Configuring Boards

Configuring, or reconfiguring, a board involves choosing a driver for the board, assigning a name to the board, and configuring the board parameters.

When you select and configure a LAN board, you are actually configuring one or more physical interfaces that correspond to individual connections over which packets are routed. Configuring a board causes the driver associated with the board to load each time you initialize the router.

Most drivers that are compatible with NetWare software have a driver description file that defines the hardware parameters necessary for the driver to operate with the board you select. This file---sometimes called the .LDI file --- also specifies the valid range of values for each parameter. If a driver has an .LDI file, the parameters associated with that driver are presented in the Board Configuration menu; you simply choose a value for each parameter. If a driver has no.LDI file, you must enter the required values in the Board Parameters field.

Loading INETCFG

To load INETCFG at from the server prompt enter

inetcfg

The Internetworking Console interface is displayed. For the next set of operation you need to select options on the Internetworking Console screens.

Configuring a LAN Board

To configure a board, complete the following steps:

1. Load INETCFG and then click Boards.

2. Do one of the following:

   1. If you are configuring a new board:

   • Press Ins to display the list of available drivers.
   • Scroll through the list of available drivers and select the driver that corresponds to the type of new LAN board you are installing in your system. If the driver you need is not in the list, refer to Adding a New Board Driver or NLM File to Your System.

   1. If you are changing an existing board configuration:

      Select that board.

      • Press Enter to see the configured parameters of the board.
      • Change the required parameters. (The name can not be changed.)

3. The Configured Boards screen is displayed.

   NOTE:  If you are doing a new configuration, no existing boards are shown. Otherwise, boards that have already been configured are shown.

   The Configured Boards screen displays a list of configured boards with some or all of the following information:

   • Board Name---Name you assign to the board.
   • Driver---Name of the driver associated with the board.
   • Int---Interrupt request level (IRQ) used by the board.
   • IOAddr---Base input/output port address for the board.
   • MemAddr---Base memory address used by the board.
   • Slot---Number of the slot where the board is installed.
   • Status---Status of the board, which is Enabled by default.
   • Comment---Any comments that you enter about the board or its configuration.

   NOTE:  Not every board-driver configuration requires all this information; in fact, some configurations require other, link-specific parameters that are not shown in the Configured Boards screen. These parameters are displayed in the Board Configuration menu, as described in the following steps.

   If the board driver has an .LDI file, the parameters you need to configure for the board are displayed as separate fields in the menu.

   If the board driver has no .LDI file, only the Board Name, Board Parameters, and Comment fields are provided as a means for entering the parameters manually.

4. Specify the board parameters by doing one of the following:

   • If the driver selected has a description file, the parameters are listed as separate fields. You must highlight each field one at a time and select the appropriate value for the parameter from the displayed list.

     HINT:  Use the context-sensitive help text if you need an explanation of any parameter. Highlight the parameter and press F1 to display the help text. Press Esc to exit the help screen. When in doubt, accept the default values.

   • If the driver selected does not have a description file, the Board Configuration Without A Driver Description File menu is displayed. You must type the parameters in the Board Parameters field; use the following as an example:PORT=300 INT=3

     These parameters are appended to the LOAD driver line.

5. Press Esc to return to the Configured Boards screen; save your changes when prompted.

   The Configured Boards screen now shows the board you just configured. Note that the board status is Enabled; you can use the Tab key to toggle between Enabled and Disabled. To ensure that the board is loaded, continue with the next step.

6. Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu; save your changes when prompted.

7. If you want these changes to take effect immediately, perform the following actions.

   LAN boards with a single network interface need no further configuration; however, an enabled driver is not loaded unless a protocol is bound to it.

   After a data-link protocol has been associated with the board, select Reinitialize System or restart the router to make the changes take effect. If there are any conflicts with the hardware parameters of other boards, one or more messages describe them. You must determine whether the conflicts are acceptable or whether they interfere with the operation of the router and, if necessary, resolve them.

Adding a New Board Driver or NLM File to Your System

1. Load INETCFG and then click Boards.

2. Press Ins to display the list of available drivers.

3. Press Ins again.

   All the available Novell certified drivers will appear on the screen.

4. Select the driver and then press Enter.

   NOTE:  You can also use this screen for copying drivers and NLM files from a floppy diskette to the SYS:/SYSTEM directory.

   To add a driver to the list of available drivers, insert the diskette containing the driver in one of the disk drives, specify the complete path and filename of the driver (for example, A:\NEWDRV\DRIVER) and then press Enter. The driver and its description file, if any, are copied into the SYS:SYSTEM directory. (Note that the file extension is not required.)

5. Configure the new board as described in Configuring a LAN Board.

Enabling or Disabling a LAN Board

1. Load INETCFG and then click Boards.

2. Select the board you want to enable or disable and press Tab.

   The screen displays the board's new status (Enabled or Disabled).

   IMPORTANT:  If you disable a board that uses an AIO or CAPI driver and you reinitialize the system, then all other boards that use the same driver will also be disabled. If this happens, you must restart the server to reload all instances of the driver that were loaded for another product in AUTOEXEC.NCF (without INETCFG). However, the board loaded in AUTOEXEC.NCF will remain inoperable until you restart the server or until you enter the LOAD command at the console and reinitialize the system. To avoid this problem, use INETCFG to load both drivers.

3. Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu.

Deleting a LAN Board

1. Load INETCFG and then click Boards

2. Select the board you want to delete and press Del.

   A message is displayed indicating that deleting the board also deletes all existing binds to the board's interfaces.

3. When prompted, select Yes to delete the board.

   The board is removed from the list of configured boards.

4. Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu.

5. Reinitialize system for the changes to take place.