ref: 17310017 title: Configuring the Etherlink 16 for Performance date: 12/27/90 Copyright 3Com Corporation, 1991. All rights reserved. The EtherLink 16 is a high performance, non-intelligent 16-bit adapter for the ISA bus using shared memory. It is self-sensing and can operate in either 8- or 16-bit buses including standard ISA buses that operate at up to 10 MHz. Computers with selectable bus speeds must be set up within this range. This adapter comes with a 64 KB RAM buffer and Start PROM capability. EISA bus operation is also supported. As a result, this product is ideal for 286, 386 and 486 PC servers as well as for netstations. EISA configuration programs supplied by computer manufacturers cannot be used to install the EtherLink 16 adapter since an adapter configuration file is not available. In order to configure the adapter in a computer with an EISA bus, simply run the EISA config program without the adapter installed. Then use the 3C507 program to configure the adapter. Make sure that there are no device conflicts since the EISA configuration program is not being used to automatically prevent conflicts. A Net Management PROM contains the following information on the EtherLink 16: .lt * Ethernet Address ( 00608C - Latest assigned 3Com prefix) * Vendor Name ("*3COM*") * Adapter's 3Com part number * Assembly Revision level .el In addition to drivers for 3+ and 3+Open, the EtherLink 16 diagnostics diskette contains drivers for Microsoft's LAN Manager (including 2.x) and Novell's Netware 286 (2.15) and 386 (3.x) network operating systems. A README file is included on the diskette for each network operating system and provides installation instructions for the drivers. Note: The diagnostics diskette is provided only with individually packaged 3C507 adapters, not 5-packs. An archived copy of the diskette is available on the Ask3Com Forum in the Drivers libraries. Adapter Configuration: There are two settings that can be used to optimize the performance of the EtherLink 16: memory wait states, and shared memory buffer size. Configuration parameters set by the 3C507.EXE diagnostics program are stored in an EEPROM on the adapter. Run 3C507.EXE only after booting from a DOS-only boot disk that loads no drivers for network use. * For most high performance computers including Compaq 386 models, set the adapter to the zero-wait-state setting. To use this setting, the host system must be able to support zero-wait-state accesses to the adapter's 70 ns RAM. This does NOT include the IBM AT or PS/2 Mod 30. * Where possible, use 64 KB of shared memory, but make sure that the buffer address range assigned for adapter operation is not used by the system or other boards. Shared Memory Configuration: Do not use a shared memory location that is assigned to system ROM, used by system software, or used by other peripherals including video adapters or SCSI/ESDI disk controllers. The adapter's shared memory RAM window can be set to one of four possible sizes: 64 KB, 48 KB, 32 KB, or 16 KB. Best performance will be obtained if the 64 KB window size can be used. The window can be configured to start at one of several possible PC memory addresses, as defined below. Standard RAM window base settings available: .lt High DOS Addresses ( 16, 32, 48 or 64 K) ----------------------------------------------------- 0C0000 (Do not select if EGA or VGA display is in use!) 0C8000 * 0D0000 (Default setting) 0D8000 .el Several Extended memory locations near the top of protected mode address space can also be selected for the adapter's shared memory on systems that use protected mode. These buffer locations are addressable only by protected-mode device drivers. For these selections, adapter buffer size must be 64KB; however, 128 KB of system memory address range is actually allocated. When examining the configuration for possible memory conflicts with other allocations, calculate used buffer space using the 128 KB figure. NDIS drivers running under the OS/2 operating system are the only known drivers currently available that are capable of using these Extended addresses. Only 3+Open/LAN Manager servers and OS/2 netstations can use this option. If you use this option, make sure the computer is not configured for system caching. The Hewlett Packard Vectra 486 and some Compaq models must have their system caching disabled to use this option. (See the computer's installation guide for instructions on disabling system caching.) .lt Extended Memory Addresses ------------------------- F00000 F20000 F40000 F60000 F80000 .el Configurations with 3COMEMM: If using 3COMEMM, the configured memory address range for the EtherLink 16 must be protected, so it will not be used for high memory relocations. High Performance: If the EtherLink 16 is using a 64 KB window at location 0D0000, use the following option statement for 3COMEMM: Device=3COMEMM.SYS RAM=D000-DFFF Memory Conservation: The EtherLink 16 can be set to use only a 16 KB window on a DOS netstation. One location that can be used is address 0C8000. This will provide adequate performance. Most EGA, VGA, or CGA display adapters do not have any ROM that uses this location. Use the following option statement for 3COMEMM: Device=3COMEMM.SYS RAM=C800-CC00 Refer to the EtherLink 16 Installation and Configuration Guide and the README files on the diagnostics disk for more information.