patch-2.1.67 linux/Documentation/networking/de4x5.txt

Next file: linux/Documentation/networking/dgrs.txt
Previous file: linux/Documentation/networking/cops.txt
Back to the patch index
Back to the overall index

diff -u --recursive --new-file v2.1.66/linux/Documentation/networking/de4x5.txt linux/Documentation/networking/de4x5.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+    Originally,   this  driver  was    written  for the  Digital   Equipment
+    Corporation series of EtherWORKS ethernet cards:
+
+        DE425 TP/COAX EISA
+	DE434 TP PCI
+	DE435 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
+	DE450 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
+	DE500 10/100 PCI Fasternet
+
+    but it  will  now attempt  to  support all  cards which   conform to the
+    Digital Semiconductor   SROM   Specification.    The  driver   currently
+    recognises the following chips:
+
+        DC21040     (no SROM)
+	DC21041[A]
+	DC21140[A]
+	DC21142 
+	DC21143 
+
+    So far the driver is known to work with the following cards:
+
+        KINGSTON
+	Linksys
+	ZNYX342
+	SMC8432
+	SMC9332 (w/new SROM)
+	ZNYX31[45]
+	ZNYX346 10/100 4 port (can act as a 10/100 bridge!) 
+
+    The driver has been tested on a relatively busy network using the DE425,
+    DE434, DE435 and DE500 cards and benchmarked with 'ttcp': it transferred
+    16M of data to a DECstation 5000/200 as follows:
+
+                TCP           UDP
+             TX     RX     TX     RX
+    DE425   1030k  997k   1170k  1128k
+    DE434   1063k  995k   1170k  1125k
+    DE435   1063k  995k   1170k  1125k
+    DE500   1063k  998k   1170k  1125k  in 10Mb/s mode
+
+    All  values are typical (in   kBytes/sec) from a  sample  of 4 for  each
+    measurement. Their error is +/-20k on a quiet (private) network and also
+    depend on what load the CPU has.
+
+    =========================================================================
+
+    The ability to load this  driver as a loadable  module has been included
+    and used extensively  during the driver development  (to save those long
+    reboot sequences).  Loadable module support  under PCI and EISA has been
+    achieved by letting the driver autoprobe as if it were compiled into the
+    kernel. Do make sure  you're not sharing  interrupts with anything  that
+    cannot accommodate  interrupt  sharing!
+
+    To utilise this ability, you have to do 8 things:
+
+    0) have a copy of the loadable modules code installed on your system.
+    1) copy de4x5.c from the  /linux/drivers/net directory to your favourite
+    temporary directory.
+    2) for fixed  autoprobes (not  recommended),  edit the source code  near
+    line 5537 to reflect the I/O address  you're using, or assign these when
+    loading by:
+
+                   insmod de4x5 io=0xghh           where g = bus number
+		                                        hh = device number   
+
+       NB: autoprobing for modules is now supported by default. You may just
+           use:
+
+                   insmod de4x5
+
+           to load all available boards. For a specific board, still use
+	   the 'io=?' above.
+    3) compile  de4x5.c, but include -DMODULE in  the command line to ensure
+    that the correct bits are compiled (see end of source code).
+    4) if you are wanting to add a new  card, goto 5. Otherwise, recompile a
+    kernel with the de4x5 configuration turned off and reboot.
+    5) insmod de4x5 [io=0xghh]
+    6) run the net startup bits for your new eth?? interface(s) manually 
+    (usually /etc/rc.inet[12] at boot time). 
+    7) enjoy!
+
+    To unload a module, turn off the associated interface(s) 
+    'ifconfig eth?? down' then 'rmmod de4x5'.
+
+    Automedia detection is included so that in  principal you can disconnect
+    from, e.g.  TP, reconnect  to BNC  and  things will still work  (after a
+    pause whilst the   driver figures out   where its media went).  My tests
+    using ping showed that it appears to work....
+
+    By  default,  the driver will  now   autodetect any  DECchip based card.
+    Should you have a need to restrict the driver to DIGITAL only cards, you
+    can compile with a  DEC_ONLY define, or if  loading as a module, use the
+    'dec_only=1'  parameter. 
+
+    The SMC9332 card  has a non-compliant SROM  which needs fixing -  I have
+    patched this  driver to detect it  because the SROM format used complies
+    to a previous DEC-STD format.
+
+    I have removed the buffer copies needed for receive on Intels.  I cannot
+    remove them for   Alphas since  the  Tulip hardware   only does longword
+    aligned  DMA transfers  and  the  Alphas get   alignment traps with  non
+    longword aligned data copies (which makes them really slow). No comment.
+
+    I  have added SROM decoding  routines to make this  driver work with any
+    card that  supports the Digital  Semiconductor SROM spec. This will help
+    all  cards running the dc2114x  series chips in particular.  Cards using
+    the dc2104x  chips should run correctly with  the basic  driver.  I'm in
+    debt to <mjacob@feral.com> for the  testing and feedback that helped get
+    this feature working.  So far we have  tested KINGSTON, SMC8432, SMC9332
+    (with the latest SROM complying  with the SROM spec  V3: their first was
+    broken), ZNYX342  and  LinkSys. ZYNX314 (dual  21041  MAC) and  ZNYX 315
+    (quad 21041 MAC)  cards also  appear  to work despite their  incorrectly
+    wired IRQs.
+
+    I have added a temporary fix for interrupt problems when some SCSI cards
+    share the same interrupt as the DECchip based  cards. The problem occurs
+    because  the SCSI card wants to  grab the interrupt  as a fast interrupt
+    (runs the   service routine with interrupts turned   off) vs.  this card
+    which really needs to run the service routine with interrupts turned on.
+    This driver will  now   add the interrupt service   routine  as  a  fast
+    interrupt if it   is bounced from the   slow interrupt.  THIS IS NOT   A
+    RECOMMENDED WAY TO RUN THE DRIVER  and has been done  for a limited time
+    until  people   sort  out their  compatibility    issues and the  kernel
+    interrupt  service code  is  fixed.   YOU  SHOULD SEPARATE OUT  THE FAST
+    INTERRUPT CARDS FROM THE SLOW INTERRUPT CARDS to ensure that they do not
+    run on the same interrupt. PCMCIA/CardBus is another can of worms...
+
+    Finally, I think  I have really  fixed  the module  loading problem with
+    more than one DECchip based  card.  As a  side effect, I don't mess with
+    the  device structure any  more which means that  if more than 1 card in
+    2.0.x is    installed (4  in   2.1.x),  the  user   will have   to  edit
+    linux/drivers/net/Space.c  to make room for  them. Hence, module loading
+    is  the preferred way to use   this driver, since  it  doesn't have this
+    limitation.
+
+    Where SROM  media detection is used and  full duplex is specified in the
+    SROM, the feature is ignored unless de4x5_full_duplex  is set at compile
+    time OR during a module  load (insmod de4x5 de4x5_full_duplex=1).   This
+    is because there  is no way  to automatically  detect full duplex  links
+    except through  autonegotiation.   When I  include  the  autonegotiation
+    feature  in  the  SROM  autoconf   code,   this detection  will    occur
+    automatically.
+

FUNET's LINUX-ADM group, linux-adm@nic.funet.fi
TCL-scripts by Sam Shen, slshen@lbl.gov