path: root/src/drivers/net/tulip.txt

This software may be used and distributed according to the terms of
the GNU Public License, incorporated herein by reference.

This is a tulip and clone driver for Etherboot.  See the revision
history in the tulip.c file for information on changes.  This version
of the driver incorporates changes from Bob Edwards and Paul Mackerras
who cantributed changes to support the TRENDnet TE100-PCIA NIC which
uses a genuine Intel 21143-PD chipset.  There are also various code
cleanups to make time-based activities more reliable.

Of course you have to have all the usual Etherboot environment
(bootp/dhcp/NFS) set up, and you need a Linux kernel with v0.91g
(7.16.99) or later of the tulip.c driver compiled in to support some
MX98715 based cards.  That file is available at:

  http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/test/tulip.c

NOTES

I've tested this driver with a SOHOware Fast 10/100 Model SDA110A,
a Linksys LNE100TX v2.0, and a Netgear FA310TX card, and it worked at
both 10 and 100 mbits. Other cards based on the tulip family may work as
well.

These cards are about 20$US, are supported by Linux and now Etherboot,
and being PCI, they auto-configure IRQ and IOADDR and auto-negotiate
10/100 half/full duplex. It seems like a pretty good value compared to
some of the pricier cards, and can lower the cost of building/adapting
thin client workstations substantially while giving a considerable
performance increase.

On some PCI tulip clone chipsets (MX987x5, LC82C115, LC82C168) this driver 
lets the card choose the fastest speed it can negotiate with the peer
device.  On other cards, it chooses 10mbit half-duplex.

I burned an AM27C256 (32KByte) EPROM with mx987x5.lzrom and it worked.
According to the data sheet the MX98715A supports up to 64K (27C512)
EPROMs, 

I've liberally commented the code and header files in the hope that it
will help the next person who hacks the code or needs to support some
tulip clone card, or wishes to add functionality.

Anyway, please test this if you can on your tulip based card, and let
me (mdc@etherboot.org) and the Etherboot-Discuss list
(etherboot-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net) know how things go.  I also
would appreciate code review by people who program.  I'm a strong
believer in "another set of eyes".

Regards,

Marty Connor
mdc@etherboot.org
http://www.etherboot.org/