B Installing the 3Com DMI Agent

This appendix explains how to install the 3Com Desktop Management Interface (DMI) Agent on your PC.

The 3Com DMI Agent allows any DMI-compatible browser or network management application that supports DMI 2.0 to remotely manage and configure advanced features of a 3CR990B NIC.

NOTE: For detailed information about the 3Com DMI Agent, refer to the 3Com DMI Agent User Guide included with the 3Com DMI Agent software on the 3Com Installation CD.

About the 3Com DMI Agent

The 3Com DMI Agent allows you to obtain basic NIC information, including:

•Node address

•MAC address

•Driver version

Additionally, depending on the features of your NIC, the 3Com DMI Agent allows you to view and configure advanced NIC features, including:

•Managed PC Boot Agent (MBA) software

•Remote Wake-Up events

•Workgroup keep-alive packet

•Remote system alerts (including heartbeat)

Each PC that contains a 3CR990B NIC and the 3Com DMI Agent generates a Management Information Format (MIF) file that contains information about the PC and the NIC. DMI applications use the information from the MIF to manage the PC and the NIC.

The content of the MIF is based on the capabilities of the NIC driver found in the PC. For example, if a NIC with an MBA boot ROM is found, all groups related to the boot ROM are included in the MIF for that particular NIC. This ensures that the network management application does not receive irrelevant information for the NIC.

For a description of each MIF supported by the 3Com DMI Agent, refer to the

3Com DMI Agent User Guide included with the 3Com DMI Agent software on the 3Com Installation CD.

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