                               FYI
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          TITLE:  WORKSTATION NETWORK CONNECTIVITY ISSUES
   DOCUMENT ID#:  FYI-M-1909
           DATE:  05APR93
        PRODUCT:  DR MULTIUSER DOS
PRODUCT VERSION:  5.1
     SUPERSEDES:  N/A

        SYMPTOM:  Computer hangs when the IPX driver loads or
when NETM is run, or when two items try to use the same address
or IRQ at the same moment. 

  ISSUE/PROBLEM:   More than one IPX.COM file may exist or
default addresses do not always work.

       SOLUTION:  Follow the suggestions listed below to
alleviate the problem.

1) More than one IPX.COM file may exist.  Use TREE IPX*.* to find
all of them.  Check the CCONFIG.SYS IPX install line or the Batch
file that loads the network to assure the correct IPX.COM is
used.

2) Default addresses do not always work.  The list below is a
good example of settings that generally do not conflict with
other pieces of hardware and software.  These are usually jumper
pin settings on the network card. See your card manuals for
addresses.

- IRQ 5
The second parallel port, which is usually not used, is  a good
choice for a network card in most cases.  IRQ 3 and IRQ 4 are
generally already in use and IRQ 2 is occasionally used by VGA
and even some hard drives.

- I/O Port address 320
Some drivers are large enough to reach into other address areas. 
The size of the driver can be determined by looking at the
available addresses.  For instance, if the first  address option
is 300 and the next 310, then 10 is the  amount of space the
driver will occupy.   Particularly look at the Serial card I/O
Ports.  The LPT (Parallel Port) addresses are often in conflict
with an Ethernet card.

- No DMA or RAM
A Multiuser DOS requirement.  This is usually set during the 
software install of the card and during the workstation software
generation.

3) Make certain that the Multiuser DOS CCONFIG.SYS file contains
the installation line:

INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BL /CL

Note however, the parameter option number 9 (o9) is only an 
example.  Type IPX /D  for a list of option numbers and choose
the one that matches your addressing, (see above for addressing).
The following option list is an example of the command:  IPX /D
Note that in o9, the o is a letter and not a number.

Hardware options available:
 * # 0. IRQ = 3, I/O Base = 300h, no DMA or RAM
   # 1. IRQ = 2, I/O Base = 320h, no DMA or RAM
   # 2. IRQ = 4, I/O Base = 340h, no DMA or RAM
   # 3. IRQ = 5, I/O Base = 360h, no DMA or RAM
   # 4. IRQ = 2, I/O Base = 300h, no DMA or RAM
   # 5. IRQ = 3, I/O Base = 320h, no DMA or RAM
   # 6. IRQ = 5, I/O Base = 340h, no DMA or RAM
   # 7. IRQ = 4, I/O Base = 360h, no DMA or RAM
   # 8. IRQ = 4, I/O Base = 300h, no DMA or RAM
   # 9. IRQ = 5, I/O Base = 320h, no DMA or RAM
   #10. IRQ = 2, I/O Base = 340h, no DMA or RAM
   #11. IRQ = 3, I/O Base = 360h, no DMA or RAM


4) In addition, the /BL and /CL have to do with memory
optimization.   The "L" in those parameters means to load the
driver in conventional memory (unoptimized but easy to install). 
To make more room in conventional memory for applications, tests
can be run to see if the driver can load parts of itself in Upper
memory.

INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BH /CH

Combinations are also possible such as /BH /CL or /BL /CH.

An immense aid to testing is the ? option in CCONFIG.SYS.  
Simply make several possible configurations in CCONFIG.SYS:

?INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BH /CH
?INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BH /CL
?INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BL /CH
?INSTALL = C:\drmdos\IPX.COM o9 /BL /CL

DR Multiuser DOS will pause on each question mark line and ask
you if you want to load this particular combination.







COMMENT:

The PC add on card architecture has allowed the industry to 
create many significant improvements to usability, however 
finding and resolving address conflicts is not something that was
designed into the system.  Therefore, installation of additional
functionality cards does take some initial work on the part of
the installer to resolve address conflicts and cannot be achieved
by software alone.  
