Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 22:29:53 -0600 From: awd@ddg.com (Andrew W. Donoho) To: questions@FreeBSD.org, hardware@FreeBSD.org Cc: awd@ddg.com, rkw Subject: ep Driver and the 3c509B-TPO Message-ID: <v01510100ab42415cfe88@[199.183.109.237]>
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Folks,
I was given an old clunker of a 386 box so that I could add DNS service to
my mostly Mac network. Not being an x86 expert, I purchased a 3Com ethernet
card, 3c509B-TPO (TPO stands for twisted pair only). It was "supported" by
FreeBSD 2.0, cheap ($99.00) and made by a reputable company. In any event,
the "B" version is apparently "different" from the older 3c509 in three
ways.
1. Larger Buffers (4K -> 8K)
2. Auto Media Sensing (It can tell if it is connected to a network).
3. "Plug and Play" capability (This can be disabled in software.)
In any event, FreeBSD 2.0 does not function with this card. I think that
the problem is probably the autosensing function since the card only
activates its 10baseT transceiver during its diagnostic tests. FreeBSD can
identify the card but not turn it on. The folks at 3com claim that it is
very simple to support the auto sensing function and that it can be done to
support both old and new cards with a single driver. Since this is the only
3c509 card that 3com is currently selling, I think it behooves us to
support it.
Again, I am not a unix expert and only have this one old clunker of a
machine. But I'll help if I can... OTOH, 3Com will be happy to replace my
"B" card with the earlier version which will work with FreeBSD.
Any ideas on how to get this card working with FreeBSD 2.0?
Andrew Donoho
awd@ddg.com
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