3Com (R) Corporation 3Com EtherLink Server CD for the 3C980C EtherLink Server NIC Family Microsoft Windows Server Driver Installation Notes Table of Content ================ * Installing the MS Loopback Driver During a Fresh Installation * Performing a Fresh Installation on a Backup Domain Controller * Windows NT 4.0 TCP/IP Performance in Compaq Servers * Adding Protocols when DynamicAccess Server Features are installed * Memory Requirements for VLANS * Windows NT Known Problems * Windows 2000 Known Problems Note: Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 is required to install the 3C980C driver and DynamicAccess software. The installation instructions below supersede the instructions in the 3Com EtherLink Server 10/100 PCI NIC User Guide. Installing the MS Loopback Driver During a Fresh Installation ============================================================= When you perform a fresh installation of Windows NT, Microsoft recommends that you install the MS Loopback Adapter driver and verify that networking is operating normally before installing any network interface cards. The MS Loopback Adapter driver allows the computer to connect to local network resources that allow alerter and messenger services to start on a standalone system. Failure to install the MS Loopback Adapter driver before installing a service pack can result in a corrupted operating system. The 3Com EtherLink Server NIC driver requires that Service Pack 5 be installed. You must install the MS Loopback Adapter driver before installing the service pack and driver. Follow this procedure: 1 Start the Windows NT fresh installation and proceed as usual. 2 In the Windows NT Server Setup window, click Select from List. 3 In the list, locate and select MS Loopback Adapter and click OK. 4 In the Windows NT Server Setup window, click Next. 5 Bind protocols (TCP/IP, NetBEUI, or IPX/SPX) to the loopback adapter driver and click Next. Continue the installation as usual. 6 Restart the computer when prompted. 7 Install the service pack. 8 Restart the computer when prompted. 9 Install the 3Com EtherLink Server NIC hardware, driver, and DynamicAccess server features. Bind protocols (TCP/IP, NetBEUI, or IPX/SPX) to the 3Com EtherLink Server NIC driver. 10 Restart the computer when prompted. Performing a Fresh Installation on a Backup Domain Controller ============================================================= A fresh installation of Windows NT on a backup domain controller requires the following: - installation of the NIC driver - network connectivity Because the NIC driver installation requires that the latest Microsoft service pack first be installed, and because there is no way to install a service pack during a Windows NT fresh installation on a backup domain controller, you must first set up two servers as primary domain controllers, and then demote one of them to a backup domain controller. Follow this procedure. CAUTION: Do not use this procedure if SQL or Microsoft Exchange are on the primary domain controller that you wish to demote to a backup domain controller. If these items are on the primary domain controller, you must reinstall them after you finish this procedure. CAUTION: If performed incorrectly, this procedure can destroy the primary domain controller security database. Use the rdisk /s command to make emergency repair diskettes that backup the server security databases on the two servers before attempting this procedure. 1 Install Windows NT 4.0 with service pack 5 on two servers set up as primary domain controllers. (Follow the procedure in Installing the MS Loopback Driver During a Fresh Installation above.) 2 Connect the two servers to the same network. 3 Install the version 2.0 driver and DynamicAccess server features on the two servers. 4 Create two domains in the same network. Set up the server and domain names. For example: a Server one computer name: SERVER-1 Domain one domain name: DOMAIN-1 b Server two computer name: SERVER-2 Domain two domain name: DOMAIN-2 5 Place SERVER-1 in DOMAIN-1 6 Place SERVER-2 in DOMAIN-2 7 Set the same administrator password on both SERVER-1 and SERVER-2. 8 Start Server Manager on DOMAIN-1\SERVER-1. From the Start menu, select: Programs/Administrative Tools (Common)/Server Manager. 9 Set up SERVER-1 as follows: a From the Computer menu, select Add to Domain. b Select Windows NT Backup Domain Controller as the computer type. c In the Computer Name field, enter the domain and server name. For example: DOMAIN-2\SERVER-2 d Click Add. e Click Close. 10 Start Server Manager on DOMAIN-2\SERVER-2. From the Start menu, select: Programs/Administrative Tools (Common)/Server Manager. 11 Set up SERVER-2 as follows: a From the Computer menu, select Add to Domain. b Select Windows NT Backup Domain Controller as the computer type. c In the Computer Name field, enter the domain and server name. For example: DOMAIN-1\SERVER-1 d Click Add. e Click Close. 12 On SERVER-1, stop the Net Logon service: a Double click the Control Panel. b Double click Services. c In the Services dialog box, select Net Logon. d Click Stop. e Click Yes to stop the net logon service. This unlocks the security database. f Close the Services dialog Box 13 On SERVER-2, stop the Net Logon service: a Double click the Control Panel. b Double click Services. c In the Services dialog box, select Net Logon. d Click Stop. e Click Yes to stop the net logon service. This unlocks the security database. f Close the Services dialog Box 14 Rename DOMAIN-2\SERVER-2 to DOMAIN-1\SERVER-2: a On SERVER-2, double click the Control Panel. b Double click Network. c In the Network dialog box, click the Identification tab. d Click Change. e In the Domain Name field, replace the name DOMAIN-2 with the name DOMAIN-1 and click OK. This process takes a few moments. f Click Yes to the Warning prompt. g In the Welcome to DOMAIN-1 domain dialog box, click OK. h Close the Network dialog box. i Click No at the prompt to restart the computer. 15 Restart SERVER-1 and login. 16 Restart SERVER-2, login, and wait for all services to start. Do not be alarmed if you receive a fail service message. 17 On SERVER-1, start Server Manager. 18 From the View menu, select Refresh. The Server Manager dialog box shows both SERVER-1 and SERVER-2 as PRIMARY controllers. 19 On SERVER-2, start Server Manager. 20 In the Server Manager dialog box: a Select SERVER-2. b From the Computer menu, select Demote to Backup Domain Controller. c Click Yes. 21 On SERVER-1, refresh the Server Manager dialog box. From the View menu, select Refresh. The Server Manager dialog box now shows SERVER-1 as PRIMARY and SERVER-2 as BACKUP. 22 Select SERVER-2. 23 From the Computer menu, select Synchronize with Primary Domain Controller. 24 Click Yes to start synchronization. 25 Click OK. 26 Restart SERVER-1. 27 Restart SERVER-2. 28 Verify services are starting correctly. If the backup domain controller begins to receive 7023 or 3210 errors after you synchronize the domains, correct the situation as follows: a On the primary domain controller, start Server Manager and select the backup domain controller. b Synchronize that specific backup domain controller with the primary domain controller. c After an event indicates that the synchronization is complete, restart the backup domain controller. Windows NT 4.0 TCP/IP Performance in Compaq Servers =================================================== On Compaq ProLiant 1200, 1600, 3000, and 5500 servers, which use the RCC PCI chip set, the NIC performance is slow during file transfer under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with TCP/IP at 100 Mbps. Other protocols show no significant performance problems. Compaq is investigating the root cause of the problem. Meanwhile, you can use the memory write invalidate configuration utility (MWICFG) to address your immediate needs. The utility disables the MWI NIC register. Downloading the MWICFG Utility You can download the MWIFIX.EXE compressed file, which contains the MWICFG utility and a readme file, from the 3Com public FTP site as follows: 1. To connect to the 3Com FTP site, enter the following information into your FTP client: Hostname: ftp.3com.com (or 192.156.136.12) Username: anonymous Password: A user name and password are not needed with Web browser software such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. 2. After you are connected, enter these commands to download the MWIFIX.EXE compressed file: cd \pub\nic\3c90x bin get mwifix.exe 3. To expand the compressed file, enter: mwifix Using the MWICFG Utility To disable the MWI register: 1. Boot the system under DOS. 2. Change to the directory where you placed the MWICFG utility. 3. At the DOS prompt, enter this command to run the MWICFG.EXE utility: MWICFG 4. Follow the prompts. 5. When the utility has finished running, restart the system. To reenable the register, run the utility with the /e option: MWICFG /e Adding Protocols when DynamicAccess Server Features are installed ================================================================== When you add a protocol to the system for the first time after DynamicAccess server features are installed, individual NICs may be listed in addition to the NIC groups with which they are associated. After adding a protocol for the first time with DynamicAccess server features installed, it is recommended that you remove and reinstall DynamicAccess server features. In the case of TCP/IP, you should remove DynamicAccess server features, assign each NIC an IP Address, and then reinstall DynamicAccess server features. Memory Requirements for VLANS ============================= Number of VLANs Minimum RAM Size (MB) up to 16 128 17 - 32 256 33 - 48 512 49 - 64 1024 Note: 1. Under Windows 2000, DynamicAccess server software version 1.8 supports up to 16 VLANs per server. 2. Use 3C980 NICs if 64 VLANs are required for a Windows NT server. Windows NT Known Problems ========================= 1. The NT Diagnostics Test fails using 100TX Hub on half duplex. Running the Network Connectivity Test with 3C980C or 3C905C using 100mbs half-duplex setting and a 100TX hub fails. This problem does not occur using a switch or using a hub set to auto detect mode. 2. Self-Healing Driver (SHD) settings for secondary NICs are ignored. If you have a group of NICs where each NIC has its own SHD settings, only the primary NIC settings will be used. The settings for the secondary NICs will be ignored. 3. Diagnostics do not start. If you invoke the 3Com NIC Doctor diagnostics program right after Windows NT boots up, the 3Com NIC Doctor may not appear on the screen. This is because the NT Service Database is still locked. Wait until the NT Service Database is unlocked, then restart 3Com NIC Doctor. 4. System services do not start. After VLANs have been configured, system services that are set to start automatically may not start. To start them: a Determine which services did not start. In the Services Control Panel, services listed as automatic should show a started status. Note those that do not. b Determine the order to start the services. Check the Event Viewer to see the order in which services must be started. c Start the services from a DOS command line. Enter this command for each failed service: NET START service where service is the name of the service. Be sure to start the services in the order shown in the Event Viewer. 5. Protocol services do not start. TCP/IP and other protocol services may not start properly if DynamicAccess server features and DMI are installed in an NT server and you reinstall DMI. You must remove and reinstall DynamicAccess server features to restart the TCP/IP services. 6. Installing a 3C905B NIC with a 3C980B or 3C980C NIC causes a crash. To install a 3C905B NIC along with one or more 3C980B or 3C980C NICs, make sure that you are using the latest 3C905C network card software, which can be obtained from the 3Com support web site. If DynamicAccess software is installed and the 3C905B card is not connected to a network, the computer may crash. This can be resolved by securing a network connection for the 3C905B NIC, removing DynamicAccess software, or by removing all 3C905B drivers. In the future, a new release that resolves this problem will be available for the 3C905B and 3C905C. This release will be newer than EtherCD5.1. Remove all 3Com network card software before you attempt to install this newer software for the 3C905B. 7. Loss of connectivity when DynamicAccess server software is configured to use only one virtual NIC. If DynamicAccess server features version 1.7.2 is configured to use only one DynamicAccess virtual NIC, there may be a loss of network connectivity in the NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport protocol. This problem does not occur if there are two DynamicAccess virtual NICs bound to the protocol. The solution is to install the latest release of DynamicAccess server software (version 1.7.3 or later). To obtain this software, contact 3Com Customer Support. Windows 2000 Known Problems =========================== 1. Prompts to restart the machine appear during installation of multiple NICs. When you are installing multiple NICs, prompts to restart the machine appear for each NIC after DynamicAccess software is installed. Ignore these prompts, and only restart the machine after the last NIC is installed. 2. There is no standalone diagnostics installation program. If you remove the 3Com diagnostics program through the control panel, you must reinstall or upgrade the driver to reinstall the diagnostics. 3. Removing a driver through the Local Area Connection Driver Details Pane. There are two methods to uninstall a network card driver: through the Device Manager and through the Driver Details pane accessed through the Local Area Connection pane. The former method is recommended. If you use the Driver Details pane, the following message dialog may appear at the end of the removal cycle: "An unexpected condition occurred. Not all of your requested changes in settings could be made". Ignore this message; the driver software is removed correctly. 4. Erroneous disconnected indicator appears after changing the media speed. After you use the Windows 2000 Advanced tab to change the media speed, the 3Com icon in the system tray indicates erroneously that the NIC is disconnected (it appears with a red circle and slash). To correct this problem, restart Windows 2000. 5. After changing the media type in the Advanced tab, the LAN properties window hangs. If you change the media type in the Advanced tab, the Local Area Network Properties window may hang. If this happens, enter Ctrl+Alt+Del and end the Local Area Network Properties task. 6. Node address does not display when other NICs are installed. If the 3C980C is installed in the same server as a 3C905 NIC, the node addresses for both NICs may not display correctly in the 3Com NIC Diagnostics program. To correct this problem, download and install the latest 3C905 driver from 3Com web site. 7. 3Com NIC Diagnostics program is not reinstalled correctly if the NIC driver is upgraded through the Local Area Connection pane. If you use the Add/Remove program in the Control Panel to remove the 3Com NIC Diagnostics program, you can reinstall it only by upgrading the NIC driver through the Device Manager window or by removing and reinstalling the NIC drivers through Device Manager. If you attempt to upgrade the driver through the Local Area Connection Pane, the diagnostics program will not be installed correctly. 8. DHCP Server Service installation recommends use of static IP addresses. If you install DHCP Server Service on a server where the 3Com NIC driver and DynamicAccess server features are already installed, the DHCP Server Service installation detects dynamically assigned IP addresses for the DynamicAccess miniports and warns that you should use static IP addresses. Ignore these warnings. Do not assign static IP addresses. 9. Invoking the Advanced tab through the Network Wizard causes the NWLink NetBIOS component to unbind. Invoking the Advanced tab through the Network Wizard instead of through the Device Manager and then changing property values such as the media speed causes components such as NWLink NetBIOS to unbind. To avoid this problem, invoke the Advanced tab and change property values through the Device Manager as follows: a. Right-click My Computer and select Properties from the menu. b. Click the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager. c. Double-click Network Adapters. d. Right-click the NIC name and select Properties from the menu. e. Click the Advanced tab. f. Select the property you want to change. g. Use the scroll list to change the value. h. Exit the Device Manager. 10. You must uninstall the driver before removing a NIC or moving it to another slot on the server. In systems that do not support PCI hot plug, you must first uninstall the driver before you physically remove a NIC from the server or move it to another slot on the server. If you fail to first uninstall the driver, the DynamicAccess Miniport assignment for the NIC remains in the system. The procedure for moving or removing a NIC is: 1. Uninstall the driver from the NIC. 2. Shut down the server. 3. Move or remove the NIC. 4. Restart the server. 5. Install the driver to the NIC. If you move a NIC without first uninstalling the driver, the procedure to recover is: 1. Uninstall the driver and DynamicAccess software from all NICs. 2. Reinstall the driver and DynamicAccess software. 3. Reconfigure the NICs. 11. How to install the driver and advanced server feature from floppies. After running the MAKEDISK utility, create a temporary directory in the server e.g. c:\3c980. Insert the floppy disk #1 into the server machine and issue this command: XCOPY A:\*.* C:\3C980 /S Repeat the command for the rest of the floppy disks. Then, go back to Windows 2000 driver installation screen and enter the directory C:\3c980 as the source directory of the driver files. 12. During a failover event, Windows 2000 may generate the following spurious message: "The server has encountered a network error." This message is not indicative of an error; it should be ignored. (%VER \WINNT\README.TXT v2.0O)