
               Phobos E100 Drivers Modification Information

        How to get the standard 3Com 3c597 card working in Indigo2

                Last Change: 23/Aug/2001, by Ian Mapleson


My thanks to Tony Mantler, Gavin Saxby and Sergio.


How to Use This Bundle
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I'm assuming your 3c597 card is already physically installed in
the target Indigo2. Install it in the bottom EISA slot below the
graphics card set.

Download the E100 drivers, either from Phobos' web site or my
depot page:

  http://www.futuretech.vuurwerk.nl/depot/

The tar file unzips some OS-specific directories (5.3, 6.2, 6.5),
each containing a dist directory that has the appropriate SGI-format
software, plus a README file and an INSTALL file.

Point swmgr to the appropriate directory and install the drivers
just like any other product, eg. for 6.5 users:

  swmgr -f 6.5/dist

After installation, exit swmgr and then replace the standard Phobos
FastEthernet (fe) driver library with the appropriate modified
library as follows:

  - if you're using an IP22 Indigo2 (any R4xxx system), then
    enter this:

       /bin/cp if_fe.o /var/sysgen/boot/if_fe.o

  - if you're using an IP28 Indigo2 (any R10000 system), then
    enter this:

       /bin/cp if_fe.o_IP28 /var/sysgen/boot/if_fe.o

HOWEVER: if your system for some reason is not an IP22 or IP28
machine, then don't use the libraries included in this archive.
Instead, compile the fehack.c program yourself and run it after
installing the Phobos drivers.


Anyway, now enter the following to create a new kernel:

  /etc/autoconfig -v

then reboot the system. Next, find the following line in the
/etc/config/netif.options file:

  : if1name=

and change it to this (ie. uncomment the line and add fe0 to the end):

  if1name=fe0

Now use the FEControl GUI program to set the link speed and duplex
mode. I just force the card to 100Mbit and full-duplex since I use a
16-port switch, but if you're using a 100Mbit hub then select 100Mbit
half-duplex.

Alternatively, make changes using the command-line fe_control
program, eg. to set to 100MBit full-duplex:

  fe_control -i fe0 -d full -s 100

Just to make sure, I stop and restart the network at this point:

  /etc/init.d/network stop
  /etc/init.d/network start

If you're doing all this via a remote connection, then run the
above commands together in background:

  cd /etc/init.d
  (./network stop && ./network start)&


For full details, including an example performance test (I get
about 5.5MB/sec with a 3c597 in an Indigo2), see my FastEthernet
information page:

  http://www.futuretech.vuurwerk.nl/fastether.html

See the Phobos INSTALL file for details on how to setup the
card as something other than the primary interface.


It's a good idea to make a backup of the driver files. I recommend
copying all the files, including the E100 driver tar file, into a
directory called /usr/local/src/3c597, and also copy everything
onto a floppy as an extra backup. My Depot page has all the files
though too.

Cheers! :)

Ian.

SGI/NT Admin, Centre for Virtual Environments, University of Salford, Salford.
mapesdhs@yahoo.com | Tel: +44 (0)161 295 2926, Fax: +44 (0)161 295 2925. M5 4WT

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