3Com 3C905-TX User Manual

Also see for 3C905-TX: Installation guide

Contents

3Com 3C905-TX User Manual Manual pdf 12 page image

1 INTRODUCTIONThe 3Com‚ Fast EtherLink‚ Parallel Tasking‚ 10/100BASE-TPCI adapter (the Fast EtherLink PCI or 3C595 adapter) is a32-bit adapter for use in personal computers with aPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) computer bus. Itoperates whether or not bus mastering is enabled.This adapter is a dual-speed adapter connected to anEthernet network with a single connection over unshieldedtwisted-pair (UTP) cable. The adapter automatically sensesand switches to either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. The speed isdetermined by the kind of hub to which the adapter isconnected:n When the adapter is connected to a hub that supports10BASE-T Ethernet (10 Mbps), it switches to a networkspeed of 10 Mbps.n When the adapter is connected to a hub that supports100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps), it switches to anetwork speed of 100 Mbps.PCI TechnologyThe PCI local bus is a high-performance bus that provides aprocessor-independent data path between the CPU in a PCand high-speed peripherals. This interconnect mechanism isdesigned specifically to accommodate multiplehigh-performance peripheral devices that supportnetworking and disk subsystems, graphics, full-motion video,and multimedia.The PCI specification defines two types of PCI devices: atarget and a master. A target is a device that acceptscommands and responds to the requests of a master.