EtherLan User Guide
Important: Ethernet Port Auto-configuration
3
When your
i
3 EtherLan `combo' card is initialised (when the computer is switched on, or
is hard reset by pressing Ctrl-Break) it first checks its l OBaseT (twisted pair) socket. If it
does not find a 'good' connection to that socket it assumes that the l 0Base2 connector is
the one which is in use. If your i3 EtherLan card is to be used with a 10BaseT connection
it is essential that the connecting lead is plugged in at the hub and at the computer, and that
the hub is switched on, before you turn on the computer.
An Ethernet hub sends regular 'good link' pulses on its Tx (transmit) connection. When
your EtherLan combo card is initialising it checks whether these pulses are arriving at its
10BaseT Rx (receive) connection. If they are then it configures itself to use its 10BaseT
port; if not, it assumes the 10Base2 port is the one which will be used.
If you want to connect a computer to a 10BaseT Ethernet and have switched the computer
on without a 'good' connection to its l 0BaseT socket you will have to make the correct
connection and then perform a Ctrl-Break on the computer (or turn it off , wait a few
seconds and then turn it on again) before it will recognise the I 0BaseT connection.
Testing
Having configured the computer, the net icon will appear at the left of the icon bar. This
indicates that the computer has recognised the i 3 EtherLan card and loaded and initialised
the AUN software.
1. Press F12 to get to the command line and enter:
*ehinfo
(for a full description of this command see page 10). This will print out information
about the state of the network controller, including whether the software is having to
auto-correct a reversed l OBaseT connection.
2.
Check that the network interface type has been correctly identified.
3. No error messages should be given unless the card is not connected to the network, or
the network cable is not correctly terminated.
4. If you have another AUN-configured station connected to the network a final test can
be performed using the
Netprobe
command (see page 13). If you use the
Netprobe
command with the net number and station number of a working station the
Station
present
response should be given. If the response is
Station not present
then check
the network cabling and the configuration of both computers.
Self Test and Cable Check
On power on or after a hard reset the software on the i3 EtherLan card performs a self test
and cable check. The self test checks the on board buffer memory, controller chip and
network interface. The cable check determines whether there is a cable attached to the card
and, if there is, whether or not it is terminated. If the card is connected to a l 0BaseT
3
Not applicable to EtherLan 200 series cards. In addition, EtherLan 100 and 500 series combo cards are fitted
with a link which can be used to force the card to use the 10Base2 or the 10BaseT socket -see the Installation
Instructions If the link is left off the card will auto-select which socket to use, as described in this section.
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ELANUG:214, Issue 2.1
