Fast EtherLink®

Server NIC
Release Notes

3C980B-TX 10/100 PCI server NIC with

DynamicAccess® Software for Servers

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Part No. 09-1548-001

Published April 1999
3Com Corporation ■ 5400 Bayfront Plaza ■ Santa Clara, California ■ 95052-8145

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 Introduction 3

Introduction
These release notes apply to the following software for
the 3Com Fast EtherLink Server network interface card
(3C980B-TX server NIC):
■ Version 1.3 drivers
■ Version 1.7 DynamicAccess software for servers
For more specific technical information, see the README
files on the Fast EtherLink Server NIC CD.

Using Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4

CAUTION: To avoid system failure on multiprocessor
machines running Service Pack 4, you must install a
Microsoft TCP/IP hotfix patch and reboot the server before
installing DynamicAccess software for servers.
If you install DynamicAccess software for servers and then
upgrade to Service Pack 4, you must install the patch
before you reboot the system.
A link to the patch is available at this 3Com web site:
http://www.3com.com/dynamicaccess/hotfixes
For instructions for how to recover from this failure, see the
README file in the root directory on the Fast EtherLink
Server NIC CD.

Using DynamicAccess Software for Servers

The following information applies to DynamicAccess
software for servers version 1.7.

Updating from the Previous Release

Do not use the Network Adapters Update button to update
from the previous version of DynamicAccess software for
servers. To upgrade, run the daserver.exe program, which
is supplied on the Fast EtherLink Server NIC CD. Start
the program from the CD and click Yes to the prompt
to update.
 4 FAST ETHERLINK SERVER NIC RELEASE NOTES

Load Balancing Support

DynamicAccess software for servers supports load
balancing for TCP/IP protocol only.

Specifying Traffic Prioritization

You can turn traffic prioritization on or off independently
for:
■ Each NIC that is not in a group and does not
have VLANs
■ Each group that does not have VLANs
■ Each VLAN
■ Each virtual NIC (NIC, group, or VLAN) shown in the
Traffic Prioritization control panel

Configuring VLANs
VLANs are supported in the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
environment only. Virtual LAN tagging (VLT) is no longer
supported.
Observe these VLAN configuration guidelines:
■ DynamicAccess software for servers supports as many
as 64 VLANs per server.
■ Specify a unique VLAN ID for each VLAN in a group.
■ Each VLAN bound to TCP/IP must exist on a separate IP
subnet. DHCP servers used to allocate IP addresses must
be located on the same IP subnets as the VLANs.
■ Each VLAN bound to the IPX/SPX protocol must use a
unique network number.

VLAN Memory Requirements

These memory requirements are for multiple VLAN
configurations:
Number of VLANs Minimum RAM Size (MB)
up to 16 64
17 – 32 96
33 – 48 128
49 – 64 256
 Using DynamicAccess Software for Servers 5

You can improve overall system performance with VLANs

by increasing the physical RAM, the virtual memory page
size, or both.

Avoiding Blocked Multicast Streams

To avoid problems associated with blocked multicast
streams, configure end stations that support the
IEEE 802.1p GARP Multicast Registration Protocol
specification (GMRP) on separate switch segments from
stations that do not support it.

Starting Windows NT Services After Configuring VLANs

After VLANs have been configured, system services that are
set to start automatically may not start. To start them:
1 Determine which services did not start.
In the Services Control Panel, services listed as automatic
should show a started status. Note those that do not.
2 Determine the order to start the services.
Check the Event Viewer to see the order in which services
must be started.
3 Start the services from a DOS command line.
Enter this command for each failed service:
NET START service
where service is the name of the service.
Be sure to start the services in the order shown in the
Event Viewer.

Windows NT Network Monitor Limitation

To prevent possible server failure, the driver disables receive
load balancing temporarily while the Windows network
monitor is running and reenables it after the monitor is
stopped. If you change receive load balancing properties in
the Group Properties dialog box while the network monitor
is running, the driver saves the changes in cache and then
reflects them after you turn the monitor off.
 6 FAST ETHERLINK SERVER NIC RELEASE NOTES

TCP/IP Protocol Disabled

The following scenario results in the loss of TCP/IP protocol
bindings: Install two 3C980B-TX server NICs, create a
group, add the two NICs to the group, and reboot the
server. Then install two more 3C980B-TX server NICs on
the same server, add the NICs to the same group, and
reboot the server. The TCP/IP protocol is disabled after the
server boots.
To work around this problem:
After you add the second set of adapters, select No when
Windows NT prompts you to restart. The DynamicAccess
software for servers binding process finishes, and TCP/IP
protocol bindings are maintained.

Ping Timeout
When transmit load balancing and VLANs are enabled,
pings between the server and some clients may time out.
Applications are not affected.

NetWare Statistics
The following statistic counters are disabled. Disregard any
information you see in them.
VLAN Identified
Number of VNICs registered for the NIC
Currently active slot
Configured primary slot
Configured secondary slot
Number of successful switches
Number of switch failures
Number of ping timeouts detected
Number of ping frames sent
Number of ping frames received
Number of detected primary NIC failures
Number of detected secondary NIC failures
Number of user induced switch requests
 Obtaining Software 7

Obtaining Software
The most current 3Com drivers and software upgrades are
available from the 3Com web site (http://www.3com.com).
Under Site Tools, click Software Downloads.

SCO Software
You can obtain SCO drivers as follows:
■ UnixWare 7 — A self-healing device driver that supports
Load Balancing/RSL server features is available at the
3Com web site.
■ SCO OpenServer 5 — The standard driver is available
from the SCO web site (http://www.sco.com).

Current 3C980-TX Users

Fast EtherLink Server NIC drivers and DynamicAccess
software for servers are compatible with 3C980-TX server
NICs. 3C980-TX server NIC users can upgrade to the latest
software from the 3Com web site free of charge.