Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.

Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
There are 32bit drivers found at:
http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
they wont compile under my amd64 system.

The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
discontinued support and development for this series of cards.

The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
kernels but no luck.

Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.

Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
to compile under a amd64 system?

I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
attach ips but cant talk through it)

Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?

Help much appreciated.


/proc/pci extract for network cards:

  Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
      IRQ 30.
      Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
  Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
      IRQ 29.
      Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Ben Greear]

Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
> 
> Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> There are 32bit drivers found at:
> http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> 
> The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> 
> The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> kernels but no luck.
> 
> Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
> 
> Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> to compile under a amd64 system?
> 
> I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> attach ips but cant talk through it)
> 
> Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> 
> Help much appreciated.

My personal opinion is that those NICs suck.  I never did get mine
to work.  I'd suggest getting a DFE-570tx if you can find it, or
perhaps a p430tx.  You can also get 4-port GigE NICs from Intel for
around $400 these days...

Ben

-- 
Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

Its not really an option to exchange network cards. 

Any other suggestions?




On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 22:00:23 -0800, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> > These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
> >
> > Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> > There are 32bit drivers found at:
> > http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> > they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> >
> > The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> > website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> > discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> >
> > The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> > kernels but no luck.
> >
> > Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
> >
> > Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> > Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> > to compile under a amd64 system?
> >
> > I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> > but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> > attach ips but cant talk through it)
> >
> > Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> >
> > Help much appreciated.
> 
> My personal opinion is that those NICs suck.  I never did get mine
> to work.  I'd suggest getting a DFE-570tx if you can find it, or
> perhaps a p430tx.  You can also get 4-port GigE NICs from Intel for
> around $400 these days...
> 
> Ben
> 
> --
> Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
> Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Jon Mason]

On Friday 11 March 2005 12:00 am, Ben Greear wrote:
> Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> > These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel
> > chipsets.
> >
> > Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> > There are 32bit drivers found at:
> > http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> > they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> >
> > The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> > website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> > discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> >
> > The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> > kernels but no luck.
> >
> > Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not
> > even MS.
> >
> > Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> > Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> > to compile under a amd64 system?
> >
> > I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> > but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> > attach ips but cant talk through it)
> >
> > Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> >
> > Help much appreciated.
>
> My personal opinion is that those NICs suck.  I never did get mine
> to work.  I'd suggest getting a DFE-570tx if you can find it, or
> perhaps a p430tx.  You can also get 4-port GigE NICs from Intel for
> around $400 these days...
>
> Ben

Suck or not, it would be good to have these adapters working.  Some people 
might not be willing to spend $400 on a new adapter.  Hopefully some generous 
soul would be willing to spend their valuable time trying to make this work 
(or send me an adapter and I'll give it a go).  

Jon

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

Problem is that all the adapters are currently in use in 32bit mode.
It was my only solution. I'm hoping that will not be a permanent
thing.
Im just a little lost as in to what I should do.

I've been told by ZNXY that they *might* provide the source code to
the entire driver, so if there is someone that is willing to try make
it work I would be eternally greatful.

> 
> Suck or not, it would be good to have these adapters working.  Some people
> might not be willing to spend $400 on a new adapter.  Hopefully some generous
> soul would be willing to spend their valuable time trying to make this work
> (or send me an adapter and I'll give it a go).
> 
> Jon
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Jon Mason]

On Saturday 19 March 2005 04:29 am, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> Problem is that all the adapters are currently in use in 32bit mode.
> It was my only solution. I'm hoping that will not be a permanent
> thing.
> Im just a little lost as in to what I should do.
>
> I've been told by ZNXY that they *might* provide the source code to
> the entire driver, so if there is someone that is willing to try make
> it work I would be eternally greatful.

I have a tulip adapter laying around somewhere.  I can give that a try and 
verify that tulip works on a 64bit system (assuming it hasn't been already 
tried).  

The ZNXY website provides the driver source for the 4port adapter (and it is 
GPL'ed), but it seems to me that this is really an issue of getting the 
adapter to work with the "real" kernel driver, tulip.

Thanks,
Jon

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Francois Romieu]

Jon Mason <jdmason@us.ibm.com> :
[...]
> The ZNXY website provides the driver source for the 4port adapter (and it is 
> GPL'ed), but it seems to me that this is really an issue of getting the 
> adapter to work with the "real" kernel driver, tulip.

There are no sources for the rlk.O file and the driver suffers a bit from
the usual out-of-tree hal braindamage. Both can probably be worked around
but I would not make my business depend on the availability of a sane
driver within a reasonable timescale.

--
Ueimor

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[jamal]

I have those 4 port cards(quiet a few i may add and used in all my
experiments on NAPI with 10/100 etc for the last few eons) and they work
just fine with standard linux driver on my 32 bit hardware - not sure
about 64 bit.
There is one subtle difference. They use SYM PHY.
Donald Beckers drivers had this right - the current tulip driver still
has it wrong. I attempted to incorporate Donalds fixes a while back:
http://www.cyberus.ca/~hadi/patches/tulip-sym-fixed-20030103.tgz

In my experience i have found even with current tulip driver no issues 
unless you start doing things like 10Mbps half-duplex. I.e you dont need
the SYM PHY support.

cheers,
jamal

On Sat, 2005-03-19 at 10:23, Francois Romieu wrote:
> Jon Mason <jdmason@us.ibm.com> :
> [...]
> > The ZNXY website provides the driver source for the 4port adapter (and it is 
> > GPL'ed), but it seems to me that this is really an issue of getting the 
> > adapter to work with the "real" kernel driver, tulip.
> 
> There are no sources for the rlk.O file and the driver suffers a bit from
> the usual out-of-tree hal braindamage. Both can probably be worked around
> but I would not make my business depend on the availability of a sane
> driver within a reasonable timescale.
> 
> --
> Ueimor
> 
> 

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

Using the standard tulip driver in 64bit mode loads the cards but they
just dont seem to work.
When i tested with "mii-tool -w" it keep saying "Autonegotiation Failed".



On 20 Mar 2005 09:05:46 -0500, jamal <hadi@cyberus.ca> wrote:
> 
> I have those 4 port cards(quiet a few i may add and used in all my
> experiments on NAPI with 10/100 etc for the last few eons) and they work
> just fine with standard linux driver on my 32 bit hardware - not sure
> about 64 bit.
> There is one subtle difference. They use SYM PHY.
> Donald Beckers drivers had this right - the current tulip driver still
> has it wrong. I attempted to incorporate Donalds fixes a while back:
> http://www.cyberus.ca/~hadi/patches/tulip-sym-fixed-20030103.tgz
> 
> In my experience i have found even with current tulip driver no issues
> unless you start doing things like 10Mbps half-duplex. I.e you dont need
> the SYM PHY support.
> 
> cheers,
> jamal
> 
> On Sat, 2005-03-19 at 10:23, Francois Romieu wrote:
> > Jon Mason <jdmason@us.ibm.com> :
> > [...]
> > > The ZNXY website provides the driver source for the 4port adapter (and it is
> > > GPL'ed), but it seems to me that this is really an issue of getting the
> > > adapter to work with the "real" kernel driver, tulip.
> >
> > There are no sources for the rlk.O file and the driver suffers a bit from
> > the usual out-of-tree hal braindamage. Both can probably be worked around
> > but I would not make my business depend on the availability of a sane
> > driver within a reasonable timescale.
> >
> > --
> > Ueimor
> >
> >
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[jamal]

I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.
 
Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit" you
mean the architecture not PCI bus.

cheers,
jamal

On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:02, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> Using the standard tulip driver in 64bit mode loads the cards but they
> just dont seem to work.
> When i tested with "mii-tool -w" it keep saying "Autonegotiation Failed".

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

> I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
> Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.

Either way, no traffic moved across them when I tried.


> Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit" you
> mean the architecture not PCI bus.

Yes it does work on 32bit machines, but with the actual znb.o driver
thats supplied by ZNXY.
And yes i am refering to architecture and NOT pci bus.

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[jamal]

On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:18, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
> > Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.
> 
> Either way, no traffic moved across them when I tried.
> 

Probably the stats display is your best bet for debugging.

> > Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit" you
> > mean the architecture not PCI bus.
> 
> Yes it does work on 32bit machines, but with the actual znb.o driver
> thats supplied by ZNXY.
> And yes i am refering to architecture and NOT pci bus.

It works just fine for me with 32 bit machine with the standard tulip
driver(sorry dont have 64 bit - too poor); does it work for you?
i.e i dont use the Znyx driver at all. I always have mine running
100Mbps FDX.

If it works on 32 bit, then it maybe an issue with the tulip driver.

cheers,
jamal

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

I'm not sure if the tulip driver works in 32bit mode. I know that the
znb driver works.
I will check the tulip driver in 32bit mode tomorrow and let you know.


On 20 Mar 2005 14:29:04 -0500, jamal <hadi@cyberus.ca> wrote:
> On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:18, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > > I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
> > > Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.
> >
> > Either way, no traffic moved across them when I tried.
> >
> 
> Probably the stats display is your best bet for debugging.
> 
> > > Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit" you
> > > mean the architecture not PCI bus.
> >
> > Yes it does work on 32bit machines, but with the actual znb.o driver
> > thats supplied by ZNXY.
> > And yes i am refering to architecture and NOT pci bus.
> 
> It works just fine for me with 32 bit machine with the standard tulip
> driver(sorry dont have 64 bit - too poor); does it work for you?
> i.e i dont use the Znyx driver at all. I always have mine running
> 100Mbps FDX.
> 
> If it works on 32 bit, then it maybe an issue with the tulip driver.
> 
> cheers,
> jamal
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[jamal]

Your best is to get the tulip driver working. The card is EOLed;
Also if you can (If Donald still does this) try out Donalds version of
the driver.

cheers,
jamal

On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:36, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> I'm not sure if the tulip driver works in 32bit mode. I know that the
> znb driver works.
> I will check the tulip driver in 32bit mode tomorrow and let you know.
> 
> 
> On 20 Mar 2005 14:29:04 -0500, jamal <hadi@cyberus.ca> wrote:
> > On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:18, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > > > I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
> > > > Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.
> > >
> > > Either way, no traffic moved across them when I tried.
> > >
> > 
> > Probably the stats display is your best bet for debugging.
> > 
> > > > Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit" you
> > > > mean the architecture not PCI bus.
> > >
> > > Yes it does work on 32bit machines, but with the actual znb.o driver
> > > thats supplied by ZNXY.
> > > And yes i am refering to architecture and NOT pci bus.
> > 
> > It works just fine for me with 32 bit machine with the standard tulip
> > driver(sorry dont have 64 bit - too poor); does it work for you?
> > i.e i dont use the Znyx driver at all. I always have mine running
> > 100Mbps FDX.
> > 
> > If it works on 32 bit, then it maybe an issue with the tulip driver.
> > 
> > cheers,
> > jamal
> > 
> >
> 

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Jon Mason]

On Sunday 20 March 2005 01:29 pm, jamal wrote:
> On Sun, 2005-03-20 at 14:18, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > > I dont think mii-tool will tell you the truth with these cards.
> > > Like i was saying earlier - they use SYM PHYs.
> >
> > Either way, no traffic moved across them when I tried.
>
> Probably the stats display is your best bet for debugging.
>
> > > Does it work on 32 bit machines? I am assuming when you say "64 bit"
> > > you mean the architecture not PCI bus.
> >
> > Yes it does work on 32bit machines, but with the actual znb.o driver
> > thats supplied by ZNXY.
> > And yes i am refering to architecture and NOT pci bus.
>
> It works just fine for me with 32 bit machine with the standard tulip
> driver(sorry dont have 64 bit - too poor); does it work for you?
> i.e i dont use the Znyx driver at all. I always have mine running
> 100Mbps FDX.

My Linksys NC100 adapter works fine on my Athlon 64 system.  So, it is 
probably an adapter/driver interaction issue, and not a 64bit one.  

Kosta, Can you confrim that the tulip driver works for you on a 32bit system?


> If it works on 32 bit, then it maybe an issue with the tulip driver.
>
> cheers,
> jamal

Thanks,
Jon

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

> Kosta, Can you confrim that the tulip driver works for you on a 32bit system?

Just tried on 32bit mode and exactly the SAME thing happens with the
tulip driver as in 64bit mode.

Its very strange thought, for a few seconds there was traffic passing
through the card (icmp echo reply). The it stopped and would answer
anymore. I tried restarting the interface a few times but no joy.

When i checked with 'mii-tool -w' i keep showing the NIC trying to
autonegotiate and saying it Failed. Also i can see the card switching
back and forth from 10mbps to 100mbps.

I'm slightly confused ;)

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[jamal]

Kosta,

As i told you earlier: You can NOT use mii-tool. This board uses SYM
PHY. 
Try finding out what the other side reports instead in terms of speed
and duplexity.

When you say switching back/forth between 10/100 - how can you tell
that? I think this may be your problem. Dont try to force speeds;
just let it AN.

Find something on the other side that is capable of reporting 
correctly like e1000 and test.

All i can tell you is this works on 32 bit machines - I cant validate 64
bit machines because i dont have one.

cheers,
jamal

On Tue, 2005-03-22 at 02:18, Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > Kosta, Can you confrim that the tulip driver works for you on a 32bit system?
> 
> Just tried on 32bit mode and exactly the SAME thing happens with the
> tulip driver as in 64bit mode.
> 
> Its very strange thought, for a few seconds there was traffic passing
> through the card (icmp echo reply). The it stopped and would answer
> anymore. I tried restarting the interface a few times but no joy.
> 
> When i checked with 'mii-tool -w' i keep showing the NIC trying to
> autonegotiate and saying it Failed. Also i can see the card switching
> back and forth from 10mbps to 100mbps.
> 
> I'm slightly confused ;)
> 

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

Whats the best 4-port NIC currently available? I'm interested in
purchasing 10 4-port NICs as a replacement for my current cards.

I am looking for 10/100Mbps and a good driver for linux (2.4.x and
2.6.x). Preferably a mainstream company but thats not priority.

Could the community please recommend the best card available? Money is
not an issue since im really interested in the best of the best.

Any suggestions?

Regards,
Kosta



On 3/11/05, Kosta Todorovic <kostodo@gmail.com> wrote:
> My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
> 
> Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> There are 32bit drivers found at:
> http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> 
> The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> 
> The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> kernels but no luck.
> 
> Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
> 
> Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> to compile under a amd64 system?
> 
> I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> attach ips but cant talk through it)
> 
> Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> 
> Help much appreciated.
> 
> 
> /proc/pci extract for network cards:
> 
>   Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
>     Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> 21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
>       IRQ 30.
>       Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>       I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>       Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
>   Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
>     Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> 21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
>       IRQ 29.
>       Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>       I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>       Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Ben Greear]

Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> Whats the best 4-port NIC currently available? I'm interested in
> purchasing 10 4-port NICs as a replacement for my current cards.
> 
> I am looking for 10/100Mbps and a good driver for linux (2.4.x and
> 2.6.x). Preferably a mainstream company but thats not priority.
> 
> Could the community please recommend the best card available? Money is
> not an issue since im really interested in the best of the best.

Get an Intel 4-port GigE NIC.  It will do 10/100/1000, and if you really
want to use all 4 ports at even 100Mbps, you need the 64-bit PCI bus...

I have been getting mine from silicom-usa.com lately.  They also have
6-port NICs, and 4-port broadcom GigE nics that can be used in 32-bit
PCI slots.  (The Intel 4-port NICs will only work in 64-bit PCI slots.)

If you really want 10/100 nics, try the p430tx from aei:
http://www.aei-it.com/hardware/fastenet/p430tx.htm

These are like the old DFE570tx NICs, and use the tulip driver.  They
are almost as expensive as the GigE NICs though...

Thanks,
Ben

> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Regards,
> Kosta
> 
> 
> 
> On 3/11/05, Kosta Todorovic <kostodo@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
>>These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
>>
>>Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
>>There are 32bit drivers found at:
>>http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
>>they wont compile under my amd64 system.
>>
>>The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
>>website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
>>discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
>>
>>The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
>>kernels but no luck.
>>
>>Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
>>
>>Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
>>Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
>>to compile under a amd64 system?
>>
>>I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
>>but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
>>attach ips but cant talk through it)
>>
>>Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
>>
>>Help much appreciated.
>>
>>
>>/proc/pci extract for network cards:
>>
>>  Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
>>    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
>>21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
>>      IRQ 30.
>>      Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>>      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>>      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
>>  Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
>>    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
>>21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
>>      IRQ 29.
>>      Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>>      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>>      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].
>>
> 
> 


-- 
Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

2 more questions:

1) Is there anything special I will need to compile in terms of the
linux kernel for 64-bit PCI bus mode (PCI-X) ? (Currently I'm using
kernel 2.4.x but that is because my current card drivers do not
support 2.6.x)

2) The machine actually has a PCI extension with 9 other PCI-X slots.
The current cards are 64-bit (pci-x) but as a test i'm planning on
replacing them with DLinks DFE-580tx's. Unfortunately these are 32-bit
cards (legacy pci). How will these 4 ports work in 32-bit mode? What
will the effect be on the speed?



On 5/19/05, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > Whats the best 4-port NIC currently available? I'm interested in
> > purchasing 10 4-port NICs as a replacement for my current cards.
> >
> > I am looking for 10/100Mbps and a good driver for linux (2.4.x and
> > 2.6.x). Preferably a mainstream company but thats not priority.
> >
> > Could the community please recommend the best card available? Money is
> > not an issue since im really interested in the best of the best.
> 
> Get an Intel 4-port GigE NIC.  It will do 10/100/1000, and if you really
> want to use all 4 ports at even 100Mbps, you need the 64-bit PCI bus...
> 
> I have been getting mine from silicom-usa.com lately.  They also have
> 6-port NICs, and 4-port broadcom GigE nics that can be used in 32-bit
> PCI slots.  (The Intel 4-port NICs will only work in 64-bit PCI slots.)
> 
> If you really want 10/100 nics, try the p430tx from aei:
> http://www.aei-it.com/hardware/fastenet/p430tx.htm
> 
> These are like the old DFE570tx NICs, and use the tulip driver.  They
> are almost as expensive as the GigE NICs though...
> 
> Thanks,
> Ben
> 
> >
> > Any suggestions?
> >
> > Regards,
> > Kosta
> >
> >
> >
> > On 3/11/05, Kosta Todorovic <kostodo@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >>My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> >>These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
> >>
> >>Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> >>There are 32bit drivers found at:
> >>http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> >>they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> >>
> >>The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> >>website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> >>discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> >>
> >>The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> >>kernels but no luck.
> >>
> >>Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
> >>
> >>Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> >>Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> >>to compile under a amd64 system?
> >>
> >>I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> >>but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> >>attach ips but cant talk through it)
> >>
> >>Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> >>
> >>Help much appreciated.
> >>
> >>
> >>/proc/pci extract for network cards:
> >>
> >>  Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
> >>    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> >>21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
> >>      IRQ 30.
> >>      Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
> >>      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
> >>      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
> >>  Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
> >>    Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> >>21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
> >>      IRQ 29.
> >>      Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
> >>      I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
> >>      Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].
> >>
> >
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
> Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Ben Greear]

Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> 2 more questions:
> 
> 1) Is there anything special I will need to compile in terms of the
> linux kernel for 64-bit PCI bus mode (PCI-X) ? (Currently I'm using
> kernel 2.4.x but that is because my current card drivers do not
> support 2.6.x)

Nothing special...2.4 and 2.6 kernels since way back will work just fine.

> 2) The machine actually has a PCI extension with 9 other PCI-X slots.
> The current cards are 64-bit (pci-x) but as a test i'm planning on
> replacing them with DLinks DFE-580tx's. Unfortunately these are 32-bit
> cards (legacy pci). How will these 4 ports work in 32-bit mode? What
> will the effect be on the speed?

If you put a 33Mhz NIC in a PCI-X bus it makes the entire bus run at
33Mhz speed.

If you do want full backwards compatibility, get the 'universal' 4-port
broadcom NIC from silicom-usa.  It works fine in 32-bit PCI busses, and
though I haven't personally tested it, it should work fine in PCI-X
busses at high speed as well.

Ben

> 
> 
> 
> On 5/19/05, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> 
>>Kosta Todorovic wrote:
>>
>>>Whats the best 4-port NIC currently available? I'm interested in
>>>purchasing 10 4-port NICs as a replacement for my current cards.
>>>
>>>I am looking for 10/100Mbps and a good driver for linux (2.4.x and
>>>2.6.x). Preferably a mainstream company but thats not priority.
>>>
>>>Could the community please recommend the best card available? Money is
>>>not an issue since im really interested in the best of the best.
>>
>>Get an Intel 4-port GigE NIC.  It will do 10/100/1000, and if you really
>>want to use all 4 ports at even 100Mbps, you need the 64-bit PCI bus...
>>
>>I have been getting mine from silicom-usa.com lately.  They also have
>>6-port NICs, and 4-port broadcom GigE nics that can be used in 32-bit
>>PCI slots.  (The Intel 4-port NICs will only work in 64-bit PCI slots.)
>>
>>If you really want 10/100 nics, try the p430tx from aei:
>>http://www.aei-it.com/hardware/fastenet/p430tx.htm
>>
>>These are like the old DFE570tx NICs, and use the tulip driver.  They
>>are almost as expensive as the GigE NICs though...
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Ben
>>
>>
>>>Any suggestions?
>>>
>>>Regards,
>>>Kosta
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>On 3/11/05, Kosta Todorovic <kostodo@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
>>>>These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
>>>>
>>>>Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
>>>>There are 32bit drivers found at:
>>>>http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
>>>>they wont compile under my amd64 system.
>>>>
>>>>The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
>>>>website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
>>>>discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
>>>>
>>>>The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
>>>>kernels but no luck.
>>>>
>>>>Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
>>>>
>>>>Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
>>>>Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
>>>>to compile under a amd64 system?
>>>>
>>>>I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
>>>>but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
>>>>attach ips but cant talk through it)
>>>>
>>>>Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
>>>>
>>>>Help much appreciated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>/proc/pci extract for network cards:
>>>>
>>>> Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
>>>>   Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
>>>>21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
>>>>     IRQ 30.
>>>>     Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>>>>     I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>>>>     Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
>>>> Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
>>>>   Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
>>>>21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
>>>>     IRQ 29.
>>>>     Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
>>>>     I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
>>>>     Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>--
>>Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
>>Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
>>
>>
> 
> 


-- 
Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

I'm not too concerned with backward compatibility. I see silicom-usa
provide both a Broadcom and Intel based chipsets.
 
Is there any reason in particular that you reccomended Broadcom? And
can standard kernel drivers be used for these cards? I've had bad
expirience with custom manufactorer drivers once they discontinue
development and support for their card.

How reliable is Silicom-usa?

As a management decision, who would you purchase 10 quad port cards
from and which kinds of cards would u get?


Thanks,
K

On 5/20/05, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > 2 more questions:
> >
> > 1) Is there anything special I will need to compile in terms of the
> > linux kernel for 64-bit PCI bus mode (PCI-X) ? (Currently I'm using
> > kernel 2.4.x but that is because my current card drivers do not
> > support 2.6.x)
> 
> Nothing special...2.4 and 2.6 kernels since way back will work just fine.
> 
> > 2) The machine actually has a PCI extension with 9 other PCI-X slots.
> > The current cards are 64-bit (pci-x) but as a test i'm planning on
> > replacing them with DLinks DFE-580tx's. Unfortunately these are 32-bit
> > cards (legacy pci). How will these 4 ports work in 32-bit mode? What
> > will the effect be on the speed?
> 
> If you put a 33Mhz NIC in a PCI-X bus it makes the entire bus run at
> 33Mhz speed.
> 
> If you do want full backwards compatibility, get the 'universal' 4-port
> broadcom NIC from silicom-usa.  It works fine in 32-bit PCI busses, and
> though I haven't personally tested it, it should work fine in PCI-X
> busses at high speed as well.
> 
> Ben
> 
> >
> >
> >
> > On 5/19/05, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> >
> >>Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> >>
> >>>Whats the best 4-port NIC currently available? I'm interested in
> >>>purchasing 10 4-port NICs as a replacement for my current cards.
> >>>
> >>>I am looking for 10/100Mbps and a good driver for linux (2.4.x and
> >>>2.6.x). Preferably a mainstream company but thats not priority.
> >>>
> >>>Could the community please recommend the best card available? Money is
> >>>not an issue since im really interested in the best of the best.
> >>
> >>Get an Intel 4-port GigE NIC.  It will do 10/100/1000, and if you really
> >>want to use all 4 ports at even 100Mbps, you need the 64-bit PCI bus...
> >>
> >>I have been getting mine from silicom-usa.com lately.  They also have
> >>6-port NICs, and 4-port broadcom GigE nics that can be used in 32-bit
> >>PCI slots.  (The Intel 4-port NICs will only work in 64-bit PCI slots.)
> >>
> >>If you really want 10/100 nics, try the p430tx from aei:
> >>http://www.aei-it.com/hardware/fastenet/p430tx.htm
> >>
> >>These are like the old DFE570tx NICs, and use the tulip driver.  They
> >>are almost as expensive as the GigE NICs though...
> >>
> >>Thanks,
> >>Ben
> >>
> >>
> >>>Any suggestions?
> >>>
> >>>Regards,
> >>>Kosta
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>On 3/11/05, Kosta Todorovic <kostodo@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>My company has recently purchased several ZNYX ZX274 network cards.
> >>>>These cards are Four Channel, 10/100 PCI Adapters. They use Intel chipsets.
> >>>>
> >>>>Unfortunately there exists no drivers for linux amd64 architecture.
> >>>>There are 32bit drivers found at:
> >>>>http://www.znyx.com/support/drivers/ZX374_drivers.htm but naturally
> >>>>they wont compile under my amd64 system.
> >>>>
> >>>>The driver itself is called znb.o and can be downloaded from ZNYX's
> >>>>website. I spoke to support staff there but they told me they have
> >>>>discontinued support and development for this series of cards.
> >>>>
> >>>>The system I am running gentoo and have tried both 2.4.x and 2.6.x
> >>>>kernels but no luck.
> >>>>
> >>>>Unfortunately there is NO 64bit drivers available for ANY platform. not even MS.
> >>>>
> >>>>Does anyone know of a customised znb.o driver built for amd64?
> >>>>Is there any chance of anyone modifying the source code of the driver
> >>>>to compile under a amd64 system?
> >>>>
> >>>>I've noticed that "tulip" drivers get loaded as a module at boot time.
> >>>>but they dont function correctly. (lets you start the device and
> >>>>attach ips but cant talk through it)
> >>>>
> >>>>Is there any variants of the tulip driver that will work for this?
> >>>>
> >>>>Help much appreciated.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>/proc/pci extract for network cards:
> >>>>
> >>>> Bus  5, device   5, function  0:
> >>>>   Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> >>>>21142/43 (#30) (rev 65).
> >>>>     IRQ 30.
> >>>>     Master Capable.  Latency=128.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
> >>>>     I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
> >>>>     Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xfa1ff400 [0xfa1ff7ff].
> >>>> Bus  5, device   4, function  0:
> >>>>   Ethernet controller: Digital Equipment Corporation DECchip
> >>>>21142/43 (#29) (rev 65).
> >>>>     IRQ 29.
> >>>>     Master Capable.  No bursts.  Min Gnt=20.Max Lat=40.
> >>>>     I/O at 0x0 [0x7f].
> >>>>     Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0xf9f00000 [0xf9f003ff].
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>--
> >>Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
> >>Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
> Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Ben Greear]

Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> I'm not too concerned with backward compatibility. I see silicom-usa
> provide both a Broadcom and Intel based chipsets.
>  
> Is there any reason in particular that you reccomended Broadcom? And
> can standard kernel drivers be used for these cards? I've had bad
> expirience with custom manufactorer drivers once they discontinue
> development and support for their card.

The BCM NICs will work in a normal 32-bit PCI bus..the 4-port Intels will
not.  If you have 64-bit PCI-X, then I'd get Intel..but that's just because
I've used them longer...I have no reason to believe the BCM is inferior at
this time.

> How reliable is Silicom-usa?
> 
> As a management decision, who would you purchase 10 quad port cards
> from and which kinds of cards would u get?

Heh, I've already purchased more than 10 from silicom, and have shipped
them all over the world.  So far...no complaints!  But, if you don't
need the BCM, you can get good ole Intel quad GigE NICs from www.newegg.com
and a million other places.

Ben

-- 
Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Kosta Todorovic]

So intel gigE nics use standard tulip linux drivers that come shipped
with a vanilla kernel?

On 6/3/05, Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com> wrote:
> Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> > I'm not too concerned with backward compatibility. I see silicom-usa
> > provide both a Broadcom and Intel based chipsets.
> >
> > Is there any reason in particular that you reccomended Broadcom? And
> > can standard kernel drivers be used for these cards? I've had bad
> > expirience with custom manufactorer drivers once they discontinue
> > development and support for their card.
> 
> The BCM NICs will work in a normal 32-bit PCI bus..the 4-port Intels will
> not.  If you have 64-bit PCI-X, then I'd get Intel..but that's just because
> I've used them longer...I have no reason to believe the BCM is inferior at
> this time.
> 
> > How reliable is Silicom-usa?
> >
> > As a management decision, who would you purchase 10 quad port cards
> > from and which kinds of cards would u get?
> 
> Heh, I've already purchased more than 10 from silicom, and have shipped
> them all over the world.  So far...no complaints!  But, if you don't
> need the BCM, you can get good ole Intel quad GigE NICs from www.newegg.com
> and a million other places.
> 
> Ben
> 
> --
> Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
> Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com
> 
>

Re: Network card driver problem (znb.o/tulip)

[Ben Greear]

Kosta Todorovic wrote:
> So intel gigE nics use standard tulip linux drivers that come shipped
> with a vanilla kernel?

No..forget about tulip.  It uses standard e1000 driver shipped with
vanilla kernel.  The BCM chipsets use standard drivers in the kernel
as well.

Ben


-- 
Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Candela Technologies Inc  http://www.candelatech.com