Hardware configuration

There are several ways to configure your networking hardware depending on the bus type of the adapter you are installing:

PCI

PCI hardware setup is usually very simple. In most cases, no user configuration procedures are required, although the specific setup procedures depend on the vendor's implementation. Make sure to run the Network Configuration Manager after installing PCI adapters into your system.

---

NOTE: Some PCI network drivers have configurable parameters that you can define using the Advanced Options button.

---

EISA and Microchannel (MCA)

For EISA and MCA adapters, run your adapter configuration utilities before configuring the driver with the Network Configuration Manager; machines of these types can automatically assign non-conflicting parameters to installed devices. Install EISA network adapters in the machine before running the Network Configuration Manager.

ISA, PCMCIA/CardBus, and Plug-and-Play

Many of these adapters are ``software configurable'', meaning that you can set hardware parameters from configuration programs. The Network Configuration Manager can automatically detect many software configurable adapters and assign appropriate configuration parameters to the adapter.

---

NOTE: Many ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) adapters are shipped with DOS setup utilities. However, the Network Configuration Manager provides single-point configuration for software-configurable adapters such that many adapters do not require DOS setup. We recommend that you use the Network Configuration Manager for basic adapter configuration and resort to the setup utilities only if an adapter cannot be detected or configured by the Network Configuration Manager.

---

Some ISA adapters are ``hardware configurable'', meaning that you must set jumpers manually on the adapter before installing the adapter in your machine. Make sure that you set the hardware to the same parameters that you assign to the driver with the Network Configuration Manager.

---

NOTE: PCMCIA/CardBus wireless adapters have several configurable parameters that you set using the Advanced Options button in the Network Configuration Manager. See ``Configuring PCMCIA/CardBus wireless adapters'' for more information.

---

Consult your adapter's documentation to determine how to set up your adapter's hardware.

• In non-ISA machines (PCI and EISA), the configuration utilities generally cannot obtain the configuration information for ISA adapters, and therefore cannot check for hardware conflicts.

• If two or more software-configurable ISA adapters are installed in an ISA machine, they must be set to use different I/O addresses, DMA channels, and shared RAM regions. Otherwise your system may not be able to recognize one of the devices.

• If two or more ISA cards are installed, be sure to check for all possible hardware conflicts.

Most machines can support one to four networking adapters of a given type (depending on the type of adapter and the capacity of your machine).