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Network adapters

Unit objectives Discuss network adapter configuration Troubleshoot network adapter

problems

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Topic A

Topic A: Network adapter configuration Topic B: Troubleshooting network

adapter problems

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Network adapter configuration

A network adapter provides a communication channel between your computer’s motherboard and the network

Understanding proper network adapter configuration is essential for configuring and supporting computers on a network

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A sample NIC

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Network adapter selection criteria

Network adapter cards provide the hardware interface for the data link protocols

The factors that need to be considered before the purchase and installation of these hardware components – Data link protocol – System bus – Free slots – Cabling

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Network adapter settings

Conflicts during physical installation of a new adapter can be located by checking settings for– IRQ – I/O address – DMA – ROM address

(see Device Manager/View/Resources by Connection or by Type)

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MAC address

Is your computer’s or more accurately your NIC’s unique hardware identifier

Is a hexadecimal number assigned to each NIC during the manufacturing process

A sample MAC address– 00-A0-00-E2-8F-FA – (The first six hex numbers are assigned to a

manufacturer; each maker of NICs gets a series of numbers. Each manufacturer then numbers each NIC uniquely with the next 6.)

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A MAC address

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MAC Address and Device ID Assignment Authorities

IEEE web site: http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/index.shtmlPublic OUI and company_id Assignments Announcement These listings are updated daily.The three-octet OUI can be used to generate Universal LAN MAC addresses and Protocol Identifiers per ANSI/IEEE Std 802 for use in Local and Metropolitan Area Network applications.If your firm manufactures or plans to manufacture products using ISO/IEC 8802 standards, you should apply to IEEE for your firm's OUI. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. has been designated by the ISO Council to act as the registration authority for the implementation of International Standards in the ISO/IEC 8802 series. This is the one world-wide source of registered OUIs. For further details contact:

– IEEE Registration AuthorityIEEE Standards Department445 Hoes LanePiscataway NJ 08854Phone: (732) 465-6481Fax: (732) 562-1571Email: IEEE Registration Authority (below)

– http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/index.shtml

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Boot PROMs

Are add-on items to a network adapter that helps a computer to boot entirely from a network server

Can be used to configure networked computers in a harsh environment, such as a factory floor, where hard or floppy drives will tend to fail

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Activity A-1

Discussing the properties of a network adapter

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Jumper/switch configuration

Depending on the manufacturer and model of the NIC, you might have to set switches or jumpers on the card to set the IRQ and I/O address – (very unusual on modern NICs)

Always check the documentation that was shipped with the NIC to determine the proper jumper or switch settings

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Software configuration

Another way that a NIC can be configured is through the use of an installation disk provided by the manufacturer

- (This is the normal way to configure a NIC. If you lose the disk, go to the manufacturer’s web site and download another copy of the configuration utility.)

This software package will not only help you to set the resource settings, but also provide you diagnostic programs for your network adapter

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Plug and Play (PnP)

The Plug and Play standard automatically configures the network adapter for use

There are three components necessary for Plug and Play – Plug and Play BIOS - all modern (BIOSs

support PnP)– Plug and Play expansion boards (must be

able to communicate with the BIOS, re: PnP commands, resource assignments, etc.)

– Plug and Play operating system (all modern OSs support PnP (back to Windows 95 and NT 4.0).

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Activity A-2

Discussing network adapter configuration

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Communicating with other computers

For communicating with other computers in a small LAN, installing the NetBEUI protocol might be sufficient

In addition, you should enable the Microsoft Client for Windows and enable file and printer sharing. (A Windows computer must run the Client for Microsoft Networks to remotely access files, printers and other shared network resources.)

You’ll also need to make sure that the computer’s name is correct based on a naming scheme for all computers in the network.

For a small network that doesn’t use Windows domains, you’ll have to configure each computer to belong to a workgroup.

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Activity A-3

Configuring basic networking components

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The role of network adapter drivers

A separate network adapter card driver provides easier management, greater flexibility, and better support

The two common implementations of the model that uses a separate network adapter card driver– Network Device Interface Specification

(NDIS) – (Microsoft)

– Open Datalink Interface (ODI) - (Novell)

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Monolithic protocols

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NDIS and ODI

Similarities– Both are layered models – Both support the same protocols

Differences– Each has a different set of specifications

for compliance so that drivers for one will not work with the other

Though they use the same protocols, different protocol files are needed due to differences in the interfaces

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NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) is a Windows specification for how communication protocol programs (such as TCP/IP) and network device drivers should contact each other. NDIS specifies interfaces for:

The program that sends and receives data by constructing or extracting it from the formatted units called frames (and sometimes packets or datagrams). This program, usually called a protocol stack, is layering and generally corresponds to layers 3 and 4 (the Network Addressing and Transport layers) of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model. Examples are TCP/IP and IPX/SPX, i.e. Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange

The program, usually called a device driver, that interacts directly with the network interface card (NIC) or other adapter hardware, which sends or receives the data on the communications line in the form of electronic signals. The driver program and the NIC interact at the Media Access Control (MAC address) sublayer of layer-2 level of OSI, which is called Data-Link Control. (Putting the signal on the line is the layer-1 or the Physical layer of OSI.) Examples of MAC drivers are those for Ethernet, Fiber Distributed-Data Interface (FDDI – pronounced “fiddi”, and Token Ring.

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A program called the Protocol Manager that assists the protocol stack program and the MAC driver program by telling

each of them the computer location of the other when the 1. operating system is started or, in some cases, 2. when a new device is added to the computer. This is called bind. A system file called PROTOCOL.INI (see next slide) identifies which protocol stacks use which MAC drivers and where each is located. A protocol stack can be bound to more than one MAC driver where a computer is connected to multiple networks. And a single MAC driver can be bound to more than one protocol stack in a computer.

NDIS was developed by Microsoft and 3Com. Using NDIS, software developers can create protocol stacks that work with the MAC driver for any hardware manufacturer's communications adapter. By the same token, any adapter maker can write a MAC driver software that can communicate with any protocol stack program.

A similar interface, called Open Data-Link Interface (ODI), is provided by Novell for its NetWare LAN operating system.

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Protocol.ini Locations

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Activity A-4

Discussing NDIS and ODI

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Topic B

Topic A: Network adapter configuration Topic B: Troubleshooting network

adapter problems

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Troubleshooting network adapter problems

Troubleshooting tips– Almost all NICs have status lights that

can assist you in determining the root of a problem

– Prior to opening up the case of the computer, rule out user mistakes, such as mistyping a password or username

– After determining the problem with the NIC, log onto the network and transfer a file to make sure that everything is functioning normally

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Activity B-1

Discussing general troubleshooting tips

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MAC address conflicts

Two NICs with the same MAC address cannot be used on the same network

If two computers on a network have the same MAC address, only one will be able to participate on the network at any time – (Bear in mind that a conflict of this sort is nearly impossible. A

network adapter is given its address by its manufacturer. A MAC address is a 48-bit number, or 12 hex digits. Each manufacturer is give a range of addresses by ARIN (American Registry of Internet Numbers) under IEEE guidelines, each 24-bits, or 6 hex digits long – or ½ the total length of a MAC address, to use in creating unique MAC addresses. The second half of the MAC address is assigned by each manufacturer (3Com, Intel, etc.). Any duplicates therefore must both come from the same company, and the companies have a strong incentive not to create any duplicates – reputation, liability, etc.

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Diagnostic software

Regardless of the manufacturer, the network adapter is shipped with some sort of diagnostic software (usually a CD with some kind of executable diagnostic programs.)

Diagnostics can prove invaluable when troubleshooting problems with NICs. – You will notice a lot of “loopback” tests in

these kinds of diagnostics.

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Diagnostic software (cont)

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Diagnostic hardware

Diagnostic hardware assists you in determining where a problem will be found

One type of diagnostic hardware that is most frequently used is an external loopback plug – The purpose of using an external

loopback plug is to help the NIC to send and receive on a closed loop

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Activity B-2

Identifying network adapter problems

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Unit summary

Discussed network adapter configuration

Discussed troubleshooting network adapter problems