File: README
                             
                             3Com (R) Corporation
             EtherLink 10/100 PCI (3C90x) Network Interface Card  
                              Driver for Linux
 
 
This file describes the 3C90x network interface card (NIC) driver for Linux.  
It includes the following topics:
 
    * Supported NICs
    * Supported Platforms and Distributions
    * Loading the Driver Module
    * Building the Driver
    * Configuring the Driver  
    * Support Information
    * Additional Information
       
    CAUTION:  3Com has not yet verified functionality of the 3C90x  
    driver on platforms, architectures, or configurations other than  
    those specified in this file. Although it may operate correctly  
    on other configurations, users are encouraged to exercise caution  
    when using the driver with other configurations.
                   
    DISCLAIMER:  3Com makes no warranties or guarantees, expressly,  
    implied, or otherwise.  Usage of this driver is solely at the  
    risk of the user.
                 
 
* Supported NICs
----------------
 
The 3C90x NIC driver for Linux supports the following EtherLink NICs:
 
    EtherLink 10/100 PCI NICs
    3C905C Family and 3C920 ASICs EtherLink 10/100 PCI including
    the -TX and -TX-M
    3C905B Family and 3C918 ASICs EtherLink 10/100 PCI including
    the -TX -TX-M and -TX-NM
    3C905B-COMBO  EtherLink 10/100 PCI COMBO
 
    EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI NICs
    3C980C-TX    EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI
    3C980B-TX    EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI
    3C980-TX     EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI
 
    EtherLink 100 PCI NIC
    3C905B-FX     EtherLink 100 PCI Fiber
 
    EtherLink 10 PCI NICs
    3C900B-TPO    EtherLink 10 PCI TPO
    3C900B-TPC    EtherLink 10 PCI TPC
    3C900B-COMBO  EtherLink 10 PCI COMBO
    3C900B-FL     EtherLink 10 PCI Fiber
 
    The 3c590/3c592/3c595/3c597 and 3C905 Families are supported
    with the 3c59x driver from Donald Becker.
 
* Supported Platforms and Distributions
---------------------------------------
 
    The 3C90x driver for Linux has been tested with the following
    commercial Linux distributions, using the i386 architecture:
 
    RedHat 7.1
        Kernel version 2.4.2-2 (i386)
    RedHat 6.2  
        Kernel version 2.2.16 (i686)
 
    Caldera OpenLinux Version 2.4 eDesktop
 Kernel version 2.2.14 (i386)**
    Caldera 2.3
        Kernel version 2.2.10 (i386)**
 
    TurboLinux 6.5 Server
 Kernel version 2.2.18-2 (i686)
    TurboLinux 4.0.5
        Kernel version 2.2.12 (i386)
 
    SeSE 7.1
 Kernel version 2.4.0-4GB  (i386) ***
    SuSE 6.2                    
        Kernel version 2.2.10 (i386)
   
    Note:
      The driver operates on both SMP and UP machines.
      Although not tested, this driver is likely to work on other Linux
      distributions that use kernel versions 2.0.36 - 2.4.2.
 
      Caldela
      ** When compiling the driver under Caldera distribution, users may
      need to include the SMP parameter even when compiling on UP machines.
      If the system loaded 3c59x.o driver as the default driver,  
      edit /etc/modules/default file of the default loadable modules, and  
      remove the line "3c59x".  
 
      SeSE 7.1
      *** Please execute the following commands as user 'root':
 cp /boot/vmlinuz_24.version.h /usr/src/linux-2.4.0.SuSE/include/linux/version.h
 cp /boot/vmlinuz_24.autoconf.h /usr/src/linux-2.4.0.SuSE/include/linux/autoconf.h
 See SeSE website for more details:
  http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/mwalter_kernel_24.html
 
* Loading the Driver Module
---------------------------
 
    To load the 3C90x driver module on a Kernel 2.4 (or above) system,  
    place an "alias" in the file named /etc/modules.conf.  
    For older systems, the file name may be conf.modules.
     
    The alias instructs the kernel module loader to use the  
    3C90x driver module for a specific Linux Ethernet interface.  
    When the system attempts to use this Ethernet interface, it  
    causes the kernel module loader to load the 3c90x driver
    into the system automatically, and initialize it for use.
     
    The alias listed below associates the Ethernet device "eth0" with
    the 3c90x driver module.  If you have one of the EtherLink NICs
    that is supported by the driver, place the following line in the
    /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file:
 
     alias eth0 3c90x  
 
    To enable additional supported EtherLink NICs, create additional  
    aliases, such as:
 
     alias eth1 3c90x  
     alias eth2 3c90x  
 
 
  Using 3c90x and 3c59x drivers
  ------------------------------
    The 3C90x driver for Linux supports the "B" and "C" models of the  
    EtherLink 3C90x NIC family (see the supported NICs listed above).  
     
    Support for older 3C905, 3C900 and 3C59x NICs, as well as many current  
    3Com NICs, is provided by the 3C59x driver in Linux.  
     
    Because both of these drivers support many of the same models of NICs,  
    3Com recommends using the 3C90x driver module for the most recent NICs  
    (those listed above), and the 3c59x driver for those older NICs  
    not supported by the 3c90x driver.
     
    Both the 3C90x and 3C59x driver modules can be used at the same time.
    However, to make sure that the 3C90x driver is used with the  
    appropriate NIC, configure your system to load the 3C90x driver first.
    This allows the 3C90x driver to attach itself to all of the NICs that  
    it supports.  Once this is complete, the 3C59x driver can be loaded  
    and used by your system for any remaining 3Com NICs that are not  
    supported by the 3C90x driver.
     
    To accomplish this driver module loading order, it is important to
    understand how both the 3C90x and 3C59x drivers scan the PCI slots  
    for the presence of a suitable NIC, how the kernel module loading  
    system works, and how the "eth0," "eth1," "eth2," etc. device names  
    are assigned.
     
    Both of the 3C90x and 3C59x drivers attempt to locate all of the  
    PCI network devices they support.  If the 3C90x driver first locates
    three supported network devices, they will be named eth0, eth1, and
    eth2.  If, subsequently, the 3C59x driver finds two devices, they  
    will be named eth3 and eth4. (Note that the ethN devices names are  
    assigned in a first-found order; this may not be what is requested  
    in the /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file.)
 
    Both drivers scan for devices in PCI slot number order, beginning at  
    slot 0, and scanning to slot 255.  Unfortunately, there is no  
    standard for how PCI slots are numbered relative to their location  
    in a PC; each PC vendor determines the numbering order of PCI slots.  
    This means that the slots in which you have placed your NICs affects  
    the order in which the NICs are "found" by the driver.  The  
    device named eth0 will be the first device found and successfully  
    scanned by the driver; eth1 will be the second Ethernet device;  
    eth2 the third, and so on.  
       
    To ensure that the 3C90x driver module is the first to detect all
    supported NICs, place an "alias eth0 3c90x" alias in  
    /etc/modules.conf or conf.modules.  
 
    Remember: ALL supported devices found by either the 3C90x or 3C59x  
    driver will be used by that driver.  There is currently no way to  
    control specific NIC-to-driver assignments.
 
 
* Building the Driver
---------------------
    The 3C90x driver can be built either as a kernel loadable module, or  
    it can be compiled directly into the kernel.
 
    Building a loadable module:
    ---------------------------
    To build the 3c90x driver as a loadable module, you can either:  
    + Use the provided batch files compile_UP or compile_SMP by typing
 ./compile_<UP or SMP>  
 (UP for Uni-processor machine, SMP for multi-processor machine)
    OR
 
    + Compile the 3c90x.c source file with the following command:
 
    gcc -c 3c90x.c -O2 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -fomit-frame-pointer \
        -I/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build/include \  
        -fno-strength-reduce -pipe -m486 -malign-loops=2 \
        -malign-jumps=2 -malign-functions=2 -DCPU=486 \
        -DMODULE -D__KERNEL__  
 
    Additionally, you can modify this compile line by:
    + Adding -DMODVERSIONS to the command line if your kernel was built  
      with symbol versioning (RedHat, etc.)
    + Adding -D__SMP__ to the command line for SMP support
    + Replace -I/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build/include with
 -I/usr/src/linux/include if you use older versions.
 
    To install a loadable module, enter the following command:
     
    insmod 3c90x.o
     
 
* Configuring the Driver  
------------------------
 
    The 3C90x driver supports the following options, which can be  
    supplied as command line arguments to the insmod command or in the  
    /etc/modules.conf file.  Unless otherwise stated, all settings take  
    the form of:
     
    <option>=value [,value...]
 
    NOTE:  If you use the modules.conf file to load the driver at
    boot time, include the word "options" when configuring the driver.
    For example:  options 3c90x full_duplex=0
 
    If you use command line insmod, do not include the word "option"
    when configuring the driver.  For example:  insmod 3c90x full_duplex=0
   
                                                                                 
  OPTION: media_select
    Selects the media type of the NIC.  Note: Invalid combinations of
    media_select and full_duplex are ignored by the driver.
 
    0  NONE   [ Default ]
    1  10BASE_T
    2  10AUI
    3  10BASE_2
    4  100BASE_TX
    5  100BASE_FX
    6  10BASE_FL
    7  AUTO_SELECT
 
 
  OPTION: full_duplex
    Allows overriding of the default duplex setting for the hardware.  
    Note: Invalid combinations of media_select and full_duplex are ignored  
    by the driver.
 
    -  Hardware default [ Default ]
    0  Disabled
    1  Enabled
 
 
  OPTION: flowcontrol
    Sets flow control for the NIC.  Flow control for multiple NICs
    can be set using commas (for example, flowcontrol=0,1,1,0).
 
    1  Enabled  [ Default ]
    0  Disabled
 
 
  OPTION: switchdelay
    Delays the driver initialization by three seconds to allow  
    slower switches to respond to the NIC initialization.
 
    0  Disabled  [ Default ]
    1  Enabled
 
 
  OPTION: downpoll
    Sets the poll rate for the DPD, the rate at which the current DPD is  
    polled for a new DPD to be processed when the next DPD pointer is  
    empty, or to determine the timer expiration when a packet download  
    is delayed. The only values that are allowed are 8 and 64.
 
    8   2.56 microseconds [ Default ]
    64  20.48 microseconds
 
 
   OPTION: debug
    Enables debugging messages for particular sub-systems of the driver.  
    The values below represent flag bits, which can be added together  
    to enable debugging messages for the particular sub-systems.  In  
    general, this option is useful to programmers only;  therefore,  
    debugging output is only available when the driver is compiled with
    DEBUG defined.
 
     0x00  No debugging output [ Default]
     0x01  Initialization code messages
     0x02  Function call entry/exit messages
     0x04  Ioctl messages
     0x08  Statistics messages
     0x10  Send path messages
     0x20  Receive path messages
     0x40  Interrupt path messages
 
* Support Information
---------------------
 
    E-mail Support:
 
    - USA or Canada: 3COM_US_NIC_FAMILY@3COM.COM
    - Mexico and Latin America: AMI_HD@3com.com
    - Brazil: br-nicsupport@3com.com  
    - Europe, Middle East and Africa: European_Technical_Support@3com.com
    - Asia Pacific Rim: apr_technical_support@3com.com
    - Source/binary name/location
      (http://support.3com.com/infodeli/tools/nic/linux.htm )
 
    Knowledgebase Support:
    - http://knowledgebase.3com.com
 
    Enhancement Requests:
    - To request or submit driver modifications for 3Com consideration, go
    to http://support.3com.com/infodeli/tools/nic/linuxrequest.htm to obtain
    the form.
 
* Additional Information
------------------------
 
     /usr/src/linux/Documentation
 
    http://www.linuxdoc.org/
 
    http://www.linuxhq.com/
 
 
3Com and EtherLink are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation.
 
                 <README.TXT - Release Notes v1.2)