adapter hardware for each individual port to determine whether a port can be used for all network traffic or not. - "CLP" (Check Local Port): In this mode, RLMT monitors the network path between the two ports of an adapter by regularly exchanging packets between them. This mode requires a network configuration in which the two ports "see" each other (i.e. there must not be any router between the ports). - "CLPSS" (Check Local Ports and Segmentation Status): This mode supports the same functions as the CLP mode and additionally checks network segmentation by sending BPDU hello packets. Thus, this mode is only to be used if Gigabit Ethernet switches are installed on the network that have been configured to use the Spanning Tree protocol. NOTE: RLMT modes "CLP" and "CLPSS" are designed to operate in configurations where a network path between the ports on one adapter exists. Moreover, they are not designed to work where adapters are connected back-to-back. 5 Troubleshooting If you should encounter any problems with your 3Com 3C2000-T Adapter , please re-read the instructions above and the documentation supplied with the operating system. Also refer to your system event log file (using the Event Viewer) and check it for entries from EL2K_NT4. If your particular problem is not listed or the error persists, please send your system event log file or at least the event id number and the logging data (as WORDs) of the entries made by EL2K_NT4 to our technical support. Contact 3Com support for further information (for contact information, please refer to the SUPPORT.HTM file on the installation medium). *** End of Readme File ***