
          Document:  PCI ethernet cards for OS/2
        Maintainer:  Patrick Duffy, duffy@theory.chem.ubc.ca
Last Revision Date:  July 10, 1995
       Archived at:  ftp.netcom.com, in directory /pub/ab/abe/
         Web pages:  http://warp.eecs.berkeley.edu/os2/workbench/work.htm

This is the PCI ethernet cards for OS/2 list.  I try at all times to
keep it accurate, so if you spot any flaws/omissions, please do not
hesitate to let me know and I'll fix them for the next release.  I've
placed a '*' beside cards which I would recommend, and a '**' beside
cards which I would pick for myself when assembling a PCI system.

Useful Numbers:
---------------
3Com:            ftp.3com.com (FTP site)
Racal:           http://www.racal.com (web site)

Manufacturer           Model         Comments
------------------------------------------------------
 3Com                  EtherLink     This is 3Com's PCI card.  It will
                       III**         busmaster (so be sure to put it
                                     into a busmastering slot on your
PCI board), and uses what 3Com calls "parallel processing technology" to
ensure fast performance.  Drivers (ODI and NDIS, available from the 3Com
FTP site in /pub/adapters/drivers/3c5x9x.exe) exist for the card, which
is reported to work very nicely under OS/2.

 Adaptec               <unknown>     Adaptec will (soon) be releasing
                                     two PCI ATM networking cards which
sound like they'd be ideal for the truly speed-hungry.  Both cards
busmaster.  One card does 25 Mbit/s, and the other does 155 Mbit/s. NT
drivers are nearing completion, and OS/2 drivers are next in line.  Now
all I need is an ATM line...

 D-Link                DE-530CT      This card uses the DEC 21040 chip,
                                     busmasters, and comes with BNC and
twisted pair connectors on the same card.  It comes with NDIS drivers
for all the major operating systems.  The card is reported to work well
in OS/2 (but to be slow in Windows for Workgroups), with the exception
that the OS/2 NIF file does not include a section for selecting the BNC
or twisted pair connector.  As a result, on power up it defaults to the
twisted pair, which causes delays if you're using BNC.

Setup tips:  Adding

             SIA_MODE = "BNC"

             to the [DC2IBM_nif] section of protocol.ini will tell the
             driver that the connection is via the BNC cable.
             Alternately, adding

             [SIA_MODE]
             tag = SIAMODE
             display = "Connector"
             type = string
             strlength = 3
             default = "BNC"
             set = BNC, TP
             editable = yes

             to the DC2IBM.NIF file will give you the connector option
             in the network adapter setup program.

 Intel                 Etherexpress  This is Intel's PCI card.  I've no
                       Pro/100       details on card configuration, but
                                     drivers for it are in beta (and
correspondingly buggy).  The card is reported to be quite quick, though.

 Racal                 PCI T2*       This is Racal's PCI card.  It
                                     apparently has both ODI and NDIS
drivers in the box, and uses the AMD AM7990 chip for its networking
operations.  The card will autosense whether the BNC or the twisted pair
connector is being used on startup.  The driver diskette is apparently
missing a configuration file which must be obtained from their BBS in
order to properly install under Lanserver.  Other than that, the drivers
are reported to work well (NDIS drivers with NetBios protocols).

 SMC                   PCI           This is SMC's ethernet card.  It
                       PowerEther    uses a Digital chip, and drivers
                                     for ODI and NDIS are available.
Apparently the card does not perform well, however; one person has
reported seeing his network performance drop from 1040 kB/sec to 400
kB/sec when switching from an SMC Elite16T ISA to this card.  Still
another reports that loading the drivers locks his system solid.

Zynx                   ZX312 PCI*    This card is similar to the Racal
                                     card above, except that it does not
automatically detect the connector (BNC or twisted pair) in use; this
must be set with a jumper.  The diskette/drivers provided have been
reported to work well with TCP/IP, NetBios, and Lanserver.

That's what I know.  E-Mail/post with additions/corrections and I'll
post again.
-- 
Patrick Duffy, duffy@theory.chem.ubc.ca

               "Never fry bacon when you're naked."


