Farallon NetLINE USB User manual

NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card
User’s Guide
™
arallF on

Copyright © 2000 Farallon Communications, Inc. v.500
All rights reserved.
This manual and any associated artwork, software, and product designs are copyrighted with all
rights reserved. Under the copyright laws this manual, artwork, software, and product designs
may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Farallon. Under the law,
copying includes translation to another language or format.
Farallon Communications
3089 Teagarden St.
San Leandro, CA 94577-5720
U.S.A.
For additional copies of this user’s guide, order Farallon part number
6120376-00-01.
Other products and corporate names may be trademarks of other companies and are used only
for explanation and to the owner’s benefit without intent to infringe.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction .................................................................................1
System requirements ...................................................................................2
Macintosh ..............................................................................................2
Windows ................................................................................................2
Card features ..............................................................................................3
Chapter 2 - Installation ..................................................................................5
Installing the hardware .................................................................................6
Connecting to the network ............................................................................7
Installing the software .................................................................................8
Macintosh ..............................................................................................8
Windows NT 4.0 ....................................................................................10
Windows 2000 .....................................................................................12
Chapter 3 - Operation ..................................................................................13
NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card LEDs ...................................................................14
Troubleshooting tips ..................................................................................15
Troubleshooting for Macintosh ...............................................................15
Troubleshooting for Windows .................................................................15
Chapter 4 - Farallon Technical Support .........................................................17
Farallon Internet information resources ..............................................18
Outside of the United States and Canada ..........................................18
Appendix .....................................................................................................19
Technical specifications .............................................................................19
Regulatory notices .....................................................................................20
1000Base-T and 100Base-TX cabling ..........................................................21
Two-pair cabling for 100Base-TX .......................................................21
Four-pair cabling for 100Base-TX or 1000Base-T .................................21
Warranties ..................................................................................................23

1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Farallon's NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card provides Macintosh or Windows
high-end workstations a Gigabit RJ-45 port for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity over copper wiring. With 10 times
the bandwidth of 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, the card’s full duplex
Gigabit capability offers the benefits of high-speed networking.
Farallon's NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card features full-duplexing for
connections up to 1000 Mbps, jumbo frames compatibility to accept
extended packets without interruption, and adaptive interrupt
frequency to maximize network performance. The card delivers
unparalleled performance, and can be used to replace multiple 100
Mbps interfaces in congested servers. It is also completely
interoperable with Ethernet and Fast Ethernet equipment.
As with all Farallon cards, the NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card is fully
compliant with IEEE Ethernet standards so you can build your network
quickly and easily. The NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card can be installed in
any Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or Macintosh OS 8.1 (or higher)
compatible computer with an available PCI expansion slot.
™

2
S
YSTEM REQUIREMENTS
M ACINTOSH
■
Power PC that meets Mac OS 8.1 requirements or higher.
■
A network client should be running Mac OS 8.1 with Open
Transport 1.3 or higher.
■
A network server should be running ASIP 5.0 or higher.
■
An available PCI card slot.
■
The minimum RAM requirements for your computer’s operating
system.
W INDOWS
■
Pentium based system that meets Windows NT 4.0 or Windows
2000 requirements.
■
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or higher.
■
Windows 2000.
■
Available 32 or 64 bit PCI card slot.
■
The minimum RAM requirements for your computer’s operating
system.

Introduction 3
C
ARD FEATURES
■
Support for 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
■
Uses standard Cat 5 four-pair cabling with RJ-45 connectors
■
Interoperability with existing Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit
Ethernet equipment
■
Standard Ethernet frame size (1,514 bytes plus 4 bytes for check-
sum)
■
Supports Jumbo Frames on both Macintosh and Windows plat-
forms*
■
Supports 32 multicast addresses
■
Adaptive interrupt frequency
■
Dual DMA channels
■
33/66 MHz, 32-bit or 64-bit PCI bus master with adaptive DMA
■
PCI Local Bus Rev 2.2 compliant
■
ASIC with on-chip MAC and dual RISC processors
■
Status LEDs
*Performance gains are minimal with Mac OS 8.x and 9.x, as they do not
support Jumbo Frames with Open Transport.

5
Chapter 2
Installation
Your NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card can be installed in three simple steps:
■
Installing the hardware
■
Connecting to the network
■
Installing the software
Start by installing the hardware, then connect your installed card to
the network using the correct cable, and finally install the driver
software.

6 Chapter 2
I
NSTALLING THE HARDWARE
1. Power down and unplug your computer.
2. Consult your computer’s manual for instructions on installing a
card in a PCI slot.
3. Locate an available PCI slot and remove any access cover,
retainer, or retainer clamp.
4. Ground yourself and take your NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card from its
antistatic bag, handling the card by its edges to avoid touching
the components.
5. Align the card with the PCI slot and press firmly until the
connector is fully seated in the slot.
6. Reassemble your computer according to the instructions in its
manual.

Installation 7
C
ONNECTING TO THE NETWORK
Use the correct cabling for your Ethernet, Fast Ethernet or Gigabit
Ethernet connection. Be sure that:
■
Cable length is not greater than 100 meters.
■
10Base-T twisted pair cabling is Category 5 or better.
■
100Base-TX twisted pair cabling is at least Category 5 two-
pair or four-pair UTP cable.
■
1000Base-T cabling is four-pair Category 5 or Category 5e
(enhanced) UTP cable.
Note: Farallon recommends that all new cable installations use four-
pair Category 5 UTP cabling to guarantee compatibility at
higher speeds.
1. Connect one end of a twisted pair Ethernet cable to the NetLINE
PCI Card’s RJ-45 port and the other end to an Ethernet network
device such as a hub, switch or wall jack.
Use a four-pair Category 5 (or better) straight-through UTP cable to
connect the card to a Gigabit device.
You may use two-pair or four-pair Category 5 cable to connect a
Fast Ethernet device to the card.
2. After connecting the cable, turn on your computer.
3. Complete the installation process by installing the driver software.
Fast Starlet Gig Switch/4T
Power Act
100Mb
1 Gb
Fdx
Act
100Mb
1 Gb
Fdx
Act
100Mb
1 Gb
Fdx
Act
100Mb
1 Gb
Fdx

8 Chapter 2
I
NSTALLING THE SOFTWARE
After the NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card is connected to your network,
complete installation by placing the appropriate driver on your
computer. For driver installation see:
■
Mac OS 8.1 or higher and AppleShare IP 5.0 or higher (see below)
■
Windows NT 4.0 or higher (see page 10)
■
Windows 2000 (see page 12)
M
ACINTOSH
1. Insert the NetLINE CD-ROM into the CD drive of your computer
and double-click the Installer icon. The Easy Install dialog box
appears.
2. Make sure the appropriate destination disk is selected and click
the Install button. The Installer places the required networking
software in your System Folder.
3. After installation is complete, restart your computer.
4. Once you have installed the card and driver, configure the
AppleTalk and TCP/IP Control Panels on your Macintosh.
C
ONFIGURING
A
PPLE
T
ALK AND
TCP/IP
5. Open the AppleTalk Control Panel.
6. Select the Ethernet slot where the card is installed from the
Connect via pop-up menu. If a message asks you to confirm the
change of network connections, click OK .

Installation 9
7. When you are finished, close the Control Panel and save your
settings.
8. Open the TCP/IP Control Panel.
9. Select the Ethernet slot where the card is installed from the
Connect via pop-up menu.
Make sure the rest of your TCP/IP panel is configured correctly,
with the appropriate IP Address, Subnet mask, Router address
and Name Server addresses entered for your network.
10. Close the TCP/IP panel and save changes when prompted.

10 Chapter 2
W
INDOWS
NT 4.0
1. Start your Windows NT system and log in. You must have Network
Administrator privileges to install the driver software.
2. Open the Control Panel and double-click on the Network icon.
3. In the Network window, click the Adapters tab.
Note: Previously installed driver software will be listed under Net-
work Adapters.
4. Click the Add button.
5. In the Select Network Adapters window, click the Have Disk
button.
6. Insert the NetLINE CD-ROM into the CD drive when prompted.
Type the path to the driver that matches your system and select
OK.

Installation 11
7. In the Select OEM Option window, select the NetLINE Gigabit PCI
Cardand click OK. (The card name appearsas Farallon PCI
Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.)
8. The configuration window will appear. Make any parameter
changes you want and click the Close button in the Driver
Properties window.
9. When prompted, restart your computer.

12 Chapter 2
WINDOWS 2000
When the Windows 2000 system first boots up after installing new
hardware, the system automatically detects the new hardware and
prompts you to install the driver software for the device.
1. Start your Windows 2000 system and log in. You must have
Network Administrator privileges to install the driver software.
2. The Found New Hardware Wizard window will be displayed. In the
Install Hardware Device Drivers window, click Search for a
suitable driver for my device (recommended), then click the Next
button.
3. In the Locate Driver Files window, check the CD-ROM drives box.
4. When prompted, insert the NetLINE CD into the computer’s CD-
ROM drive and type the path to the driver. Select OK.
5. Verify that the correct path to the driver software is shown, then
click the Next button.
6. A message may appear indicating that the driver does not have
the Windows 2000 digital signature. Click Ye s to continue. The
driver is designed to work with Windows 2000 and is fully
compatible with the Windows 2000 operating system.
7. If prompted, restart your computer.

13
Chapter 3
Operation
The following describes some troubleshooting steps you can take to
make sure your card is functioning properly. To make sure your Gigabit
Ethernet card is working, check that:
■the card is properly installed in the PCI slot
■the cable is securely connected to the card
■the device at the other end of the cable is an Ethernet, Fast Ether-
net or Gigabit Ethernet device, and it is receiving power
■the configuration settings are correct
■there are no conflicts with other cards installed in your machine
■the cable is the proper category and length

14 Chapter 3
NETLINE GIGABIT PCI CARD LEDS
The NetLINE Gigabit PCI Card LEDs can give you information about link
status and network activity.
Data: This light indicates any activity the PCI card detects on the
network.
■A blinking light indicates brief bursts of data detected on the
port.
■A steady light indicates streams of data detected on the port.
■If the light is off, no data is detected on the port.
1000: This light indicates link status between the PCI card and the
network.
■A steady light indicates a good 1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet
link.
■No light indicates there is no link, possibly due to a bad
cable, a bad connector, or a configuration error.
100: This light indicates link status between the PCI card and the
network.
■A steady light indicates a good 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet link.
■No light indicates there is no link, possibly due to a bad
cable, a bad connector, or a configuration error.
10: This light indicates link status between the PCI card and the
network.
■A steady light indicates a good 10 Mbps Ethernet link.
■No light indicates there is no link, possibly due to a bad
cable, a bad connector, or a configuration error.
Note: If all four LEDs remain lit simultaneously, there is an error.
The card may not be properly installed or the driver may not
be loaded. See “Installation” on page 5 for instructions.
DATA
1000
100
10
10/100/1000 BASE-T
DATA
1000
100
10
10/100/1000 BASE-T

Operation 15
TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
Basic troubleshooting steps you can try include:
■using a different cable (be sure to always use four-pair Category 5
UTP cable for Gigabit Ethernet connections)
■moving the card to another PCI slot (it is a good idea to install the
card in the PCI slot closest to the CPU)
■making sure the card is properly seated in the PCI slot
■restarting the computer and reinstalling the driver
TROUBLESHOOTING FOR MACINTOSH
Macintosh users can also check the following:
■the correct PCI card is selected in the AppleTalk and TCP/IP Con-
trol Panels
After moving or swapping PCI cards on a Macintosh, you may want to
zap the PRAM as follows:
1. Restart your computer while holding down the following four keys:
command + option + P + R.
2. Hold the keys down until the computer screen flashes and the
startup tone sounds at least three times.
3. Release the keys to allow your computer to start up normally.
4. Check your Control Panels (including Date & Time, Keyboard,
Mouse, Appearance, AppleTalk, TCP/IP and Monitors & Sound) to
correct any settings that may have reverted to defaults.
TROUBLESHOOTING FOR WINDOWS
Windows NT users can also check the following:
■you are using the latest system BIOS
■you have checked the PCI BIOS parameters for proper configura-
tion of the slot where the card is installed
■you have run diagnostics for the Windows NT 4 system