3C975-UTP ATMLink RJ-45 PCI Network Interface Card
The 3C975 ATMLink NIC is available in
two models: the 3C975-F and the 3C975-UTP (Figure
1). The 3C975-F NIC has an SC duplex fiber-optic cable connector for
double-strand 62.5/125 µm multimode fiber-optic cable. The 3C975-UTP NIC has an
RJ-45 connector and requires Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair cable. Both
3C975 ATMLink NICs are high-performance single-slot, bus master, half-length PCI
cards that provide 155.52 megabit per second (Mbps) Synchronous Optical Network
(SONET STS-3c) physical layer support.
The 3C975 ATMLink NICs support the
following features:
- Intuitive graphical user interface
(GUI) for LEC configuration and NIC diagnostic programs
- ATM Forum standard LAN Emulation
Client (LEC)
- ATM Forum AAL5 ATM adaptation layer
- ATM Forum UNI 3.0/3.1 standard
signaling for switched virtual circuit (SVC) connections
- Up to 4 NICs per system
- Up to 16 LAN emulation clients (LECs)
per NIC
- Simultaneous token ring and Ethernet
LEC operation on the same NIC
- Up to 512 active connections per NIC
- Up to 4,096 open and 1,024
simultaneously active virtual channel connections per system
- Viewable ARP table for each LEC
- Resilient Server Link capability to
protect against link failure
- Compliance with PCI Local Bus
Specification, revision 2.0
- Link LED to indicate connection
status
- Traffic shaping (user-defined
maximum peak rate per LEC)
- Interim Local Management Interface (ILMI)
3.0 service
- User-selectable virtual path
identifier/virtual circuit identifier (VPI/VCI) range
- Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) agent for NICs operating under the Windows NT operating
system
Figure 1
3C975-F and 3C975-UTP ATMLink NICs
Emulated LAN (ELAN) Overview
The 3Com ATMLink network driver
conforms to the ATM Forum LAN Emulation over ATM Specification 1.0 to
interoperate with legacy LAN networks. LAN emulation supports the multicast,
broadcast, and address resolution services characteristic of shared media LANs,
within the connection-oriented ATM environment. Four devices are defined to
provide these LAN emulation services:
- LAN Emulation Client (LEC) found on
all end stations
- LAN Emulation Configuration Server (LECS)
- LAN Emulation Server (LES)
- Broadcast and Unknown Server (BUS)
The 3C975 ATMLink NIC network driver
provides the LAN Emulation Client and supports up to 16 LECs per NIC (Windows NT
and NetWare 4.1x). Each LEC configured on an ATMLink NIC is regarded by the
network operating system as a separate (emulated) NIC and receives a unique MAC
address. An "emulated" NIC connects to an emulated LAN (ELAN). In short, each
physical ATMLink NIC can connect to up to 16 separate ELANs.
The term ELAN
is often used to denote an LEC in the 3Com ATMLink utilities, installation
programs, and user guide.
An ELAN is a logical grouping of end
stations within an ATM network. The ATM network administrator creates ELANs when
configuring the ATM switches. Membership in an ELAN is independent of the
physical location of the end station within the ATM network. An end station can
belong to multiple ELANs simultaneously. Mixed-media edge devices that are
connected to ATM switches enable ATM end stations to interoperate with legacy
LAN end stations, because the legacy LAN end station and the ATM end station can
be members of the same ELAN. This guide includes configuration procedures that
allow an LEC to join an ELAN.
For more detailed information on LAN
emulation and emulated LANs, access the 3Com World Wide Web site at:
http://www.3com.com/
(Click here for More Info)
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