Subject: "PCNet-PCI" based cards?
To: None <port-i386@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Thor Lancelot Simon <tls@cloud9.net>
List: port-i386
Date: 01/09/1995 21:52:45
I have in my posession two "BOCALANcard-PCI" Ethernet adapters.
They do _not_ use the same chipset as the DEC and SMC products.
They do _not_ use the PCNet-32 chip.
They do _not_ work with the current "le" driver.

As far as I can tell, _every_ PCI-bus signal runs directly from the card-edge
connector to a chip marked "PCnet-PCI AM79C970KC".  Needless to say, there
aren't any jumpers or the like; I suspect most of the problem is that the card
autoconfigures its IRQ and I/O address, and the driver can't find out which.

The advertisements for this card say that it uses bus-master PCI DMA.  The
manual says, in bold-face type, in the section on Novell driver configuration,
that "The PCnet-PCI card does not use DMA.", which I believe probably just
means that it doesn't use an ISA drq.

I'd just go out and buy some SMC or DEC cards, but these things cost only $79!

I will gladly give one of the two of these cards which are sitting on my desk
to any person knowledgeable about PCI-bus autoconfiguration who would like to
adjust the drivers as appropriate.

Thor