Sun Microsystems 805-1797-10 manual Auto-Negotiation, Local-mac-address Property

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Auto-Negotiation

A key feature of the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter is auto-negotiation. The auto-negotiationprotocol, as specified by the 100BASE-T standard, selects the operation mode (half-duplex or full-duplex), and the auto-sensing protocol selects the speed (10 Mbps or 100 Mbps) for the adapter.

The link speed and modes supported by the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter are listed as follows in decreasing order of priority:

100 Mbps, full-duplex

100 Mbps, half-duplex

410 Mbps, full-duplex

10 Mbps, half-duplex

When the system is booted, the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter advertises these capabilities to the Link Partner at the other end of the link (a hub, switch, or another network interface card (NIC) in a host system). If the Link Partner also supports auto-negotiation, it will advertise its capabilities over the link. The common highest priority mode supported by both sides will be selected automatically for the link operation.

The qfe device driver operates the SUNW,qfe devices by default in half-duplex mode only. If the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter is connected to a remote system or interface that is not capable of auto-negotiation, your system automatically selects the speed and half-duplex mode.

If the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter is connected to a link partner with which the auto-negotiation protocol fails to operate successfully, you can configure the device to not use this protocol and force the driver to set up the link in the mode and speed of your choice.

local-mac-address Property

Each of the network interfaces of the Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapter have been assigned a unique MAC (Media Access Control) address, which represents the 48-bit ethernet address for that channel. The OpenBoot firmware reports this MAC address via the local-mac-addressproperty in the device nodes corresponding to the network interfaces.

A system is not obligated to use this assigned MAC address if it has a system-wide MAC address. In such cases, the system-wide MAC address applies to all network interfaces on the system.

The device driver, or any other adapter utility, can use the network device"s MAC address (local-mac-address) while configuring it. In the Solaris 2.6 operating system (and later Solaris revisions), you will be able to use a channel"s MAC address when booting over the network.

16 Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI Adapter Installation and User's Guide ♦ Revision A, August 1997

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Contents Revision A, August USA 650 960-1300 fax 650 Revision A, August Please Recycle Contents Running Diagnostics Tests Regulatory Compliance Statements IndexPage Preface How This Book Is OrganizedUnix Commands Related DocumentsTypographic Conventions Shell PromptsOrdering Sun Documents Table P-1SunExpress Contact InformationSun Welcomes Your Comments XiiPage Product Overview 1Sun Quad FastEthernet PCI adapterFeatures Hardware and Software Requirements1Hardware and Software Requirements Checking the OpenBoot Prom Revision Level Displaying the OpenBoot Prom Revision LevelPage Installing the Adapter Using a text editor, add the following line to the endAdding an Entry to the driveraliases File Installing the Adapter Verifying the Installation Diagnostic TestingExamining Network Activity Code Example 2-1 watch-net-allCommad Output Rebooting the System Perform a reconfiguration boot on the systemPage Configuring the Driver Software Installing the Driver SoftwareAt the command line, use the grep command to search Configuring the Host FilesEtc/hosts file Booting From the Network Reboot your systemAt the ok prompt type Increasing TCP/IP Performance Post-Installation Procedures OptionalConfiguring Driver Parameters As superuser root, typeForcing Network Speed Between 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps TypeAuto-Negotiation Local-mac-address PropertyOk setenv local-mac-address? true Page Specifications Physical Dimensions Table A-1Physical DimensionsPerformance Specifications Power RequirementsTable A-2Power Requirements Table A-3Performance SpecificationsSpecifications Page Interface Signals Figure B-132-Pin RJ-45 ConnectorsPage Configuring the Quad FastEthernet Device Driver Parameters Internal TransceiverDriver Parameter Values and Definitions Table C-1qfe Driver Parameter, Status, and DescriptionsDefining the Current Status Qfe Driver Parameter, Status, and DescriptionsInter-Packet Gap Parameters Table C-2Read-Only Parameters Defining the Current StatusTable C-4Parameters Defining lancemode and ipg0 Packet after receiving a packetOperational Mode Parameters Table C-5Operational Mode ParametersTable C-6Back-to-back Packet Transmission Capability Defining the Number of Back-to-Back Packets to TransmitReporting Transceiver Capabilities Table C-7Read-Only Transceiver CapabilitiesReporting the Link Partner Capabilities Table C-8Read-Only Link Partner CapabilitiesSetting qfe Driver Parameters Setting Parameters Using the ndd UtilityTo Specify the Device Instance for the ndd Utility Use the instance number to select the device To modify a parameter value, use the -setoptionUsing the ndd Utility in Interactive Mode To Set the Mode to Auto-Negotiation Select at least one of the five capabilities adv100fdxcapSetting Parameters in the /etc/system File Table C-9Setting Variables in the /etc/system FileSetting Parameters Using the qfe.conf File Setting ipg Driver Parameters Using a qfe.conf File Unit-address = 2,1 Fourth line in the previous exampleSet the ipg1 and ipg2 parameters for the above four devices Kernel/drv/qfe.conf fileRunning Diagnostics Tests Using the OpenBoot Prom FCode SelftestReset the system Shut down the systemType show-devsto display the list of devices Set the auto-boot?configuration parameter to true Reset and reboot the systemPage Regulatory Compliance Statements FCC Class a NoticeFCC Class B Notice DOC Class a Notice Avis DOC, Classe a DOC Class B Notice Avis DOC, Classe BDeclaration of Conformity EMCSafety Supplementary InformationPage Index Index-51
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