iprb(7D) Devices iprb(7D)NAMEiprb - Intel 82557, 82558, 82559-controlled network interface con‐
trollers
SYNOPSIS
/dev/iprb
DESCRIPTION
The iprb Ethernet driver is a multi-threaded, loadable, clonable,
STREAMS hardware driver supporting the connectionless Data Link
Provider Interface, dlpi(7P), over Intel D100 82557, 82558, and 82559
controllers. Multiple 82557, 82558, and 82559 controllers installed
within the system are supported by the driver. The iprb driver pro‐
vides basic support for the 82557, 82558, and 82559 hardware. Functions
include chip initialization, frame transmit and receive, multicast sup‐
port, and error recovery and reporting.
APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE
The cloning, character-special device /dev/iprb is used to access all
82557, 82558, and 82559 devices installed within the system.
iprb and DLPI
The iprb driver is dependent on /kernel/misc/gld, a loadable kernel
module that provides the iprb driver with the DLPI and STREAMS func‐
tionality required of a LAN driver. See gld(7D) for more details on
the primitives supported by the driver.
The values returned by the driver in the DL_INFO_ACK primitive in
response to the DL_INFO_REQ from the user are as follows:
· Maximum SDU is 1500 (ETHERMTU).
· Minimum SDU is 0. The driver will pad to the mandatory 60-octet
minimum packet size.
· The dlsap address length is 8.
· MAC type is DL_ETHER.
· The sap length value is −2, meaning the physical address component
is followed immediately by a 2-byte sap component within the DLSAP
address.
· Broadcast address value is Ethernet/IEEE broadcast address
(FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF).
KNOWN PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS
x86 based systems with the Intel EtherExpress PRO/100B or the Intel
EtherExpress PRO/100+ might hang when the interface is brought down at
the very instant that a packet is being received. To avoid this, wait
until the system is experiencing light or no network traffic before
bringing the interface down.
Early versions of the firmware on Intel EtherExpress PRO/100+ and Intel
PRO/100+ Management adapters do not support PXE network boot on Solaris
systems. Upgrade the firmware if the version is lower than 078. PXE
firmware versions are expressed as three-digit build numbers. The
build number is typically displayed by the firmware during boot.
If the PXE build number is not displayed during boot, change the sys‐
tem BIOS or adapter BIOS configuration to display PXE messages during
boot.
FILESiprb Device special file
/kernel/drv/iprb.conf iprb configuration file
<sys/stropts.h> stropts network header file
<sys/ethernet.h> Ethernet network header file
<sys/dlpi.h> dlpi network header file
<sys/gld.h> gld network header file
The iprb.conf configuration file options include:
-TxURRetry
Default:
3
Allowed Values: 0, 1, 2, 3
Sets the number of retransmissions. Modified when tuning perfor‐
mance.
-MWIEnable
Default: 0 (Disable)
Allowed Values: 0 (Disable), 1 (Enable)
Should only be set for 82558 adapters and systems in which the PCI
bus supports Memory Write & Invalidate operations. Can improve the
performance for some configurations.
-FlowControl
Default: 0 (Disable)
Allowed Values: 0 (Disable), 1 (Enable)
Setting this value can improve the performance for some configura‐
tions
-CollisionBackOffModification
Default: 0 (Disable)
Allowed Values: 0 (Disable), 1 (Enable)
Setting this value can improve the performance for some configura‐
tions
-PhyErrataFrequency
Default: 0 (Disable)
Allowed Values: 0 (Disable), 10 (Enable)
If you have problems establishing links with cables length = 70 Ft,
set this field to 10
-CpuCycleSaver
Default: 0
Allowed Values: 1 through FFFFh
Reasonable Values: 200h through 800h
The CPUSaver algorithm improves the system's P/E ratio by reducing
the number of interrupts generated by the card. The algorithm bun‐
dles multiple receive frames together, then generates a single
interrupt for the bundle. Because the microcode does not support
run-time configuration, configuration must be done prior to the
micro code being loaded into the chip. Changing this value from its
default means that the driver will have to be unloaded and loaded
for the change to take affect. Setting the CpuCycleSaver option to
0 prevents the algorithm from being used. Because it varies for
different network environments, the optimal value for this parame‐
ter is impossible to predict. Accordingly, developers should run
tests to determine the effect that changing this value has on band‐
width and CPU utilization.
-ForceSpeedDuplex
Default: 5 (Auto-negotiate)
Allowed Values: 4 (100 FDX)
3 (100 HDX)
2 (10 FDX)
1 (10 HDX)
Specify the speed and duplex mode for each instance.
Example: ForceSpeedDuplex=5,4;
Sets iprb0 to autonegotiate and iprb1 to 100 FDX.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Architecture │x86 │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOattributes(5), dlpi(7P), gld(7D)SunOS 5.10 17 November 2000 iprb(7D)
