Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 21:23:05 -0800 (PST) From: "Rodney W. Grimes" <rgrimes@GndRsh.aac.dev.com> To: jas@flyingfox.COM (Jim Shankland) Cc: freebsd-questions@freefall.freebsd.org, mango@communique.net, hardware@freefall.freebsd.org Subject: Re: 3C900 - 3C590 - 3C595 - SMC and PCI ethernet cards ??? Message-ID: <199611140523.VAA21132@GndRsh.aac.dev.com> In-Reply-To: <199611140145.RAA14939@saguaro.flyingfox.com> from Jim Shankland at "Nov 13, 96 05:45:14 pm"
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
> > What PCI Ethernet card is solid and has good support under FBSD? > > The standard answer has been to use cards based on the DEC 21x40 > chips, especially the SMC cards. I've used the SMC9332DST in 10 > Megabit mode under 2.1.0-RELEASE and 2.1.5-RELEASE in some > pretty important applications, with no problems (other than an > excessively high reported collision count). The SMC9332DST would be a rock solid card, I have sold 100's of them and only had 2 reported field problems, one tracked to bad cabling, the other had something to do with trying to run it out of the uplink port of a Cisco 7000 with a cross over cable, fixed by putting a hub between them. The reported collision count is (was) a driver bug. > I'm disturbed by the recent reports of problems with these > cards. I really need a stable, solid, PCI-based 10/100 Mbit > Ethernet solution for FreeBSD. Is there anyone who can shed > some light on what's going on here (i.e., what seems to be the > underlying cause of the various failures)? I'd be happy to help > in any way I can (test changes, donate a card, hack at the > driver, whatever). It appears that the driver needs some work to support the new style PHY/MII interface that all of the manufactures of DC21140 cards are changing to. My SMC master distributor has informed me that the 9332DST is discontiued, being replaced with the SMC9332BDT. I have ordered some of his last stock on the DST, but that will be gone in days :-(. I have 4 different manufactures (soon 5, a SMC9332BDT is on it's way) that use a new interface chip to the external world, a quick look at my DFE-500TX revision C1 shows a DP83840VCE and DP83223V being used. I know this has not been much help, but atleast it fills in some of the details. -- Rod Grimes rgrimes@gndrsh.aac.dev.com Accurate Automation, Inc. Reliable computers for FreeBSD
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199611140523.VAA21132>