[linux.git] / Documentation / networking / de4x5.txt

    Originally,   this  driver  was    written  for the  Digital   Equipment
    Corporation series of EtherWORKS Ethernet cards:

        DE425 TP/COAX EISA
	DE434 TP PCI
	DE435 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
	DE450 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
	DE500 10/100 PCI Fasternet

    but it  will  now attempt  to  support all  cards which   conform to the
    Digital Semiconductor   SROM   Specification.    The  driver   currently
    recognises the following chips:

        DC21040  (no SROM) 
	DC21041[A]  
	DC21140[A] 
	DC21142 
	DC21143 

    So far the driver is known to work with the following cards:

        KINGSTON
	Linksys
	ZNYX342
	SMC8432
	SMC9332 (w/new SROM)
	ZNYX31[45]
	ZNYX346 10/100 4 port (can act as a 10/100 bridge!) 

    The driver has been tested on a relatively busy network using the DE425,
    DE434, DE435 and DE500 cards and benchmarked with 'ttcp': it transferred
    16M of data to a DECstation 5000/200 as follows:

                TCP           UDP
             TX     RX     TX     RX
    DE425   1030k  997k   1170k  1128k
    DE434   1063k  995k   1170k  1125k
    DE435   1063k  995k   1170k  1125k
    DE500   1063k  998k   1170k  1125k  in 10Mb/s mode

    All  values are typical (in   kBytes/sec) from a  sample  of 4 for  each
    measurement. Their error is +/-20k on a quiet (private) network and also
    depend on what load the CPU has.

    =========================================================================

    The ability to load this  driver as a loadable  module has been included
    and used extensively  during the driver development  (to save those long
    reboot sequences).  Loadable module support  under PCI and EISA has been
    achieved by letting the driver autoprobe as if it were compiled into the
    kernel. Do make sure  you're not sharing  interrupts with anything  that
    cannot accommodate  interrupt  sharing!

    To utilise this ability, you have to do 8 things:

    0) have a copy of the loadable modules code installed on your system.
    1) copy de4x5.c from the  /linux/drivers/net directory to your favourite
    temporary directory.
    2) for fixed  autoprobes (not  recommended),  edit the source code  near
    line 5594 to reflect the I/O address  you're using, or assign these when
    loading by:

                   insmod de4x5 io=0xghh           where g = bus number
		                                        hh = device number   

       NB: autoprobing for modules is now supported by default. You may just
           use:

                   insmod de4x5

           to load all available boards. For a specific board, still use
	   the 'io=?' above.
    3) compile  de4x5.c, but include -DMODULE in  the command line to ensure
    that the correct bits are compiled (see end of source code).
    4) if you are wanting to add a new  card, goto 5. Otherwise, recompile a
    kernel with the de4x5 configuration turned off and reboot.
    5) insmod de4x5 [io=0xghh]
    6) run the net startup bits for your new eth?? interface(s) manually 
    (usually /etc/rc.inet[12] at boot time). 
    7) enjoy!

    To unload a module, turn off the associated interface(s) 
    'ifconfig eth?? down' then 'rmmod de4x5'.

    Automedia detection is included so that in  principle you can disconnect
    from, e.g.  TP, reconnect  to BNC  and  things will still work  (after a
    pause whilst the   driver figures out   where its media went).  My tests
    using ping showed that it appears to work....

    By  default,  the driver will  now   autodetect any  DECchip based card.
    Should you have a need to restrict the driver to DIGITAL only cards, you
    can compile with a  DEC_ONLY define, or if  loading as a module, use the
    'dec_only=1'  parameter. 

    I've changed the timing routines to  use the kernel timer and scheduling
    functions  so that the  hangs  and other assorted problems that occurred
    while autosensing the  media  should be gone.  A  bonus  for the DC21040
    auto  media sense algorithm is  that it can now  use one that is more in
    line with the  rest (the DC21040  chip doesn't  have a hardware  timer).
    The downside is the 1 'jiffies' (10ms) resolution.

    IEEE 802.3u MII interface code has  been added in anticipation that some
    products may use it in the future.

    The SMC9332 card  has a non-compliant SROM  which needs fixing -  I have
    patched this  driver to detect it  because the SROM format used complies
    to a previous DEC-STD format.

    I have removed the buffer copies needed for receive on Intels.  I cannot
    remove them for   Alphas since  the  Tulip hardware   only does longword
    aligned  DMA transfers  and  the  Alphas get   alignment traps with  non
    longword aligned data copies (which makes them really slow). No comment.

    I  have added SROM decoding  routines to make this  driver work with any
    card that  supports the Digital  Semiconductor SROM spec. This will help
    all  cards running the dc2114x  series chips in particular.  Cards using
    the dc2104x  chips should run correctly with  the basic  driver.  I'm in
    debt to <[email protected]> for the  testing and feedback that helped get
    this feature working.  So far we have  tested KINGSTON, SMC8432, SMC9332
    (with the latest SROM complying  with the SROM spec  V3: their first was
    broken), ZNYX342  and  LinkSys. ZNYX314 (dual  21041  MAC) and  ZNYX 315
    (quad 21041 MAC)  cards also  appear  to work despite their  incorrectly
    wired IRQs.

    I have added a temporary fix for interrupt problems when some SCSI cards
    share the same interrupt as the DECchip based  cards. The problem occurs
    because  the SCSI card wants to  grab the interrupt  as a fast interrupt
    (runs the   service routine with interrupts turned   off) vs.  this card
    which really needs to run the service routine with interrupts turned on.
    This driver will  now   add the interrupt service   routine  as  a  fast
    interrupt if it   is bounced from the   slow interrupt.  THIS IS NOT   A
    RECOMMENDED WAY TO RUN THE DRIVER  and has been done  for a limited time
    until  people   sort  out their  compatibility    issues and the  kernel
    interrupt  service code  is  fixed.   YOU  SHOULD SEPARATE OUT  THE FAST
    INTERRUPT CARDS FROM THE SLOW INTERRUPT CARDS to ensure that they do not
    run on the same interrupt. PCMCIA/CardBus is another can of worms...

    Finally, I think  I have really  fixed  the module  loading problem with
    more than one DECchip based  card.  As a  side effect, I don't mess with
    the  device structure any  more which means that  if more than 1 card in
    2.0.x is    installed (4  in   2.1.x),  the  user   will have   to  edit
    linux/drivers/net/Space.c  to make room for  them. Hence, module loading
    is  the preferred way to use   this driver, since  it  doesn't have this
    limitation.

    Where SROM media  detection is used and  full duplex is specified in the
    SROM,  the feature is  ignored unless  lp->params.fdx  is set at compile
    time  OR during  a   module load  (insmod  de4x5   args='eth??:fdx' [see
    below]).  This is because there  is no way  to automatically detect full
    duplex   links  except through   autonegotiation.    When I  include the
    autonegotiation feature in  the SROM autoconf  code, this detection will
    occur automatically for that case.

    Command line  arguments are  now allowed, similar to  passing  arguments
    through LILO. This will allow a per adapter board set  up of full duplex
    and media. The only lexical constraints are:  the board name (dev->name)
    appears in  the list before its parameters.  The list of parameters ends
    either at the end of the parameter list or with another board name.  The
    following parameters are allowed:

            fdx        for full duplex
	    autosense  to set the media/speed; with the following 
	               sub-parameters:
		       TP, TP_NW, BNC, AUI, BNC_AUI, 100Mb, 10Mb, AUTO

    Case sensitivity is important  for  the sub-parameters. They *must*   be
    upper case. Examples:

        insmod de4x5 args='eth1:fdx autosense=BNC eth0:autosense=100Mb'.

    For a compiled in driver, in linux/drivers/net/CONFIG, place e.g.
	DE4X5_OPTS = -DDE4X5_PARM='"eth0:fdx autosense=AUI eth2:autosense=TP"' 

    Yes,  I know full duplex  isn't permissible on BNC  or AUI; they're just
    examples. By default, full duplex is turned  off and AUTO is the default
    autosense setting. In  reality, I expect only the  full duplex option to
    be used. Note the use of single quotes in the two examples above and the
    lack of commas to separate items.
Commit	Line	Data
1da177e4 LT	1	Originally, this driver was written for the Digital Equipment
	2	Corporation series of EtherWORKS Ethernet cards:
	3
	4	DE425 TP/COAX EISA
	5	DE434 TP PCI
	6	DE435 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
	7	DE450 TP/COAX/AUI PCI
	8	DE500 10/100 PCI Fasternet
	9
	10	but it will now attempt to support all cards which conform to the
	11	Digital Semiconductor SROM Specification. The driver currently
	12	recognises the following chips:
	13
	14	DC21040 (no SROM)
	15	DC21041[A]
	16	DC21140[A]
	17	DC21142
	18	DC21143
	19
	20	So far the driver is known to work with the following cards:
	21
	22	KINGSTON
	23	Linksys
	24	ZNYX342
	25	SMC8432
	26	SMC9332 (w/new SROM)
	27	ZNYX31[45]
	28	ZNYX346 10/100 4 port (can act as a 10/100 bridge!)
	29
	30	The driver has been tested on a relatively busy network using the DE425,
	31	DE434, DE435 and DE500 cards and benchmarked with 'ttcp': it transferred
	32	16M of data to a DECstation 5000/200 as follows:
	33
	34	TCP UDP
	35	TX RX TX RX
	36	DE425 1030k 997k 1170k 1128k
	37	DE434 1063k 995k 1170k 1125k
	38	DE435 1063k 995k 1170k 1125k
	39	DE500 1063k 998k 1170k 1125k in 10Mb/s mode
	40
	41	All values are typical (in kBytes/sec) from a sample of 4 for each
	42	measurement. Their error is +/-20k on a quiet (private) network and also
	43	depend on what load the CPU has.
	44
	45	=========================================================================
	46
	47	The ability to load this driver as a loadable module has been included
	48	and used extensively during the driver development (to save those long
	49	reboot sequences). Loadable module support under PCI and EISA has been
	50	achieved by letting the driver autoprobe as if it were compiled into the
	51	kernel. Do make sure you're not sharing interrupts with anything that
	52	cannot accommodate interrupt sharing!
	53
	54	To utilise this ability, you have to do 8 things:
	55
	56	0) have a copy of the loadable modules code installed on your system.
	57	1) copy de4x5.c from the /linux/drivers/net directory to your favourite
	58	temporary directory.
	59	2) for fixed autoprobes (not recommended), edit the source code near
	60	line 5594 to reflect the I/O address you're using, or assign these when
	61	loading by:
	62
	63	insmod de4x5 io=0xghh where g = bus number
	64	hh = device number
65
66	NB: autoprobing for modules is now supported by default. You may just
67	use:
68
69	insmod de4x5
70
71	to load all available boards. For a specific board, still use
72	the 'io=?' above.
73	3) compile de4x5.c, but include -DMODULE in the command line to ensure
74	that the correct bits are compiled (see end of source code).
75	4) if you are wanting to add a new card, goto 5. Otherwise, recompile a
76	kernel with the de4x5 configuration turned off and reboot.
77	5) insmod de4x5 [io=0xghh]
78	6) run the net startup bits for your new eth?? interface(s) manually
79	(usually /etc/rc.inet[12] at boot time).
80	7) enjoy!
81
82	To unload a module, turn off the associated interface(s)
83	'ifconfig eth?? down' then 'rmmod de4x5'.
84
85	Automedia detection is included so that in principle you can disconnect
86	from, e.g. TP, reconnect to BNC and things will still work (after a
87	pause whilst the driver figures out where its media went). My tests
88	using ping showed that it appears to work....
89
90	By default, the driver will now autodetect any DECchip based card.
91	Should you have a need to restrict the driver to DIGITAL only cards, you
92	can compile with a DEC_ONLY define, or if loading as a module, use the
93	'dec_only=1' parameter.
94
95	I've changed the timing routines to use the kernel timer and scheduling
96	functions so that the hangs and other assorted problems that occurred
97	while autosensing the media should be gone. A bonus for the DC21040
98	auto media sense algorithm is that it can now use one that is more in
99	line with the rest (the DC21040 chip doesn't have a hardware timer).
100	The downside is the 1 'jiffies' (10ms) resolution.
101
102	IEEE 802.3u MII interface code has been added in anticipation that some
103	products may use it in the future.
104
105	The SMC9332 card has a non-compliant SROM which needs fixing - I have
106	patched this driver to detect it because the SROM format used complies
107	to a previous DEC-STD format.
108
109	I have removed the buffer copies needed for receive on Intels. I cannot
110	remove them for Alphas since the Tulip hardware only does longword
111	aligned DMA transfers and the Alphas get alignment traps with non
112	longword aligned data copies (which makes them really slow). No comment.
113
114	I have added SROM decoding routines to make this driver work with any
115	card that supports the Digital Semiconductor SROM spec. This will help
116	all cards running the dc2114x series chips in particular. Cards using
117	the dc2104x chips should run correctly with the basic driver. I'm in
118	debt to <[email protected]> for the testing and feedback that helped get
119	this feature working. So far we have tested KINGSTON, SMC8432, SMC9332
120	(with the latest SROM complying with the SROM spec V3: their first was
121	broken), ZNYX342 and LinkSys. ZNYX314 (dual 21041 MAC) and ZNYX 315
122	(quad 21041 MAC) cards also appear to work despite their incorrectly
123	wired IRQs.
124
125	I have added a temporary fix for interrupt problems when some SCSI cards
126	share the same interrupt as the DECchip based cards. The problem occurs
127	because the SCSI card wants to grab the interrupt as a fast interrupt
128	(runs the service routine with interrupts turned off) vs. this card
129	which really needs to run the service routine with interrupts turned on.
130	This driver will now add the interrupt service routine as a fast
131	interrupt if it is bounced from the slow interrupt. THIS IS NOT A
132	RECOMMENDED WAY TO RUN THE DRIVER and has been done for a limited time
133	until people sort out their compatibility issues and the kernel
134	interrupt service code is fixed. YOU SHOULD SEPARATE OUT THE FAST
135	INTERRUPT CARDS FROM THE SLOW INTERRUPT CARDS to ensure that they do not
136	run on the same interrupt. PCMCIA/CardBus is another can of worms...
137
138	Finally, I think I have really fixed the module loading problem with
139	more than one DECchip based card. As a side effect, I don't mess with
140	the device structure any more which means that if more than 1 card in
141	2.0.x is installed (4 in 2.1.x), the user will have to edit
142	linux/drivers/net/Space.c to make room for them. Hence, module loading
143	is the preferred way to use this driver, since it doesn't have this
144	limitation.
145
146	Where SROM media detection is used and full duplex is specified in the
147	SROM, the feature is ignored unless lp->params.fdx is set at compile
148	time OR during a module load (insmod de4x5 args='eth??:fdx' [see
149	below]). This is because there is no way to automatically detect full
150	duplex links except through autonegotiation. When I include the
151	autonegotiation feature in the SROM autoconf code, this detection will
152	occur automatically for that case.
153
154	Command line arguments are now allowed, similar to passing arguments
155	through LILO. This will allow a per adapter board set up of full duplex
156	and media. The only lexical constraints are: the board name (dev->name)
157	appears in the list before its parameters. The list of parameters ends
158	either at the end of the parameter list or with another board name. The
159	following parameters are allowed:
160
161	fdx for full duplex
162	autosense to set the media/speed; with the following
163	sub-parameters:
164	TP, TP_NW, BNC, AUI, BNC_AUI, 100Mb, 10Mb, AUTO
165
166	Case sensitivity is important for the sub-parameters. They must be
167	upper case. Examples:
168
169	insmod de4x5 args='eth1:fdx autosense=BNC eth0:autosense=100Mb'.
170
171	For a compiled in driver, in linux/drivers/net/CONFIG, place e.g.
172	DE4X5_OPTS = -DDE4X5_PARM='"eth0:fdx autosense=AUI eth2:autosense=TP"'
173
174	Yes, I know full duplex isn't permissible on BNC or AUI; they're just
175	examples. By default, full duplex is turned off and AUTO is the default
176	autosense setting. In reality, I expect only the full duplex option to
177	be used. Note the use of single quotes in the two examples above and the
178	lack of commas to separate items.