IBM 16/4 Token-Ring Low Profile PCI Management Adapter User's Guide

Appendix B. NDIS 2 device driver parameters

The following table describes the NDIS 2 device driver parameters that you might need to know for diagnostics and remote unattended installation purposes. For a sample of the PROTOCOL.INI file, see Figure 3.

Table 8. DOS NDIS device driver parameters in PROTOCOL.INI

Parameter	Explanation
NetAddress	Use this parameter to specify a locally administered address for the adapter. The address must be enclosed in double quotes (" ") and be unique among all the addresses on the network. The adapter can be known on the network by its universally administered address (the address encoded in the adapter's memory at the factory) or a locally administered address (a unique, user-assigned address). The universally administered address is the default value. That address appears on the adapter bracket. See Figure 2 for an illustration. Valid values: "400000000000" to "7FFFFFFFFFFF" in hex
DataRate	Used for configuring the ring speed of the adapter. It is recommended for servers that the DataRate be set to M16 or M4, and clients be set to Auto. This parameter is ignored for 100 Mbps network operation. Valid values: AUTO AutoSense - automatic ring-speed detection. Note: The adapter will not function with AutoSense if it is the first one on the ring. AutoSense is not designed for changing ring speed while the adapter is operational. It is usually necessary to reload the driver. M16 16-Mbps ring-speed operation. M4 4-Mbps ring-speed operation. The default is AUTO.
EnableTxEofInt	This parameter specifies whether the Transmit End of Frame Interrupt is enabled. Valid values: Yes Indicates that the interrupt will be recognized by the interrupt handler. No Indicates that the interrupt will not be recognized by the interrupt handler. This value is preferable in some environments (such as a server environment) to reduce the number of times the interrupt handler is invoked. This can result in reduced CPU utilization and increased performance. The default is Yes.
MaxTransmits	This parameter specifies the maximum number of transmit queue entries. The value should be set high enough to accommodate the sum of all MaxTransmits for all protocol drivers using the adapter concurrently. Valid values: 1 to 128 The default is 31.
MaxTxFrameSize	This parameter specifies the maximum frame size that can be transmitted on the LAN. The parameter value serves as an upper limit. The actual maximum frame size might be smaller. The maximum frame size supported by the NDIS device driver is the lesser of the following values: The value of this MaxTxFrameSize parameter Total Receive Buffer Area (see the MinRcvBuffs parameter) The physical frame size capacity of the network (4500 bytes for 4-Mbps token rings and 18,200 bytes for 16-Mbps and 100-Mbps token rings) Do not count the 4 bytes of FCS defined for a frame when setting this parameter value. In some environments, performance can be increased by operating server and client at larger frame sizes. Protocol frame size should be adjusted if this parameter is changed. Note: Some token-ring switches support a maximum frame size of 4500 bytes. Valid values: 14 to 18,000 The default is 4500.
MinRcvBuffs	This parameter specifies the minimum number of receive buffers that are allocated. The Total Receive Buffer Area for the adapter is calculated using the following formula: Total Receive Buffer Area = MinRcvBuffs × RcvBuffSize Note: To receive the maximum length frame that is supported by the attached network, the Total Receive Buffer Area must be larger than the maximum frame size that is allowed for the network, which is 4500 bytes for 4-Mbps Token Rings and 18 000 bytes for 16-Mbps and 100-Mbps Token Rings). A smaller Total Receive Buffer Area will use less system memory but will correspondingly reduce the size of the largest frame that can be received by the NDIS device driver. The maximum frame size supported by the driver can be further limited by the MaxTxFrameSize parameter. Valid values: 1 to 512 The default is 20.
RcvBuffSize	This parameter specifies the size of each receive buffer. Valid values: 256 to 18 000 The default is 2252.
FullDuplex	This parameter permits the device driver to activate token-ring full-duplex operation if supported by the network. The MaxTxFrameSize parameter may need to be adjusted separately, depending on network requirements. Valid values: Yes Permits full-duplex operation. No Prohibits full-duplex operation. The default is Yes.
LoopBack	Determines whether or not the adapter will copy a frame that it is transmitting if the destination address is recognized by the adapter. Valid values: Yes Indicates that transmit frames whose destination is this adapter will be transmitted and then received by the adapter. No Indicates that transmit frames whose destination is this adapter must be looped back by the protocol stack. The default is No.
TxPriMax	This parameter specifies the value of the maximum token access priority that will be allowed for frames sent on the high-priority transmit channel. High-priority transmit frames whose Frame Control priority value exceeds the value of this parameter will have their token access priority reduced to the value specified by this parameter. Frame Control is a field in the IEEE 802.2 Logical Link Control (LLC) header. Valid values: 0 to 6 The default is 6.
TxPriThresh	This parameter specifies the frame priority value that will be used to transmit on the adapter's high-priority transmit queue. IEEE 802.2 LLC frames that contain a frame priority setting (in the Frame Control field) that is equal to or greater than the value of this parameter are treated as high-priority frames. Valid values: 1 to 6 The default is 1.
LLCOnly	This parameter indicates whether only LLC frames should be copied by the adapter when it is running in promiscuous copy mode. If this parameter is set to Yes, no MAC frames will be copied while in promiscuous copy mode. Valid values: Yes Copy only LLC frames. No Copy all frames on the ring. The default is No.
EOIDelay	This parameter should always be set to zero. It is intended for debug use. Valid values: 0 to 10 The default is 0.
RTSWMode	This parameter indicates whether the driver should enable code that attempts to send routable traffic directly to a destination rather than through the router. This can improve the performance of these connections and reduce the workload at the router. If the value is Disable, all routable frames will be sent through the router. Valid values: Auto Automatically determines whether to use Peer or Client mode. Peer Communicates with a peer destination station to establish a direct path. Client Uses an MSS server to determine the direct path. Disable Deactivates the route switching function for this adapter. The default is Disable.
RTSWTableSize	This parameter specifies the number of entries allowed in the route table for route switching support. This should be set equal to or greater than the number of remote stations that this station will send data to using routable frames (for example, TCP/IP). If it is set too low, some of the traffic that could be sent directly will instead be sent through the router. Valid values: 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024 The default is 16.
RTSWSubnetMask	This parameter contains a character string specifying the IP Subnet Mask for the IP subnet to which this adapter will attach. This value is entered as an IP dotted decimal value, for example, 255.255.255.0. This is a mandatory parameter when the RTSWMode parameter is set to Auto or Peer. Valid values: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx A dotted-decimal IP network number (15 characters maximum). Disable When not in use. The default is Disable.
RTSWHoldingTime	This parameter specifies the Route Switching information holding time value. This determines how often a remote station must refresh its Route Switching information which pertains to this station. Valid values: 2 to 20 The default is 20.
TCPPortRangeN	This represents a set of parameters which designates the transmit frame priority value for a specified TCP port range. N is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. The format of this 9-digit hexadecimal string is: PortNumber PortNumber PriorityValue where each PortNumber is a four-character hex value and PriorityValue is a one-character hex value. The two PortNumber fields define a starting and ending value that make up a range, with the starting value less than or equal to the ending value. Valid values: PortNumber 0x0000 to 0xFFFF PriorityValue 1 to 6 There is no default for this parameter.
UDPPortRangeN	This represents a set of parameters which designates the transmit frame priority value for a specified UDP port range. N is 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. The format of this 9-digit hexadecimal string is: PortNumber PortNumber PriorityValue where each PortNumber is a four-character hex value and PriorityValue is a one-character hex value. The two PortNumber fields define a starting and ending value that make up a range, with the starting value less than or equal to the ending value. Valid values: PortNumber 0x0000 to 0xFFFF PriorityValue 1 to 6 There is no default value for this parameter.

Figure 3. Sample PROTOCOL.INI file for a DOS station configured for TCP/IP

;Protocol Manager Section [PROT_MAN] Drivername = PROTMAN$ ;Section A: Protocol Driver (IBM TCP/IP V1.2 for DOS) [TCPIP_nif] Drivername = TCPIP$ Bindings = IBMTRP_NIF ;Section B: NDIS Device Driver [IBMTRP_NIF] Drivername = IBMTRP$ NetAddress = "400000000000" DataRate = "M16" EnableTxEofInt = "Yes" FullDuplex = "Yes" TxPriMax = 6 TxPriThresh = 1 LLCOnly = "No"