3Com 3CR990SVR95 manual Server Software Installation Requirements, Netware Packet Receive Buffers

Installing and Configuring the NetWare Server Driver 91

Server Software Installation Requirements

Before you install software, you may want to verify that the installed NICs are functional or change their configuration settings by running DOS diagnostics. Use the 3C99XCFG.EXE program located on the EtherCD.

The instructions in this section demonstrate the fundamentals of setting up a sample server configuration. Setting up your own configuration may require a slightly different sequence of tasks and different numbers of NICs.

If you are installing the software during the installation of the network operating system, see Installing a 3Com NIC While Installing the NOS on page 167.

For a list of installation requirements, see Installation

Requirements on page 28.

Netware Packet Receive Buffers

Follow these guidelines for NetWare 4.11 and 5.0:

The driver requires 200 packet receive buffers for each installed NIC. You must increase the minimum and maximum packet receive buffers values by 200 for each installed NIC. For example, if you install two NICs, increase the parameters in the STARTUP.NCF file by

400 as follows:

Before installing NICs

After installing two NICs

SET MINIMUM PACKET RECEIVE BUFFERS = 1000 SET MAXIMUM PACKET RECEIVE BUFFERS = 2500 SET MINIMUM PACKET RECEIVE BUFFERS = 1400 SET MAXIMUM PACKET RECEIVE BUFFERS = 2900

Slot Numbers for Multiple NICs

If you are installing more than one NIC on a server, you must know which NIC corresponds to a given PCI slot to connect a cable from the NIC to the appropriate port on the hub or switch. You can correlate slots with physical NICs by the NIC MAC addresses. (The MAC address is written on a bar code label on the top component side of the NIC.)