Notes on using the EtherLink III EISA/PCI packet driver ------------------------------------------------------- The EtherLink III family of adapters are all software configured. The driver can be loaded from the command line or in autoexec.bat. When the packet driver is loaded the only required command line option is the software interrupt value (/I). The software interrupt is used for communication between the driver and the protocol and should not be confused with the adapter's hardware interrupt vector. As of version 1.10 of the Packet Driver Specification valid software interrupt values are in the range 0x20 to 0x80. Version 1.09 has software interrupt values in the range of 0x60 to 0x80. Syntax: 3c59xpd [switches] [options] The following switches are supported by the driver: -? = show usage -u = uninstall driver -n = novell netware packet conversion -d = delay initialization (for diskless workstation booting) -t = disable transmit parallel tasking -r = disable receive parallel tasking -m = disable bus master The -n switch is needed if the packet is in Ethernet Encapsulated IPX format (Ethernet II) and it needs to be converted to IEEE 802.3 format. The default is no conversion . The BYU packet driver shell requires Ethernet II format. The -t, -r, -m switches are provided for diagnostic purposes. 3Com's parallel tasking feature offers much better performance. However, this improved performance can cause some software to fail. The -t and -r switches allow parallel tasking to be turned off while transmitting or receiving packets. The default is both transmit and receive parallel tasking are enabled. The -m option prevents the driver from using bus master to move the data to/from the adapter. When this option is used, the packet driver will move the data using programmed I/O (PIO) only. The default is bus master is enabled. The following options are supported: /I = software interrupt (20H - FFH) default = 70H /B = bus type ( E = EISA, P = PCI ) default = EISA /S = slot number (1 - 15 for EISA, 0 - 31 for PCI) /K = bus number (0 - 7 for PCI only) Before installing the packet driver, you must choose an entry point (software interrupt) number in the range between 0x60 and 0x7e inclusive. This entry point is specified using the /I parameter. Some users have reported trouble with dBase when using interrupts in the low 60's. These problems go away when they switch to an interrupt in the high 70's (e.g. 7e). Interrupt 67 is unavailable because it's used by the EMS interface (EMM386.EXE). Interrupts 70 through 77 are unavailable because the second interrupt controller uses them for hardware interrupts IRQ 8 through IRQ 15. Interrupts 7f and 80 may not be unavailable because at least one package, when locating a packet driver, stops searching before 0x7f. A list of interrupt numbers and uses is provided at the end of this document. The bus type, slot number, and bus number are used to point the packet driver to a specific adapter not locatable using the driver default parameter values. The bus type must be specified if the packet driver is using a PCI adapter. The bus number must be specified if the PCI adapter is not located on PCI bus 0. This parameter is only needed when the packet driver is used in a PCI computer which has more than one PCI bus. The slot number tells the packet driver which slot the adatper is located in. If this parameter is not used, the Packet driver will scan each slot on the bus and use the first adapter it finds. When the slot number parameter is used, the packet driver will only look in the specific slot for the adapter. The slot parameter allows the packet driver to be set to use a specific adapter in a machine where more than one adapter is installed. EXAMPLE: To load driver at software interrupt 60h with receive parallel tasking disabled, PCI bus type, slot number = 1, and PCI bus number = 0 the command line will look like the following: PD -r /B=P /S=1 /K=0 /I=60 For a complete usage summary, enter pd -? at the command line. 3Com technical support for packet drivers can be contacted at: Pkt_Support@3mail.3Com.com Appendix A - Interrupt usage in the range 0x60 through 0x80, from Ralf Brown's interrupt list. 60 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 60 -- -- FTP Driver - PC/TCP Packet Driver Specification 60 01 FF FTP Driver - DRIVER INFO 60 02 -- FTP Driver - ACCESS TYPE 60 03 -- FTP Driver - RELEASE TYPE 60 04 -- FTP Driver - SEND PACKET 60 05 -- FTP Driver - TERMINATE DRIVER FOR HANDLE 60 06 -- FTP Driver - GET ADDRESS 60 07 -- FTP Driver - RESET INTERFACE 60 11 -- 10-NET - LOCK AND WAIT 60 12 -- 10-NET - LOCK 60 13 -- 10-NET - UNLOCK 60 20 -- FTP Driver - SET RECEIVE MODE 60 21 -- FTP Driver - GET RECEIVE MODE 60 24 -- FTP Driver - GET STATISTICS 61 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 62 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 63 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 64 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 65 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 66 -- -- reserved for user interrupt 67 -- -- LIM EMS (EMM386.EXE) 67 DE 00 Virtual Control Program Interface - INSTALLATION CHECK 68 01 -- APPC/PC 69 -- -- unused 6A -- -- unused 6B -- -- unused 6C -- -- system resume vector (CONVERTIBLE) 6C -- -- DOS 3.2 Realtime Clock update 6D -- -- VGA - internal 6E -- -- unused 6F -- -- Novell NetWare - PCOX API (3270 PC terminal interface) 6F 00 -- 10-NET - LOGIN 70 -- -- IRQ8 - REAL-TIME CLOCK 71 -- -- IRQ9 - RESERVED 72 -- -- IRQ10 - RESERVED 73 -- -- IRQ11 - RESERVED 74 -- -- IRQ12 - BUS MOUSE INTERRUPT 75 -- -- IRQ13 - MATH COPROCESSOR ERROR 76 -- -- IRQ14 - FIXED DISK 77 -- -- IRQ15 - RESERVED 78 -- -- not used 79 -- -- not used 7A -- -- Novell NetWare - LOW-LEVEL API 7A -- -- AutoCAD Device Interface 7B -- -- not used 7C -- -- not used 7D -- -- not used 7E -- -- not used 7F -- -- HDILOAD.EXE - 8514/A VIDEO CONTROLLER INTERFACE 7F -- -- HLLAPI (High-Level Language API) 80 -- -- reserved for BASIC