Allied Telesis AT-1720AT User manual

i
AlliedTelesyn
Ethernet Network Adapter
For MCA Bus Computers and IEEE 802.3 Compliant LANs
User Manual
AT-1720T for Twisted Pair Media
AT-1720AT for AUI Port Adapter and Twisted Pair Media
AT-1720BT for Thinnet Coaxial andTwisted Pair Media
AT-1720FT for Fiber Optic and Twisted Pair Media

AT-1720
ii
Warranty: Your Allied Telesyn CentreCOM
™
Ethernet Network Adapter has a lifetime
warranty. Refer to the warranty card supplied with the product for the full Warranty
Statement.
Trademarks: CentreCOM is a registered trademark of Allied Telesyn. Ethernet is a
registered trademark of Xerox Corporation. Novell and NetWare are registered
trademarksofNovell,Inc.MicrosoftandMS-DOSareregisteredtrademarksandLAN
Manager and Windows for Workgroups are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories. 3Com is a registered
trademark of 3Com. PC-NFS is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. PC/TCP is a
registered trademark of FTP Software, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Allied Telesyn International, Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this
publicationmay bereproducedwithoutpriorwritten permissionfrom AlliedTelesyn.
Allied Telesyn reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other
informationcontained inthis documentwithoutpriorwrittennotice. Theinformation
provided herein is subject to change without notice. In no event shall Allied Telesyn
be liable for any incidental, special, indirect, or consequential damages whatsoever,
including but not limited to lost profits, arising out of or related to this manual or the
information contained herein, even if Allied Telesyn has been advised of, known, or
should have known, the possibility of such damages.
FCC Warning: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the
equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with this instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause
harmfulinterferenceinwhichcasetheuserwillberequiredtocorrecttheinterference
at his own expense.
All Countries: Install in accordance with Local and National Electrical Code.
Canadian Radiation: This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for
radio noise emissions from digital apparatus as set out in the radio interface
regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.
Lé présent appareil numérique n'émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les
limites applicables aux appareils numériques de le Classe A. Prescrites dans le
réglement sur le brouillage radioélectrique edicté par le ministére des
Communications Du Canada.

iii
CONTENTS
Chapters:
1 Overview .......................................................................................................... 1
What You Get From Us .................................................................................... 1
What Else You Need to Connect to the Network .............................................. 2
2 Installation ...................................................................................................... 5
Summary of Installation Steps .......................................................................... 5
OS/Environment-Specific Installation Information ............................................ 6
Boot ROM Socket ............................................................................................. 13
3 Network Adapter Card Drivers .................................................................. 15
Drivers for Workstations ................................................................................... 15
Drivers for Servers ............................................................................................ 16
Driver Installation .............................................................................................. 17
Support for Multiple Adapter Cards .................................................................. 20
4 Cabling ............................................................................................................. 21
Important 10BASE-T Cable Considerations ..................................................... 21
10BASE2 RG58/BNC Cabling .......................................................................... 25
10BASE-FL/FOIRL (Fiber Optic) Connection ................................................... 26
10BASE5 (AUI) Connection ............................................................................. 27
Communication Status Indicators ..................................................................... 29
5 Troubleshooting ............................................................................................ 31
Identify the Exact Symptoms ............................................................................ 31
Experiment with Possible Solutions .................................................................. 32
Get Technical Support ...................................................................................... 33

1
Chapter 1
Overview
What You Get From Us
When opening this Allied Telesyn product, make sure that the
package you have received is complete and in good condition. The
package should include:
❑ This manual which contains:
— Information to install, configure and troubleshoot the
adapter card, the card driver and the network
operating system
— The technical support fax order form
— Warranty/registration cards
❑ An Ethernet
®
network adapter card
The Allied Telesyn AT-1720 16-bit Ethernet Adapter Card
provides a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)-bus PC
access to an Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) for
communicating and sharing computer resources. The
AT-1720 offers full compliance with IEEE 802.3
specifications.
The AT-1720 adapter card family supports the 10BASE-T,
10BASE2, 10BASE5 and 10BASE-FL network media as
shown in Table 1.

AT-1720
2
❑ The CardAssistant diskette which contains:
— Adapter Description Files (ADF) for card
configuration
— CardAssistant software setup and diagnostic test
program
— Network adapter card drivers
— Support files for network software
— Readme files
What Else You Need to Connect to the Network
You must have an IBM PS/2 or compatible computer that meets
the following requirements:
❑ An MCA bus computer
❑ Approximately32KofavailableRAMforthedriver,depending
on the driver installed
Table 1: Supported Network Media
Card
Model 10BASE- T10BASE2 10BASE5 10BASE-FL
AT-1720T Supporte
dN/A N/A N/A
AT-
1720AT Supporte dSupported with
transceiver
Supported
with
transceiver
Supported
with
transceiver
AT-
1720BT Supporte dSupported N/A N/A
AT-
1720FT Supporte dN/A N/A Supported

Overview
3
❑ 512K of available RAM when running Allied Telesyn
CardAssistant setup/diagnostics software
❑ Afree32-byteblockofI/Oat0400h,1400h,2400h,3400h,4400h,
5400h, 6400h or 7400h
❑ An available interrupt (IRQ 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 15)
❑ Compatibleworkstationoperatingsystemandnetworksystem
software
In addition to your workstation hardware, you must provide
network operating system software like Novell® NetWare,
Microsoft® LAN Manager, Sun® PC-NFS, or Banyan® VINES.
You must also provide the necessary cables, connectors and
terminators.
In summary, your networked PC will function properly on the
network if the following are true.
— You have a network adapter card in your PC
— The adapter card has a unique I/O and boot ROM
addresses, and IRQ
— You have network software installed
— Your adapter card is properly connected to the
network
— You have a driver installed for your particular
network software/network adapter card combination.

5
Chapter 2
Installation
Summary of Installation Steps
Installation of your Allied Telesyn network adapter card is
simple and quick. Generally, the installation of one network
adapter card with common software on PS/2 MCA bus or
compatible workstations is mostly automated. This chapter also
gives procedures for more complex installations.
The following list of steps for the simplified Allied Telesyn
network adapter card hardware/software installation is
explained in greater detail later in the chapter.
1. Installing the adapter card in an MCA slot:
Physically install the card in the computer’s card cage.
2. Installing option files:
These are Allied Telesyn files called “option” files by your
MCA-bus installation software, which installs them.
3. Configuring the adapter card:
This process is done by your MCA-bus installation
software, automatically or manually.
4. Saving configuration to the system partition:
This creates a backup of your system configuration in your
computer’s system partition.

AT-1720
6
OS/Environment-Specific Installation Information
Accurate and current network hardware and software
installation information changes with every network software
package, protocol stack or operating system. To respond quickly
and accurately to these changes, we have included the latest
installation information in a series of applications and OS specific
readme files on the Allied Telesyn CardAssistant diskette.
The file
\READ.ME
, on the CardAssistant diskette, contains a
guide to current readme files on that diskette, and is
recommended reading for the installer.
Installing the adapter card in an MCA slot
Refer to the computer’s manual for information on installing
card-cage accessories.
High voltages inside the computer present a safety
hazard. Make sure the power is OFF before
removing the cover.
This LAN adapter card is for use only with IBM
PS/2 or compatible UL listed personal computers
that have installation instructions detailing
installation of card-cage accessories. Installation
should be performed with precautions to prevent
damage to static-sensitive components.
Warning
!
C
au
tion

Installation
7
1. Make sure the computer’s power is turned OFF.
2. Pick the card slot you wish to use. Follow the
manufacturer’s instructions for adding a card.
TIP: When installing the AT-1720FT temporarily remove the shields from
the fiber-optics cable connectors to give the connectors more clearance.
Do not turn ON your computer.
Installing option files
To install the Allied Telesyn option files on your computer’s hard
disk, this procedure uses the computer manufacturer’s special
“option copy” software and procedures. Typically, the computer
manufacturer will refer to the Allied Telesyn files as “option”
files, which are on the “option disk,” the Allied Telesyn
CardAssistant diskette.
1. To copy the option diskette, verify that all floppy disk
drives are empty. Turn the computer ON. In a few seconds,
one of two things happens. Either:
a. The Configuration Error screen with automatic
configuration prompt appears, because the computer
senses that its hardware has changed since the last
time it was turned ON. In this case, go straight to
Step 2.
Or:
b. The screen displays only a RAM-OK count and an
error number, and stops. In this case, turn the machine
OFF, insert the computer manufacturer’s reference
diskette into drive A:, turn the machine ON and go to
Step 2 when you see the automatic configuration
prompt.

AT-1720
8
2. At the “
Automatically configure the system? (Y/N)
”
prompt, answer N for no, and the Main Menu will appear.
Do not answer Y here, or you will have to reset your
computer to get back to this point.
3. Select the “
Copy an option diskette
” option, and follow
the procedure to completion.
4. Remove the Allied Telesyn diskette from the floppy drive.
Configuring the adapter card (auto-configure)
1. Verify that all floppy drives are empty if you followed Step
1a on page 7. If you followed Step 1b in the previous step,
place the computer manufacturer’s reference diskette in
drive A:.
2. At your computer’s keyboard, hold down the (control)
and keys, and press the (delete) key. This will
reset your computer. The first screen you see will be the
Configuration Error screen of the configuration installation
step.
3. This time, when asked “
Automatically configure the
system? (Y/N)
” answer Y for yes. A screen message
informs you when the configuration process is completed.
4. After you have completed configuring your system for the
adapter card, verify that your floppy drives are empty, and
re-boot your computer.
Configuring the adapter card (manual configure)
1. Boot your computer as in “Installing option files” Steps 1a
or 1b on page 7.
2. In the Main Menu, select the “
Set Configuration
” menu.
3. In the “
Set Configuration
” menu, select “
Change
Configuration
.”
CTRL
ALT DEL

Installation
9
4. Scroll through the Change Configuration window to view
all the configuration attributes of the Allied Telesyn
AT-1720 adapter card. A list of those attributes and your
choices is found in Table 1.
5. Change the configuration attributes as necessary. The
configuration software does not allow you to set adapter
card values that conflict with the rest of your system.
6. After you have completed configuring your system for the
adapter card, verify that your floppy drives are empty, and
re-boot your computer.
Table 1: Adapter Card Attributes and Choices
Attribute Choices Meaning
Interrupt request
number IRQ 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 15 Use interrupt 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 15 to signal CPU
I/O Port
Addresses 0400h, 1400h, 2400h, 3400h,
4400h, 5400h,
6400h, 7400h
Locate I/O port at selected address
range
Boot ROM
memoryaddress C4000 to DC000 Locate boot ROM start at selected address
Disabled Disable boot ROM
AT-1720AT, BT,
or FT
Port
Selection
Twisted Pair Select 10BASE-T port
AUI (AT) Select 10BASE5 port
BNC (BT) Select 10BASE2 port
Fiber (FT) Select 10BASE-FL port
Autoselect Selects other-media port if 10BASE-T
cable not present
Twisted Pair
Type Select 100
Ω UTP/STP Select Level 3, 4 or 5 10BASE-T cable
150 Ω STP Select IBM type 1 10BASE-T cable

AT-1720
10
Saving configuration to system partition
1. Boot your computer as in “Installing option files” Steps 1a
or 1b, on page 7.
2. In the Main Menu, select the “
Set Configuration ” menu.
3. To backup the configuration you just completed, select
“
Set configuration
,” and from that menu, select
“
Backup configuration
.” When the backup is complete (a
few seconds) press to accept the backup, to go to
the Main Menu, and to exit.
If the installation has been successful up to this point, go to
Chapter 3, “Network Adapter Card Drivers.” If you experience
difficulties, and need to run card diagnostics or view
configuration parameters, invoke the CardAssistant program.
Invoking CardAssistant
The CardAssistant software may not be used to
modify adapter card parameters. To change these
parameters, you must use your computer
manufacturer’s configuration software.
1. Insert the installation diskette into the appropriate floppy
drive.
2. Type:
floppydrive :\setup17
where floppydrive is the disk drive containing the
CardAssistant program. Proceed to Step 4.
ENTER F3
F3
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Installation
11
3. CardAssistant is copied onto a hard drive when you install
the driver for the adapter card. Once this is accomplished,
you can type:
path\ setup17
where path\ is the optional drive and directory.
4. The Main Menu appears and you are ready to select one of
the icons.
Working with CardAssistant menus
You can use either the keyboard or mouse to make menu
selections.
CardAssistant’s Main Menu presents you with the choice of
installing a driver, viewing the card configuration or running
diagnostics. The message window under the menu lists available
commands.
Running diagnostic checks with CardAssistant
Invoking the CardAssistant program requires that
the card be present. If you have a driver running,
you will not be allowed to open the Diagnostics
window. If you must run diagnostics, you must first
comment out the driver line in the batch file (for
NetWare) or the
DEVICE=drivername
line in
config.sys
(for an NDIS driver) and restart the
PC.
1. Invoke CardAssistant if necessary. See “Invoking
CardAssistant” on page 10.
2. Select the Diagnostics menu. Type:
D .
N
ot
e
ENTER

AT-1720
12
The CardAssistant diagnostic routines test the board and the
configuration for functional problems. The routines are:
❑ PC bus interface
❑ On-board RAM
❑ Interrupt test
❑ Internal loopback
❑ MAC address
❑ Boot ROM
The diagnostic routines display whether the card passed each
test.
You can see if the board passes before connecting the computer
to the network, and then confirm that it still passes after the
network connector is plugged in. This method can help you
isolate a problem.
Viewing AT-1720 configuration with CardAssistant
1. Invoke CardAssistant if necessary. See “Invoking
CardAssistant” on page 10.
2. Select the Configured I/O Parameters View menu.
Type:
C .
The displayed I/O parameters are read-only, and may not be
modified with CardAssistant.
Installing more than one card
You can install up to four Allied Telesyn adapter cards in the
same computer. Each requires its own unique I/O resources (I/O
port and IRQ).
ENTER

Installation
13
If more than one card is installed and configured in the host when
you run CardAssistant, the configuration window displays a
column of settings for each. You can tell which column is for
which card by checking the node address. The node address
displayed agrees with the label on the card itself.
Boot ROM Socket
The AT-1720 card is shipped with an unpopulated boot ROM
socket. For a diskless workstation, the card needs a boot ROM to
allow it to load the operating system over the network. If a ROM
is installed, the Boot ROM Enable switch must be set with your
computer manufacturer’s configuration software, by selecting a
ROM base address.
Boot ROMs are application-specific. Allied Telesyn supplies a
range of boot ROMs for different network environments.
Contact your Allied Telesyn representative for more
information.

15
Chapter 3
Network Adapter Card Drivers
Because user network environments are numerous, differing in
network-management software, operating systems, and protocol
stacks, a variety of adapter card drivers is necessary to operate
an adapter card in a majority of environments. An ODI driver for
NetWare running in DOS might be needed, or an NDIS driver
for Windows for Workgroups or for LAN Manager running in
OS/2, or a packet driver for PC/TCP in DOS.
The CardAssistant diskette has adapter card drivers for many
different environments, as well as application-specific readme
files and sample configuration files. Depending on your network,
you will need to install the right driver and possibly merge it
with your network software. Refer to the manuals supplied with
your network software for the procedure for installing an
adapter card driver. Allied Telesyn maintains application
information on our bulletin boards. See “Get Technical Support”
on page 33.
Drivers for Workstations
If you are installing the adapter card in a workstation, see the
workstation driver selection in Table 2. This table contains only
the most commonly used workstation drivers. Allied Telesyn
continually adds new drivers for both servers and workstations,
and a complete list and description of these drivers is contained
in the file
\READ.ME
on the CardAssistant diskette.

AT-1720
16
Drivers for Servers
If you are installing the card in a server, refer to Table 3 for
driver selection.
NOTE 1. Installable by CardAssistant
NOTE 2. Driver in subdirectory \MSLANMAN.DOS\DRIVERS\ETHERNET\AT1700\
NOTE 3. Driver in subdirectory \MSLANMAN.OS2\DRIVERS\ETHERNET\AT1700\
NOTE 1. Installable by CardAssistant
NOTE 2. Driver in subdirectory \MSLANMAN.OS2\DRIVERS\ETHERNET\AT1700\
Table 2: Most Commonly UsedWorkstation Drivers
Network Software Card Driver Path\Filename
NetWare for DOS
1
\DOS\AT17ODI.COM
NetWare Lite
1
\DOS\AT17ODI.COM
Windows for Workgroups \AT1700.DOS
LAN Manager 2.x for DOS
1
AT1700.DOS
2
LAN Manager 2.x for OS/2
1
AT1700.OS2
3
PC/TCP-compatible TCP/IP \PKTDRV\AT1700.COM
Table 3: Most Commonly Used Server Drivers
Network Software Card Driver Path \Filename
NetWare v4.01\NETWARE.40\AT1700.LAN
NetWare v3.111\NETWARE.386\AT1700.LAN
NetWare v3.121\NETWARE.386\AT1700.LAN
NetWare v2.21\ x AT1700.OBJ
( x = A, B, C, or D)
NetWare v2.151\ x AT1700.OBJ
( x = A, B, C, or D)
LAN Manager 2.x for OS/2 AT1700.OS22

Network Adapter Card Drivers
17
Driver Installation
The procedures for installing, binding or merging these drivers
with the network software vary with the operating system type
and version. For detailed instructions, refer to the LAN
administration manuals for your network software.
TIP: Network software manufacturers’procedures and file structures are
subject to change.This is why the adapter card manual can only provide
general guidelines on installing drivers. Additional, more up-to-date
installation notes may be found in the readme files on the CardAssistant
diskette. But for accurate, detailed information on network installation,
your network software manuals are your best source.
General steps for copying a driver to your system
Use the setup program on the CardAssistant diskette to copy
the driver.
1. Insert the diskette into the floppy disk drive and type:
floppydrive :setup17
where floppydrive is the disk drive containing the
installation diskette.
2. Select the “Installation” icon on the main menu.
3. Choose the appropriate driver from the menu choices. If
the driver you need is not listed, get help from the READ.ME
file on the CardAssistant diskette.
Following the instructions on the screen, copy the driver to
a standard directory (for example LAN Manager
customarily uses C:\LANMAN\DRIVERS\ETHERNET for a
server). The CardAssistant program will create the
directory if it does not already exist and copy the necessary
files. Exit the CardAssistant program.
ENTER

AT-1720
18
4. Complete the installation of the network software, and
review all configuration files to verify that they match the
card’s configuration.
Updating a Novell IPX workstation to ODI
Individual Novell IPX workstations on NetWare systems are
frequently converted to Novell Open Data-Link Interface (ODI)
workstations running on the same system. This conversion is
typically made because Novell no longer supports the IPX
specification, and has replaced it with the ODI specification.
Therefore, changing or updating network adapter hardware or
software on an IPX workstation will probably involve changing
the driver type from IPX to ODI.
The IPX-ODI change in no way impairs the
workstation’s ability to function with your original
NetWare software on the original, unchanged
network.
1. Run CardAssistant (setup17.exe) and follow the
instructions for Install System Software, choosing
Netware DOS Workstation (ODI) in the driver install
field. CardAssistant, in its default mode, creates a directory
called \NET on the workstation disk drive, copies NET.CFG,
NETX.EXE, AT17ODI.COM, IPXODI.COM and LSL.COM files to
that directory. Copying these files to your hard drive
completes the ODI installation.
2. Exit CardAssistant.
3. Use your computer manufacturer’s configuration software
to configure the adapter card and backup the configuration
information. Record the configuration information on the
LAN Management Summary/Quick Reference Guide card
for future reference.
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Network Adapter Card Drivers
19
4. Exit the manufacturer’s configuration software.
The word “Slot” in the following step, must be
indented from the left margin under the Link Driver
line by at least one space or one tab.
5. Open the ASCII file NET.CFG with a text editor and verify
that the following lines are there:
Link Driver AT17ODI
Slot
x
where x corresponds to the computer’s card cage slot
number.
6. The batch file, e. g., AUTOEXEC.BAT, that you use to get on
the network must contain these lines in the following order:
LSL
AT17ODI
IPXODI
NETX
F:
login
7. Now reboot the computer to load the new configuration,
and look for the driver's log-on message.
Installing NDIS for TCP/IP
AT1700.DOS is the AT-1720 adapter card driver based on the
Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) developed by
Microsoft and 3Com. It is used for Microsoft LAN Manager
applications, as well as implementations of Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) such as PC-NFS from Sun
Microsystems.
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