SysKonnect SK-9Exx/9Sxx Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapters
User Diagnostics (DOS) 29
The following conditions have to be met in order for Hot-Plug to work on SysKonnect Gigabit Ether-
net Adapters:
• The target system has PCI Express resp. PCI/PCI-X Hot-Plug slots, i.e. the power can be
switched on and off under the control of the operating system.
• The adapter is installed in one of the PCIExpress resp. PCI/PCI-X Hot-Plug slots.
• The operating system supports PCIExpress resp. PCI/PCI-X Hot-Plug on the target system.
The drivers for the following operating systems support PCIExpress resp. PCI/PCI-X Hot-Plug:
• Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server2003

Parity

The integrity of data that pass from the network through the system and back to the network is mon-
itored by generating and checking parity information on all available data paths. All data errors are
detected immediately and can be reported.

Sensors

The on-board sensors monitor all important voltages and the temperature on the network adapter.
The sensors are checked by the software. Upper and lower thresholds determine the area of safe
operation. Voltages and temperatures beyond the safe area will lead to appropriate error messages.
User Diagnostics (DOS)
The user diagnostics program (running on DOS) provides system administrators and engineers with
a profound tool to analyze the network adapter and check adapter specific data (for details, see sec-
tion “Diagnostics Program”).
Virtual LAN (VLAN) support
A Virtual LAN is a group of network devices that belong to the same network segment, regardless of
the physical network structure. A logical network structure based on business requirements is possi-
ble. With virtual networks, physical location no longer specifies the network a user is assigned to:
user clients with similar networking requirements can be united in one network group, or VLAN. This
VLAN can be established to meet a wide variety of organizational or technical needs. All members
of a department can, for example, be gathered into a network group, even if they are distributed over
several buildings. Colleagues working on the same project can be united in a common VLAN, even
if they belong to different departments in different buildings or even different locations. Other net-
work groups can be made invisible to these users. Using Virtual LANs can improve network perfor-
mance, limit broadcast storms, minimize security problems and ease the management task.
By means of Frame Tagging, the SysKonnect SK-9Exx/9Sxx Gigabit Ethernet Server Adapter Fam-
ily can support up to 64 IP address assignments in a single network connection. Thus, multiple
VLANs can be configured for one port. Stations can be accessed from systems in multiple IP sub
nets without traversing routers. Additionally, multiple application VLANs can be defined to isolate
traffic for performance and security purposes. For this reason, the server can be physically connect-
ed to a single switch port but still belong to several VLANs. The Gigabit Ethernet adapter can re-
ceive tagged packets and is able to tag outgoing packets. The switch the adapter is connected to
must support VLAN tagging according to IEEE802.1q.