Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of Adapters
==============================================================
-March 15, 2004
+November 17, 2004
Contents
========
- In This Release
-- Supported Adapters
+- Identifying Your Adapter
+- Driver Configuration Parameters
+- Additional Configurations
- Support
===============
This file describes the Linux* Base Driver for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Family of
-Adapters, version 3.x.x. This driver includes support for Itanium(TM)-based
-systems.
+Adapters, version 3.3.x. This driver supports 2.4.x and 2.6.x kernels.
-
-Supported Adapters
-==================
-
-To verify that your adapter is supported, find the board ID number on the
-adapter. Look for a label that has a barcode and a number in the format
-A12345-001. Match this to the list of numbers above.
+Identifying Your Adapter
+========================
For more information on how to identify your adapter, go to the Adapter &
Driver ID Guide at:
http://support.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/21397.htm
-For the latest Intel PRO/100 network driver for Linux, see:
+For the latest Intel network drivers for Linux, refer to the following
+website. In the search field, enter your adapter name or type, or use the
+networking link on the left to search for your adapter:
http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df/support_intel.asp
+Driver Configuration Parameters
+===============================
+
+The default value for each parameter is generally the recommended setting,
+unless otherwise noted.
+
+Rx Descriptors: Number of receive descriptors. A receive descriptor is a data
+ structure that describes a receive buffer and its attributes to the network
+ controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to write
+ data from the controller to host memory. In the 3.0.x driver the valid
+ range for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 64. This parameter
+ can be changed using the command
+
+ ethtool -G eth? rx n, where n is the number of desired rx descriptors.
+
+Tx Descriptors: Number of transmit descriptors. A transmit descriptor is a
+ data structure that describes a transmit buffer and its attributes to the
+ network controller. The data in the descriptor is used by the controller to
+ read data from the host memory to the controller. In the 3.0.x driver the
+ valid range for this parameter is 64-256. The default value is 64. This
+ parameter can be changed using the command
+
+ ethtool -G eth? tx n, where n is the number of desired tx descriptors.
+
+Speed/Duplex: The driver auto-negotiates the link speed and duplex settings by
+ default. Ethtool can be used as follows to force speed/duplex.
+
+ ethtool -s eth? autoneg off speed {10|100} duplex {full|half}
+
+ NOTE: setting the speed/duplex to incorrect values will cause the link to
+ fail.
+
+Event Log Message Level: The driver uses the message level flag to log events
+ to syslog. The message level can be set at driver load time. It can also be
+ set using the command
+
+ ethtool -s eth? msglvl n
+
+Additional Configurations
+=========================
+
+ Configuring the Driver on Different Distributions
+ -------------------------------------------------
+
+ Configuring a network driver to load properly when the system is started is
+ distribution dependent. Typically, the configuration process involves adding
+ an alias line to /etc/modules.conf as well as editing other system startup
+ scripts and/or configuration files. Many popular Linux distributions ship
+ with tools to make these changes for you. To learn the proper way to
+ configure a network device for your system, refer to your distribution
+ documentation. If during this process you are asked for the driver or module
+ name, the name for the Linux Base Driver for the Intel PRO/100 Family of
+ Adapters is e100.
+
+ As an example, if you install the e100 driver for two PRO/100 adapters
+ (eth0 and eth1), add the following to modules.conf:
+
+ alias eth0 e100
+ alias eth1 e100
+
+ Viewing Link Messages
+ ---------------------
+ In order to see link messages and other Intel driver information on your
+ console, you must set the dmesg level up to six. This can be done by
+ entering the following on the command line before loading the e100 driver:
+
+ dmesg -n 8
+
+ If you wish to see all messages issued by the driver, including debug
+ messages, set the dmesg level to eight.
+
+ NOTE: This setting is not saved across reboots.
+
+ Ethtool
+ -------
+
+ The driver utilizes the ethtool interface for driver configuration and
+ diagnostics, as well as displaying statistical information. Ethtool
+ version 1.6 or later is required for this functionality.
+
+ The latest release of ethtool can be found at:
+ http://sf.net/projects/gkernel.
+
+ NOTE: This driver uses mii support from the kernel. As a result, when
+ there is no link, ethtool will report speed/duplex to be 10/half.
+
+ NOTE: Ethtool 1.6 only supports a limited set of ethtool options. Support
+ for a more complete ethtool feature set can be enabled by upgrading
+ ethtool to ethtool-1.8.1.
+
+ Enabling Wake on LAN* (WoL)
+ ---------------------------
+ WoL is provided through the Ethtool* utility. Ethtool is included with Red
+ Hat* 8.0. For other Linux distributions, download and install Ethtool from
+ the following website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gkernel.
+
+ For instructions on enabling WoL with Ethtool, refer to the Ethtool man
+ page.
+
+ WoL will be enabled on the system during the next shut down or reboot. For
+ this driver version, in order to enable WoL, the e100 driver must be
+ loaded when shutting down or rebooting the system.
+
+ NAPI
+ ----
+
+ NAPI (Rx polling mode) is supported in the e100 driver. NAPI is enabled
+ or disabled based on the configuration of the kernel.
+
+ See www.cyberus.ca/~hadi/usenix-paper.tgz for more information on NAPI.
Support
=======
git://git.onelab.eu / linux-2.6.git / blobdiff