Re: [TCLUG:2546] Configuring for 2 Network Adapters

[Peter Lukas <peter@math.umn.edu>]

You lucky dog, I'm about 5 feet over the limit for DSL.  :-).  IRQ sharing
is a driver issue.  Linux drivers seem to handle this without a problem,
as for NT, does it handle anything without a problem?  There's a few
things you can do.  If they're both PCI adapters, you should "Reset
Configuration Data" in your bios.  This will allow the BIOS to undo any
conflicting IRQ settings and hopefully reassign them to a non-conflicting
location.  Also, you might have better success loading each adapter driver
as a module.  The problem with using 2 similar cards is that it might be
tough to determine which one was loaded.  In any event, the DSL connection
isn't connected to a switch that does either 10/100 FD, so it shouldn't be
an issue.  To be safe, you can load the modules forcing the 905b to 10MB
half-duplex simply by passing no options to the module as you load it.
There are newer drivers usually making their way into kernels between
point releases, so chances are, the driver with 2.0.35 is older than the
one packaged with 2.0.36.  If all else fails, you can always pick up a 
nice netgear PCI 10/100 adapter for about $30.

Peter Lukas
Math Systems Office
University of Minnesota

On Mon, 7 Dec 1998, Gordon Pedersen wrote:

> Thanks, Peter.  I had no idea these cards were extra finicky.  I won't
> be near the machine till tomorrow evening but here's a followup 
> question:
> 
> 	I'm connecting it to one of the netspeed routers supplied by US West
> for their RADSL service.  Presumably if speeds stay below 768K as seems
> almost certain--I'm only buying the basic 256K service--then will the
> speed be an issue?  Can't quite tell from what you write.
> 
> I'll check out the 905B driver.
> 
> 	Do you know what happened in the kernel between 2.0.34 and 2.0.36 that
> makes it work better for these drivers?
> 
> gp
> 
> Peter Lukas wrote:
> > 
> > The 905 and 905B are both really fussy cards (the 905B in particular).
> > You'll need to upgrade to a more recent kernel that the stock RH5.1 (which
> > really only supports plain-vanilla 905).  Use a 2.0.36 or a 2.1.13x kernel
> > or download the 905B driver from the cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov site.  Also,
> > some of these newer "autosensing" adapters get really confused depending
> > upon what type of switch they're hooked up to.  If you're connecting the
> > adapter to a 10/100 switch, you'll need to configure the port the 905B is
> > connected to forced 10 or 100 full or half-duplex and do the same for the
> > card as you load it.  Of the numerous 905's and 905B's I've worked with,
> > the only ones with the problem have been the adapters with the white WOL
> > connector on the card itself.  This problem has also exhibited itself on
> > the dec tulip-based adapters as well.  If you're not using an autosensing
> > switch, you'll probably just need to update the kernel 905B
> > Vortex/Boomarang driver.
> > 
> > Peter Lukas
> > Math Systems Office
> > University of Minnesota
> > 
> > On Fri, 4 Dec 1998, Richard Seymour wrote:
> > 
> > > So you have two NICs that are exactly the same? It seems to me that I had
> > > a problem doing that for some reason. And popped in a different card for
> > > one of them.
> > >
> > > What are the IRQ's and I/O addresses as they are currently configured?
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Richard Seymour, Anarchy Software, Inc.
> > > anarchy@anarchysoftware.com
> 
> Gordon Pedersen         1412 Portland Ave
> info systems design     Saint Paul, Minnesota
> gordo@pclink.com        55104,  USA
> 
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