Driver Update 3 Release Notes

For a complete list of the known problems that are fixed in this Driver Update, see the README files that get installed in the patch directories /var/sadm/patch/patch-number.

• Third-party drivers are provided for the convenience of Solaris customers and are tested to ensure that they meet acceptable standards of operability. SunSoft cannot be responsible for their inclusion in a given release or the timeliness of their availability.

• It is important that you configure your hardware according to the manufacturer's guidelines so, for example, there are no resource conflicts in IRQs or I/O address ranges. Configuring your hardware is discussed further in the Configuring Devices module in Information Library for Solaris 2.6 (Intel Platform Edition).

• The Device Reference Pages specify the supported connector type where appropriate. All network devices are assumed to work at 10 Mbps only, unless otherwise specified in the Device Reference Pages in Device Reference Manual for Solaris 2.6 (Intel Platform Edition). See the beginning of Chapter 1 in that manual for network connectors and the media they support.

• Due to conflicts, the IBM Micro Channel SCSI-2 Fast/Wide Adapter/A should not be installed until the Solaris Micro Channel mcis driver is disabled.

• To prevent conflicts with the tr driver, the mtok driver is disabled by default, and special steps must be taken to enable it. See the "Madge Smart 16/4 Token Ring (DU 1)" Device Reference Page.

Guidelines for Correct Operation of Ethernet Adapters

To ensure correct operation and optimal performance of Ethernet adapters, it is essential that both the adapter and its link partner operate at the same duplex settings. The link partner can be, for example, a hub, switch, or another network adapter connected via a crossover cable.

If both the adapter and the link partner support NWay media autonegotiation, then both devices should automatically select the optimal speed and duplex mode, without any additional configuration.

If either of the devices on a given link do not support, or are not configured to use, NWay autonegotiation, you must ensure that both devices are explicitly set to run at the same duplex mode. Generally, if a device cannot determine the duplex capabilities of its link partner, it will default to half-duplex operation.

In the case of a hub or switch that supports full-duplex operation, there is normally a mechanism to set the duplex mode either on a per-device or per-port basis. Setting the speed, duplex mode, or both in this manner generally disables NWay autonegotiation for the device or port.

In the case of devices controlled by the elxl, iprb, and dnet drivers, the duplex setting can be set explicitly, by editing the driver's .conf file. See the appropriate man page for more details.

Note that it is often possible to explicitly set the operating speed of an adapter via the driver's .conf file. Also note that if the device supports autonegotiation, explicitly setting the operating speed of an adapter in this way generally disables NWay autonegotiation.

Generally, a device is able to detect the operating speed of its link partner, even without NWay autonegotiation. This is not true of duplex mode.

Known Problems

On a Compaq ProLiant 5000, PCI network cards can fail to netboot due to spurious interrupts occurring during realmode operation. To date, failure has been observed only when the PCI network card uses IRQ 5.

Workaround: Use the Compaq System Configuration utility to change the assigned IRQ of the PCI network card to another free IRQ, and save the configuration.