TECHNICAL INFORMATION DOCUMENT

TITLE:              PTF648 - 3c5x9 Driver Update
DOCUMENT ID:        TID300118
DOCUMENT REVISION:  A
DATE:               03Mar95
ALERT STATUS:       Yellow
INFORMATION TYPE:   Symptom Solution
README FOR:         ptf648    

PRODUCT and VERSION:
UnixWare 1.1

ABSTRACT:

These release notes acquaint you with the contents of UnixWare 
PTF648 - 3C5x9 Driver Update. This patch contains updated driver 
for the 3Com EtherLink III (3C5x9) network adaptor cards. The 
updated driver resolves "intermittent loss of network connection" 
problems present in the currently installed versions.  This new 
revision (1.4) includes a fix for a kmem_alloc (kernel memory allocation) 
panic which results from trying to free a message twice.

SYMPTOM

NA

SOLUTION

Apply the ptf648 file.


Installation Instructions:  

DATATYPE: datastream

1.  Download the ptf648.Z and ptf648.txt files to the /tmp directory
    on your machine.

2.  Read the release notes contained in file and follow the
    instuctions to add the packages to your system.

3.  Now become root, uncompress the file and add the package to your 
    system using the following commands:

        $ su
        # uncompress /tmp/ptf648.Z
        # pkgadd -d /tmp/ptf648 ptf648

Solution Specifics

1. General Description
----------------------

     These release notes acquaint you with the contents of UnixWare
PTF648 - 3C5x9 Driver Update.  This patch contains updated driver
for the 3Com EtherLink III (3C5x9) network adaptor cards.
The updated driver resolves "intermittent loss of network connection"
problems present in the currently installed versions.

     This new revision (1.4) includes a fix for a kmem_alloc
(kernel memory allocation) panic which results from trying to free
a message twice.

2. New Features
---------------

NONE.


3. Software Notes and Recommendations
-------------------------------------

     PTF648 should be installed on  UnixWare 1.1 or any newer
1.1.x releases.  Unlike the previous version of this PTF,
this one does not require that you already have el3 (3C5x9) Ethernet driver
installed.

Only 3C509, 3C529, and 3C579 have been tested as part of the
packaging/verification of this PTF.

PCMCIA devices such as the 3C589 are not supported in UnixWare 1.1.

Load and stress testing using r*commands has worked very well.
Load and stress testing using NFS, however, has unveiled a
NFS file corruption problem which is addressed by PTF192.
IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PICK UP PTF192 especially
if you will have sustained high volume traffic thru NFS !!!

4. Hardware Notes and Recommendations
-------------------------------------

This driver package includes hardware support for the following 3Com
EtherLink III Parallel Tasking adapters:

     Adapter         Bus      Cable Types
     -----------     -----    -----------
     3C509           ISA      coax, AUI
     3C509-TP        ISA      TP, AUI
     3C509-COMBO     ISA      coax, TP, AUI
     3C509B          ISA      coax, AUI
     3C509B-TP       ISA      TP, AUI
     3C509B-COMBO    ISA      coax, TP, AUI
     3C579           EISA     coax, AUI
     3C579-TP        EISA     TP, AUI
     3C529           MCA      coax, AUI
     3C529-TP        MCA      TP, AUI


All EtherLink III adapters connect your PC to an Ethernet network.  The
meanings of the cable types mentioned above are as follows:

     BNC  -  802.3 10Base2 coaxial cable
     TP   -  802.3 10Base-T twisted-pair cable
     AUI  -  for connection to an external 802.3 transceiver

If the 3C579 adapter is installed, ensure that the configuration file
has been loaded and the board is configured using the EISA Configuration 
Utility for the appropriate slot number where the board is installed.  If
the 3C529 adapter is installed, ensure that the configuration file has
been loaded and the board is configured using the MCA Configuration Utility
that comes on the Reference Disk supplied with the computer.  The 3C579
and 3C529 configuration files are located on the 3Com EtherDisk for the
EtherLink III Family diskette that comes with these adapter boards.

5. Installation Instructions
----------------------------

Enter:
# pkgadd -d diskette1
(replace diskette1 with the appropriate device name) to install the fix.
After this package is added the system is to be rebooted to include the
new driver in the system kernel.

The old driver will be saved in the directory
/var/sadm/pkg/ptf648/save/etc/conf/pack.d/el3.

If you wish to restore the system (i.e. un-install this fix)
and the package can not be removed using pkgrm for some reason:
Please do the following:

Copy Driver.o and space.c from the above specified directory to
/etc/conf/pack.d/el3.  Remove the directory "/var/sadm/pkg/ptf648".
Rebuilt the kernel (with idbuild) and reboot the system.