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NetWare Driver Software: Broadcom NetXtreme II™ Network Adapter User Guide

Overview

Preinstallation Requirements

Installing NetWare Server 6.5 Driver Software

Viewing or Modifying Adapter Properties

Removing Drivers from Autoexec.ncf

Overview

This section discusses three NetWare drivers:

Preinstallation Requirements

A network device driver must be installed before the Broadcom NetXtreme II Gigabit Ethernet adapter can be used with your Novell NetWare system.

Before you can successfully install the adapter driver for Novell NetWare, the adapter card must be physically installed in the system and, typically, NetWare operating system software must already be running on the system. Make sure that your system meets the hardware and operating system software requirements described in Installing the Hardware.

To enable the Broadcom NetXtreme II adapter to function correctly, you must install the latest Novell NetWare support pack files. The NetWare support pack or patch file(s) needed for the operating system running on your server are indicated below:

Table 1: NetWare Support Files
NetWare Version
Support Pack
Files to be Installed
NetWare 6.5
Latest support pack
The latest support pack can be found at: http://support.novell.com/tools/csp/index.html

Installing NetWare Server 6.5 Driver Software

You may want to create an archive disk by copying all the files from the CDROM\NetWare\Driver directory onto a floppy disk. If you elect to use the CD directly, ensure that the CDROM.NLM file is loaded and that you know the NetWare volume name for the CD.

  1. From the NetWare Server console, type HDETECT, and then press ENTER.
  2. From Options, press ENTER to accept Platform Support Module and Hot-Plug Support Module and continue detecting devices.
  3. From Options, scroll down to select Modify, and then press ENTER to change focus to detected devices.
  4. Scroll down to Network boards and press ENTER.
  5. From Additional Driver Options, scroll down to Modify, and then press ENTER.
  6. Insert the CD or archive floppy disk you created, and then select the Add option by pressing INSERT.
  7. Select the Install an unlisted driver option, by pressing INSERT.
  8. If you inserted the archive floppy disk, press ENTER. If you have the CD mounted as a NetWare volume, press F3 and type Volume Name: NetWare\Driver as the source path, where Volume Name is the name of the NetWare volume for the CD, and NetWare\Driver is the directory of the specific files on the CD needed for this installation.
  9. Press DOWN ARROW or TAB to switch back to Additional Driver Options.
  10. Choose Return to driver summary, and then press ENTER.
  11. Choose Continue in Options.
  12. Choose Continue from Protocol Options unless you want to configure and bind protocols before continuing. Installation is now complete.

Viewing or Modifying Adapter Properties

When an adapter configuration is saved, the NetWare installation program adds load and bind statements to the Autoexec.ncf file. By accessing this file, you can view and modify properties or add properties for each network adapter.

NOTE: The Novell monitor program and the config command are also useful for viewing driver configuration properties. For information on how to use these programs, see the Utilities Reference in your Novell NetWare online documentation.

The properties that can be defined in the load statements are described below:

Configuration Properties for BX2.LAN Driver

TxDescriptors=

Initializes Descriptor resources on the adapter for transmits.

Min = 100
Max = 512
Default = 120

RxBuffers=

This is to pre-allocate receive ECBs & Receive adapter resources. This setting may be affected by the NetWare Server maximum/minimum packet receive buffer settings.

Min = 32
Max = 1000
Default = 200

Speed=

This keyword forces the line speed of the adapter. When this keyword is used, the switch to which the adapter cable is connected must be forced. Otherwise, the adapter and switch may run at different duplex modes. It is important to have the switch and adapter set properly. The best way to ensure good connectivity is to not set the speed keyword and allow for automatic link setup (auto-negotiation).

AUTO
10FD
10HD
100FD
100HD

The default setting is AUTO. Note that 1000 Mbit/s speed is auto-detected and cannot be forced.

Link=

This keyword is set to AUTO to allow the adapter to auto-negotiate with a switch using the Speed keyword as an advertised speed upper limit. It is best to allow for auto-negotiation of the adapter and switch by not setting this keyword or the Speed keyword.

AUTO
FORCE

The default is Auto. When set to FORCE, auto-negotiation is disabled and the link speed is forced to a specific value.

RxTicks=

Enables the use of batching receives within a specific time period.

Min = 0 (Disabled)
Max = 5000000 (5 seconds)

Units are in microseconds, The default value is 300.

TxTicks=

Enables the use of a transmit tick threshold interrupt within a specific time period.

Min = 0 (Disabled)
Max = 5000000 (5 seconds)

Units are in microseconds. The default value is 200.

TxPacketsPer=

Enables allowing an interrupt to occur after a specific amount of packets is transmitted.

Min = 0 (Disabled)
Max = 100

The default value is 20.

RxPacketsPer=

Enables allowing an interrupt to occur after a specific amount of packets is received.

Min = 0 (Disabled)
Max = 100

The default value is 75.

CheckSum=

Enables or disables the transmit and receive checksum offload feature. Checksum offload support is only for TCP/IP packets; therefore, the default setting for checksum offload is OFF.

OFF
ON
TX
RX

FlowCtrl=

This keyword allows enabling/disabling of transmit and receive flow control.

BOTH
RX
TX
OFF

The default setting is OFF.

PDriver=

Enables the driver to operate in persistent driver mode. Use only if the adapter is placed in a hot-plug slot and only if you must swap with an adapter that is exactly the same.

OFF
ON

The default setting is OFF.

NODE=

A Novell NetWare keyword that allows an input Ethernet node address to replace the adapter factory-programmed Ethernet node address until a subsequent reboot.

NODE=nnnnnnnnnnnn

FRAME=

A Novell NetWare keyword for specifying the frame type.

ETHERNET_II
ETHERNET_802.3
ETHERNET_802.2
ETHERNET_SNAP

The default value is ETHERNET_802.2.

SLOT=

A Novell NetWare keyword used to set a system-wide unique hardware instance number (HIN) that may be the physical slot number on a slot-based bus such as PCI.

SLOT=n

Jumbo=

Enables jumbo frame support. When enabled, jumbo packets of up to 9000 bytes are supported.

Jumbo=1536–9000

The default setting is no jumbo packets.

NOTES:

P3=

This keyword is used when running Perform3.exe tests and may be used to increase performance on networks running with many IPX clients.

Set P3=1 when running the Perform3 test back to back to a single client.
Set P3=2 when running the Perform3 test with many clients.

The default setting is P3=0.

Spuriousfix=

When this keyword is set to 1 (Spurious Fix is ON), the spurious interrupts count that is sometimes displayed on the NetWare console may be reduced. Setting this keyword to 0 (Spurious Fix is OFF) may enhance performance.

Spuriousfix = 0 (Spurious Fix is off)
Spuriousfix = 1 (Spurious Fix is on)

The default value is 1 (Spurious Fix is on).

Poll=

Disables the interrupt driven mode. When set to Poll=1, the driver does not use interrupts, but is polled by the NetWare operating system. This is a common feature supported in NetWare. The poll mode may increase driver performance in some environments.

Poll = 1 (on)
Poll = 0 (off)

The default value is 0 (Poll mode is off).

Wirespeed=

This feature provides adapter link and data integrity even if the adapter is attached to a questionable cable and/or switch. For example, an adapter that is trying to connect at 1000 Mbit/s on a Category 3 cable ordinarily would not link. With Wirespeed set to 1, the link is made at 100 Mbit/s.

Wirespeed = 1 (on)
Wirespeed = 0 (off)

The default value is 1 (Wirespeed is on).

Model=

This keyword allows the addition of a subsystem ID of a specific NIC so that the driver loads only on the first NIC found with a matching subsystem ID. For example, MODEl= 0x14e4. The default value is 0

MagicP=

When MagicP=1, the driver enables the adapter to wake up the system when a Magic Packet™ frame is received after the system is shut down. MagicP=0 is the default setting with the adapter having no wake-up ability.

MagicP = 1 (on)
MagicP = 0 (off)

The default value is 0 (No wake-up capability).

Fiber=

The driver has support for the 1000FD fiber adapter. The fiber auto-negotiates link with a fiber switch even though it only supports 1000FD. In some cases, the user may want to force the adapter to 1000FD.

AUTO (default)
FORCE

NOTE: If you modify any of the adapter properties, you must reboot the system before the changes take effect. If you make changes and do not reboot, you may experience problems.

A valid Autoexec.ncf file is shown below. One set of load and bind commands (in bold) is added for each frame type the adapter is configured to support.

SET Daylight Savings Time Offset = 1:00:00
SET Start Of Daylight Savings Time = (MARCH SUNDAY LAST 2:00:00 AM)
SET End Of Daylight Savings Time = (OCTOBER SUNDAY LAST 2:00:00 AM)
SET Time Zone = TPST8TPDT
# Note: The Time zone information mentioned above
# should always precede the SERVER name.
# WARNING!!
FILE SERVER NAME DL760
# WARNING!!
# If you change the name of this server, you must update
# the server name in all the licenses that are assigned
# to it using iManager.
SERVERID 487B10D
LOAD ODINEB.NLM
LOAD IPXRTR
LOAD IPXRTRNM
LOAD TCPIP
LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_802.2 NAME=BX2_1_E82
BIND IPX BX2_1_E82 NET=FAFD3D25
LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_802.3 NAME=BX2_1_E83
BIND IPX BX2_1_E83 NET=5A2D8D6D
LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_SNAP NAME=BX2_1_ESP
BIND IPX BX2_1_ESP NET=477A35BD
LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_II NAME=BX2_1_EII
BIND IPX BX2_1_EII NET=C3C8F2E4
BIND IP BX2_1_EII ADDR=172.16.1.1 MASK=ff.ff.ff.0
mount all 
SEARCH ADD SYS:\JAVA\BIN
SEARCH ADD SYS:\JAVA\NWGFX

Removing Drivers from Autoexec.ncf

To remove the drivers from the Autoexec.ncf file, locate the load and bind command lines associated with the Broadcom driver and remark them out by inserting the # symbol at the beginning of each command line, or by deleting the statement.

Example:

# LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_802.2 NAME=BX2_1_E82 
# BIND IPX BX2_1_E82 NET=FAFD3D25
# LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_802.3 NAME=BX2_1_E83
# BIND IPX BX2_1_E83 NET=5A2D8D6D
# LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_SNAP NAME=BX2_1_ESP
# BIND IPX BX2_1_ESP NET=477A35BD
# LOAD BX2 SLOT=2 FRAME=Ethernet_II NAME=BX2_1_EII
# BIND IPX BX2_1_EII NET=C3C8F2E4
# BIND IP BX2_1_EII ADDR=172.16.1.1 MASK=ff.ff.ff.0


 

NOTE: If you modify the Autoexec.ncf file, you must reboot the server before the changes take effect.


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