Copyright: Intel® PROSet Help Version 8.2.26
Citation: Copyright © Intel Corporation 2003. All rights reserved.


Testing the Cable

The Test Cable button appears on the General tab when the adapter selected in the Network Component Tree is either:

•	82550-based Intel(R) PRO/100 S Server or Desktop adapter without a link to the network

•	Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapter

To run the Cable test on Intel PRO/100 adapters

In the General tab, click Test Cable. The test might take several minutes to complete.

The results of the test appear in the Troubleshooting tab.

To run the Cable test on Intel PRO/1000 adapters

Before using the Cable Test feature, verify that the adapter is running at 1000Mbps. Although you can use the Cable Test when the adapter is running at 100Mbps, some information might not be accurate or available.

In the General tab, click Test Cable. The test might take several minutes to complete.

The results of the test appear in the Cable Test Results dialog box. The following information appears:

Cable Length: Displays the approximate length of the cable between the adapter and its link partner. If the reported cable length is different from the actual cable length, this could indicate a break in the cable. Accuracy can vary by up to 30 feet.

Polarity: Identifies the +/- properties of the send and receive twisted pair wires found in an Ethernet cable. If these properties are not correctly set up, the adapter will auto-correct and report the error.

Local Receiver Status: Identifies whether the cable connector attached to the adapter is capable of handling traffic. If the local status test fails, check the connector for breaks or mis-wirings.

Remote Receiver Status: The cable connector attached to the link partner passes or fails the set of operability tests. If the remote status test fails, check the connector for breaks or mis-wirings.

Receive Error Count: Receive Errors occur when the adapter detects an unrecognizable transmission on the wire.
Receive Error counts naturally increment when the adapter establishes communication with the network, (connecting the cable to the adapter or restarting the computer) or when the adapter restarts after auto-negotiation. If the Idle Error count reaches approximately 65,000 within five minutes, there is a link quality issue. To resolve link quality issues, try re-connecting the cable or using a different cable.

Idle Error Count: Idle Errors increment when the adapter receives an unrecognizable transmission on the wire. Unlike Receive Errors, Idle Errors are detected when the adapter is not actively receiving packets.
Idle Error counts naturally occur when the adapter establishes communication with the network, (connecting the cable to the adapter or restarting the computer) or when the adapter restarts after auto-negotiation. If the Idle Error count reaches 255 within one minute, there is a link quality issue. To resolve link quality issues, try re-connecting the cable or use a different cable.

MDI/MDI-X Status: Identifies whether the cable connected to the adapter has a straight-through (MDI) or crossover (MDI-X) configuration. Use MDI when connecting a system to a switch or hub and MDI-X when connecting two systems.

NOTE: The information in the Cable Test Results dialog box varies by adapter type.


Legal

Copyright © 2002, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

Intel Corporation, 5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR   97124-6497  USA

Intel Corporation assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document. Nor does Intel make any commitment to update the information contained herein.

* Other names and brands might be claimed as the property of others.


Advanced Settings for PRO/1000 Server Adapters

The settings listed in the Advanced tab enable you to customize how the adapter handles QoS packet tagging, Jumbo Frames, Offloading, and other capabilities. Some of the following features might not be available depending on the operating system you are running and the specific adapters installed.

Advanced settings

Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing

Compensates for excessive Ethernet packet collisions on your network.  By default, this setting is set to 0, which disables the feature.

The recommended setting (1) works best for most computers and networks by dynamically adapting to the network traffic conditions. This dynamic mode is active only when the value is set to 1.  However, in some rare cases you might obtain better performance by manually setting the spacing value. Setting a value forces a static gap between packets.

Increasing the value increases the delay between frames being transmitted.

Supported adapters	All
Default	0: disabled
Range	0-255

Adaptive Link Response

Speeds system start up by bypassing startup routines requiring network connectivity when the cable is disconnected from the adapter. This significantly reduces the amount of time required to start the computer.

When Adaptive Link Response for Intel Ethernet Controllers is enabled, and a network cable is not connected to the RJ-45 port, the network connection will be disabled. A yellow caution icon will appear next to the network connection in Device Manager.

To re-enable the network connection, connect the network cable to the RJ-45 port, then restart the computer.

Supported adapters	Not available on every adapter model.
Default	Off
Recommended	On
Range	On, Off
NOTE: Adaptive Link Response (ALR) will not work when a wireless adapter is active in the system.

Coalesce Buffers

Optimizes transmit performance by customizing the number of Coalesce Buffers, which enable the adapter to join data segments before packet transmission.

The Coalesce Buffers setting must be configured to work with the Transmit Descriptors setting. The Coalesce Buffers setting should be 30 - 50% of Transmit Descriptors. If the Coalesce Buffers setting is not modified to match the Transmit Descriptors setting, transmit performance might not be enhanced.

The Coalesce Buffers setting significantly increases the transmit performance on Windows NT 4.0 computers. It also enhances transmit performance on Windows 98 and 2000 computers.

Supported adapters	All
Default	128
Range	16-768

Enable PME

Enables or disables Wake on capabilities of the adapter on computers which have older Advanced Power Management (APM) implementations. Wake on enables the adapter to come out of a standby or power off state when it receives certain packet types, such as ARP packets.

•	Disabling this feature disables all Wake on settings on computers using older power management implementations.

•	Enabling this feature permits the adapter to respond to Wake on signals. To configure the adapter to respond to specific packet types, see the Wake on settings information later in this topic.

•	The Hardware Default value forces the adapter to configure Wake on capabilities based on the system hardware.

•	The No Action value enables the adapter to use the operating system’s default.

If you would like to disable all Wake on settings, set this feature to disable. Otherwise, set this feature to No Action.

Supported adapters	82559-based adapters. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Fast Transmit Completion

Frees Transmit Descriptors for reuse before packets are sent out on the network.

•	With Fast Transmit Completion disabled, the adapter must wait until packets are sent to reuse Transmit Descriptors.

•	With Fast Transmit Completion enabled, the adapter reuses Transmit Descriptors sooner, enabling the adapter to enhance transmit performance.

Supported adapters	82543 and 82544-based adapters. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Flow Control

Enables the adapter to send or receive flow control frames. The transmit path is paused for the time specified in the received flow control frame. These settings help fine tune network performance by preventing packets from dropping.

Supported adapters	82542-based, transmit only. 82540, 82543, 82544-based adapters, transmit and receive.  View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Enabled
Range	Off, Respond, Generate, Generate & Respond, Hardware Default
Gigabit Master Slave Mode

Determines whether the adapter or link partner is designated as the master. The other device is designated as the slave. By default, the IEEE 802.3ab specification defines how conflicts are handled. Multiport devices such as switches have higher priority over single port devices and are assigned as the master. If both devices are multiport devices, the one with higher seed bits becomes the master. This default setting is called "Hardware Default".

Setting this to either "Force Master Mode" or "Force Slave Mode" overrides the hardware default.

Supported  adapters	All
Default	Hardware Default
Range	Force Master Mode; Force Slave Mode; Hardware Default

Jumbo Frames

NOTE: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link.

Enables or disables Jumbo Frame capability. Jumbo Frames can increase throughput and decrease CPU utilization by putting more data in each frame, thereby sending out fewer frames. The standard Ethernet frame size is 1514 bytes, while Jumbo Frames can contain 4088, 9014, or 16128 bytes.

Enable Jumbo Frames only if devices across the network support them and are configured to use the same frame size. When setting up Jumbo Frames on other network devices, be aware that network devices calculate Jumbo Frame sizes differently. Some devices include the header information in the frame size while others do not. Intel adapters do not include header information in the frame size.

For more information, see the Jumbo Frames topic.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled
Range	Disabled (1514), 4088, 9014, and 16128 bytes. (Set the switch 4 bytes higher for CRC, plus 4 bytes if using VLANs.)  NOTE: Any value in the range 1514-16128 can be set in the Windows registry using the MaxFrameSize parameter.
Locally Administered Address

Overrides the MAC address of the adapter. To enter a new network address, type a 12-digit hexadecimal number in the Value box.

Supported adapters	All
Default	None
Range	0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD Exceptions: • Do not use a multicast address (Least Significant Bit of the high byte = 1).  • Do not use all zeros or all Fs. Not Present setting: reverts to original network address of the adapter.
NOTE: In a team, Intel(R) PROSet II uses either:

•	The team’s LAA if the team has an LAA configured, or

•	The primary adapter’s permanent MAC address if the team does not have an LAA configured

Intel PROSet II does not use an adapter’s LAA if the adapter is the primary adapter in a team and the team has an LAA.

Windows 98SE Users:

If you want to use the default address after using a manually assigned address, perform one of these procedures:

•	On the Network Properties dialog box’s Advanced tab, select Locally Administered Address and change its value to 0. Click OK to apply the setting.

•	In Intel PROSet II, click the Advanced tab, then click Restore Default or clear all characters from the Value field. Click OK to apply the setting.

Log Link State Event

This setting is used to enable/disable the logging of link state changes. If set to on, a link up change event or a link down change event generates a message that is displayed in the system event logger. Administrators view the event message from the system event logger.

The following events are logged.

LINK_UP_CHANGE

LINK_DOWN_CHANGE

LINK_DUPLEX_MISMATCH

Supported adapters	All
Default	Enable
Range	Enable, Disable
Offload Receive TCP Checksum

Enables the adapter to verify the TCP or UDP checksum of incoming packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the TCP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances reception performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	• Windows* XP: On • Windows 2000: Off
Range	On, Off
Offload TCP Segmentation

Enables the adapter hardware to segment data into valid Ethernet frames.

•	With TCP Segmentation disabled, the operating system software segments the data before sending it to the adapter for transmission.

•	With TCP Segmentation enabled, the adapter segments the data into frames.

Because the adapter hardware is able to complete data segmentation much faster than operating system software, this feature greatly increases transmission performance. In addition, the adapter consumes fewer CPU resources.

Supported operating systems	Windows XP
Supported adapters	82544-based. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	1
Range	0 = do not advertise this feature; 1 = advertise this feature.
Offload Transmit IP Checksum

Enables the adapter to compute the IP checksum of outgoing packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the IP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances IP transmit performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Offload Transmit TCP Checksum

Enables the adapter to compute the TCP or UDP checksum of outgoing packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the TCP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances TCP and UDP transmit performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off NOTE: Set this feature to Off when the server is supporting DOS-based clients.
QoS Packet Tagging

Enables the adapter to send and receive IEEE 802.3ac tagged frames, which include:

•	802.1pIEEE_802.1p QoS (Quality of Service) tags required for priority-tagged packets, and

•	802.1Q tags required for VLANs.

Intel PROSet II automatically enables 802.1p tagging when you set up a VLAN.

Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Off
Range	On, Off
Receive Descriptors

Defines the number of Receive Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to allocate received packets to memory. Each received packet requires one Receive Descriptor, and each descriptor uses 2kb of memory.

You might choose to increase the number of Receive Descriptors if you notice a significant decrease in the performance of received traffic. If receive performance is not an issue, use the default setting appropriate to the adapter.

Adapter Controller	Default	Range
82542-based	160	80 – 768
82543-based	160	80 – 256
82544-based	160	80 – 2048
View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.

Transmit Descriptors

Defines the number of Transmit Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Descriptors.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Descriptors if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Descriptors can enhance transmit performance, Transmit Descriptors do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the default setting of 256.

Adapter Controller	Default	Range
82542-based	256	80 – 768
82543-based	256	80 – 256
82544-based	256	80 – 2048
View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.

Wake on Link Change

Wakes the computer if the network connection establishes link while the computer is in standby mode. You can enable the feature, disable it, or let the operating system use its default.

Supported operating systems	Windows 9x, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Range	Disabled, Forced, OS dependent
Default	Disabled

Wake On Settings

These settings refer to features that are activated by either the operating system or Intel PROSet. The features behave differently or are not supported at all, depending on your version of Windows.

These Windows versions do support Wake On Settings: Windows 2000, Windows XP 64 bit Edition, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003. This feature is not supported in Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Itanium(R)-based Systems.

Enabling Wake On Settings

You can use Intel PROSet to configure the Wake On setting the adapter uses. Before selecting the Wake On Settings, you must enable the operating system to use Wake On Settings. To do this, see the instructions.

To enable Wake on Settings

1.	In Intel PROSet, click the Advanced tab.

2.	In the Setting list box, select Wake on Settings.

3.	In the Value list, select the appropriate Wake On setting.

4.	Click OK or Apply.

5.	For the adapter to respond to these types of Wake On packets, you must also enable the operating system to use Wake On Settings. To enable Wake on Settings, navigate to the Device Manager and enable the option Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby.

Available Settings

These Wake On settings are available in Intel PROSet:

Setting	Description
Disabled	Adapter will not use Wake On settings.
Wake on Magic Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up in response to receiving a Magic Packet. A Magic Packet is a packet containing 16 contiguous copies of the receiving adapter's Ethernet address. When you configure this feature, Intel PROSet overrides the operating system value for this feature.
Wake on Directed Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up when the adapter receives a Directed Packet, which is a unicast packet sent to the adapter’s MAC address.  The protocol must enable this wake up method in the driver. Deselecting this feature tells the driver to ignore any protocol request to enable this wake up method.
Wake on Magic and Directed Packets	Enables the adapter to wake up when it receives a Magic Packet or a Directed Packet.
OS Controlled	Gives the operating system complete control of Wake on Settings.
NOTE: If multiple IP addresses are configured for one adapter, the operating system may request to wake up on ARP patterns to all of the configured addresses. The adapter will only awaken in response to ARP packets querying the first IP address in the list.

NOTE: Wake On settings do not include the ability to wake a machine from shutdown (S5) state. This state is controlled by the Enable PME setting, which is also available on the Advanced Tab. Even if Wake On settings are disabled, the ability to awaken from S5 is determined by the Enable PME setting.

As long as the adapter driver is enabled, PME settings will work. Once the driver is disabled, however, the device reverts to its hardware default, which may or may not allow the computer to wake from shutdown.

Restore Default button

This button resets the currently selected Advanced Setting with that setting's default value. See the settings listed above for default values. This option is not available for every setting.


Driver Information
Network Driver

To view details about an adapter´s driver

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click the adapter you would like to see details for.

2.	Click the Driver tab.

The following information appears.

Driver information:

Name	Filename of the adapter driver currently loaded
Version	Version number of the driver. Useful when downloading new versions from the Intel support site: http://support.intel.com
Description	Driver name
Copyright	Legal information
Driver Statistics:

NOTE: The statistics listed below are reset when you load or update the adapter driver.

Packets sent	Number of packets sent
Packets received	Number of packets received
Send errors	Number of packets sent with errors
Receive errors	Number of packets received with errors
NOTE: To get the latest drivers, click Help > Support from the menu. On the Support page, click Get the latest drivers.


Diagnostics
Diagnostic tests

Adapter diagnostics enable you to analyze overall adapter health. When running diagnostics, Intel PROSet II checks for I/O conflicts, memory faults, EEPROM operability, transmit and receive functionality, and link.

The results of the diagnostic tests appear in the Diagnostic tab, but they are also saved to a system log.

NOTE:  If your computer is running Windows 98, you may need to disable the adapter Power Management before running diagnostics. For details, see Disable Power Management Procedure

Individual Tests

Test Name	Description	Troubleshooting information
Control Registers	Checks for any conflicts in the I/O address and tests the accessibility of the registers. This test includes all General Registers, Receive Registers, and Transmit Registers. It does not test the EEPROM Control/Data Register.	If the Control Registers test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.
FIFO Registers	Tests FIFO memory on the adapter by writing and reading patterns to and from the FIFO memory.	If the FIFO Registers test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.
EEPROM	Verifies the integrity of data read from the EEPROM. This test completes a write and read from the EEPROM and then compares the results for consistency.	If the EEPROM test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.
Interrupt	Uses the Interrupt registers to confirm that all adapter interrupts work.	If the Interrupt test fails, try changing the interrupt settings in the BIOS. If changing the settings does not correct the problem, try moving the adapter to a different slot.
Loopback	Tests the adapter’s ability to send and receive packets by sending packets to itself. This test uses both the MAC loopback and the Transceiver loopback modes. (Not available on Intel(R) PRO/1000 T adapter.)	If the Loopback test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.
Link	Confirms that the adapter is linked to a valid partner.	If the Link test fails, make sure the cable is securely attached to the adapter and to the link partner. If the cable is secure, try attaching the cable to a different port on the link partner or try a different cable.
NOTE: If diagnostics are running and you click Stop, a short delay occurs before diagnostics halt. When diagnostics halt, the OK button becomes available.

Other Settings

Advanced button: Click to set up a sender-responder network test.

Warning: The Sender/Responder test is not designed to run while the system is in "Standby" mode, "Suspend" mode, or when the cable is not plugged into the computer.


Team Configuration and Status
Team Configuration

To view details about team configuration

In the Network Component Tree, click the team that you would like to view.

The Team Configuration tab appears.

The Adapters in a Team status box lists the following:

Adapter

Name of each adapter included in the team.

Priority

Displays the priority status for the adapters in a team (if you have specified a priority). An adapter can have a primary or secondary priority status in a team.

How to specify an adapter as Primary or Secondary

The Status column lists the following:

•	Active: The adapter is passing network traffic.

•	In AFT mode, only one adapter is active, the preferred primary adapter.

•	In Dynamic 802.3ad mode, adapters that are part of the active aggregator have an Active status.

•	Standby: AFT, SFT, and Dynamic 802.3ad teams support standby mode. An adapter in standby mode has a link to the network but is not actively passing traffic.

•	Disabled: The adapter has been removed, disabled, or the driver has failed to load. In addition, if the cable is faulty or if the link is down, the adapter has a status of disabled.

The Team Information section lists the following:

•	Ethernet Address: Lists the primary MAC Address for the team.

•	IP Address: Lists the IP Address for the team.

•	Team Type: Lists the team mode.

Test Switch Configuration Button

You can ensure that link partners support the chosen adapter teaming mode by running the Switch Configuration Test. For example, if the adapter is a member of a Link Aggregation team, Intel (R) PROSet II can verify that link partners connected to the adapter support Link Aggregation.

For specific information about the requirements of each team mode, see About Teaming.

When running this test, the team temporarily loses network connectivity.

NOTE: This test does not detect errors when either of the following scenarios exists.

Adapter configuration	Switch configuration
Teamed in Link Aggregation mode without VLANs	The switch either: • Does not belong to any VLAN • Is configured with tagged VLANs
Teamed in Link Aggregation mode with VLANs	The switch: • Does not belong to the VLAN configured on the adapter, and • Does not have Link Aggregation defined
To run the Switch Configuration Test

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click the team that you would like to test.
To run the test, there must be at least two adapters in the team.

2.	In the Team Configuration tab, click Test Switch Configuration.
The Test Switch Configuration dialog box appears.

3.	To continue with the test, click Yes.
If any team or link partner configuration errors are detected, the Troubleshooting Tab appears.

NOTE:  Because of the amount of time required to test for Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Intel PROSet II might not accurately indicate if Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is enabled on the network. Ensure switches are configured with STP:

•	Enabled for SFT teams

•	Disabled (portfast) for all other team modes


VLAN
VLAN Overview

A VLAN is a logical network grouping that enables you to isolate network traffic so members of the VLAN receive traffic only from other members. With VLANs, you can group PCs together into logical workgroups, a critical consideration when connecting clients to servers that are geographically dispersed across the building, campus, or enterprise network.

By using VLANs on your network, you can:

•	Limit broadcast storms

•	Improve adds, moves, and changes of network connections

•	Reduce security problems

•	Ease your management task

VLAN types

There are switch-based VLANs, also called implicit VLANs, and tag-based VLANs, which are also called explicit VLANs.

•	Implicit VLANs are based on switch capabilities such as port number, MAC address, and other layer two functions. The default VLAN on many switches, including most Cisco* products, is an implicit VLAN. Implicit VLANs are configured only on the switch. The switch does not alter or tag packets to enforce an implicit VLAN. All Intel adapters can participate in implicit VLANs.

•	Explicit VLANs are based on the addition of a four-byte tag (802.3ac) to each packet header. Each IEEE VLAN must be set up throughout the network including on the adapter and all link partners.

Requirements

VLANs require:

•	Switches on your network capable of supporting 802.1Q VLANs

•	Adapters capable of supporting 802.1Q VLANs, which include:

o	Intel(R) PRO/100+

o	Intel(R) PRO/100 S

o	Intel(R) PRO/1000

•	Intel(R) PRO/100B Adapters do not support VLANs.

For overview information on Intel VLANs, visit the Intel Networking Web site:

  Visit Web site now

For more specific information, read the white paper on VLANs:

  Read white paper from Web site

See Also

Add a VLAN

Change VLAN properties

Remove a VLAN

Advanced Settings for VLANs


Support

You can visit one of Intel’s support sites if you have an Internet connection and a Web browser.

For support over the Internet:

1.	Click Support from the Help menu.

2.	Click one of the Web site links.


Troubleshooting

The Troubleshooting tab appears only when Intel(R) PROSet II detects a problem with the adapter configuration, driver installation, or other error. Intel PROSet II examines the problem and in most cases offers a possible solution to the problem.

If you suspect there is a problem with the adapter, try one or more of the following:

•	Check the information on the General tab to see if there is an active link to the network.

•	If you have a team configured, test the configuration of link partners to ensure they support the team mode.

•	Run Diagnostics.

•	Run the Cable Test if it is supported on your adapter.


Sender Responder Test

The Sender Responder Test lets you test your adapter across a network.

Before running this test, make sure the adapter has a link to the network.

Setting up the Test

Set up a Sender and a Responder computer. The Sender transmits packets continuously to the responder which echoes the packets back to the Sender.

Sender
Sends packets continuously to the network. Select Start to begin sending packets.
Before you start sending packets, you need to set up a responder somewhere else on the network. Go to another computer with an Intel(R) PRO/10+, PRO/100B, PRO/100+, PRO/100 S or PRO/1000 adapter installed and use Intel(R) PROSet II for that adapter to set it up as a responder. If possible use the same model adapter for the sender and responder.

Responder
Echoes packets back to the sender (the one sending packets). Select Start to have this PC act as a responder.

Although not designed for it, this test can be used to test network segment cabling and network configuration. When testing a new LAN segment, set up a responder on one end and test with a sender on the other.

This test verifies connectivity between two adapters; it is not meant to check for speed. The speed in which an adapter sends or receives traffic across a network can vary depending on network topology and network load. You can view the adapter´s configured speed by clicking the General tab.

NOTE:  If a Cisco* 6500 switch is configured with Spanning Tree enabled, the Sender Responder test does not provide accurate results. To run the Sender Responder Test with a Cisco 6500 switch, make sure Spanning Tree is disabled.

Warning: The Sender/Responder test is not designed to run while the system is in "Standby" mode, "Suspend" mode, or when the cable is not plugged into the computer.


New VLAN

VLAN ID: VLAN number assigned by your network administrator. The VLAN ID on the adapter must match the VLAN ID on the switch. Valid Range:  1 - 4094. (NOTE: VLAN numbers 0 and 1 are often reserved. Check your switch documentation for details.)

VLAN NAME: Name of VLAN. For example, Marketing or Engineering. The VLAN Name is an optional setting that enables you to more readily identify VLANs across your network. The VLAN Name on the adapter does not have to match the VLAN Name on the switch.


Identify Adapter

The Identify Adapter feature enables you to identify the physical adapter from the back of the computer.

For example, if you have two adapters installed, you can select an adapter from the Network Component Tree and then click the Identify Adapter button. The selected adapter´s bracket LED blinks.

To verify adapter position

1.	Click Identify Adapter.

2.	Move the slider to select the number of seconds the LED should blink. The default value is 10 seconds.

3.	Click Start.

 The LED for the selected adapter blinks for the specified duration.


Adapter Fault Tolerance

Adapter Fault Tolerance is a team of two or more adapters configured to provide a backup network connection. In the case of hub or switch port, cable, or adapter failure, the computer maintains uninterrupted network performance.

Adapter Fault Tolerance teams have a primary adapter and a backup, or secondary, adapter. During normal operation, only the primary adapter transmits traffic. If the primary adapter or the link to the primary adapter fails, the secondary adapter automatically takes over.

Spanning Tree must be disabled if you are using Adapter Fault Tolerance.

Adapter Fault Tolerance teams are compatible with the following:

Adapter type	Requires one Intel server adapter to be a member of the team
Adapter speed	Can be mixed, such as one adapter linked at 100 Mbps and one running at 1000 Mbps
Network configuration	• All adapters must be connected to the same switch  • Spanning Tree must be disabled
Protocols	All
See also:

About Teaming

Team Types


Adaptive Load Balancing

Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB) is a type of team configured to increase your server´s transmission and reception throughput. ALB teams automatically load balance transmit traffic, but load balancing on receive traffic can be enabled or disabled.

ALB teams increase throughput by:

•	Adapter configuration. By adding members to a team, you can increase the total throughput.

•	Traffic analysis. The ALB software continuously analyzes transmission and reception loads on each team member and then balances the loads across the adapters as needed.

Transmit traffic

For ALB teams, all adapters load balance IP (IPv4 and IPv6) and NCP IPX transmit traffic.

Receive traffic

•	For ALB teams with Receive Load Balancing disabled, the primary adapter receives traffic.

•	For ALB teams with Receive Load Balancing enabled:

•	The primary adapter receives traffic using any protocol

•	Active adapters with the highest speeds receive IPv4 traffic

For example, if there is an ALB team of three adapters, one gigabit adapter designated as the primary adapter and two Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters:

•	The gigabit adapter receives non-routable and IPv6 traffic because it is the primary adapter.

•	The gigabit adapter receives IPv4 because it is the highest speed adapter.

•	The Intel PRO/100 adapters do not participate in receive load balancing.

For information about enabling or disabling Receive Load Balancing, see Configure Advanced Settings.

In addition, ALB teams provide fault tolerance. If the primary adapter fails, the team continues to operate and balance traffic between the remaining operating team members.

ALB teams are compatible with the following:

Adapter speed	Can be mixed, such as one adapter running at 100 Mbps and one running at 1000 Mbps.
Protocols	IP, IPX (NCP) NOTE: Microsoft categorizes its IPv6 support in Windows* 2000 as a Technology Preview. As such, IPv6 support in Windows 2000 was not intended for a production environment. For details about operating system support for IPv6, see the system documentation.
Network configuration	All adapters must be connected to the same switch

Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter Performance Notes

Because the Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapter already supports such high-bandwidth, using the ALB feature might cause reduced performance on some servers. This is because many servers available today do not have the CPU or Bus capacity to effectively handle teamed gigabit-class adapters. For best ALB performance, use newer servers that support multiple PCI buses and multiple Pentium II(R) processors running at a speed of 400 MHz or more. On such a server, install the teamed Intel PRO/1000 adapters on separate PCI buses for maximum ALB performance.

See also:

About Teaming

Team Types

Configure Advanced Settings


IEEE 802.3ad: Dynamic

802.3ad is an IEEE Link Aggregation standard. Like static Link Aggregation teams, teams using dynamic Link Aggregation increase throughput by:

•	Adapter configuration. By adding members to a team, you can increase throughput. Teams can consist of up to eight adapters. Each server can operate with up to four teams.

•	Traffic analysis. The software continuously analyzes transmission loads on each team member and then balances the loads across the adapters as needed. The switch load balances receive traffic.

In addition, 802.3ad teams provide fault tolerance. In 802.3ad teams, the server uses one IP/MAC address to communicate with the network. In turn, network devices and clients treat a team in link aggregation mode as one computer. When an adapter fails in the team, the network sees the team as a computer with reduced capabilities.

Link Aggregation teams are compatible with the following:

Adapter speed	All adapters must operate at the same speed
Network configuration	• Verify that the switch connected to the adapters fully supports the IEEE 802.3ad standard • Check your switch documentation for port dependencies. Some switches require pairing to start on a primary port.  • Check your speed and duplex settings to ensure the adapter and switch are running at full duplex, either forced or set to auto-negotiate. Both the adapter and the switch must have the same speed and duplex configuration. The full duplex requirement is part of the IEEE 802.3ad specification: http://standards.ieee.org/.  If needed, change your speed or duplex setting before you link the adapter to the switch. Although you can change speed and duplex settings after the team is created, Intel recommends you disconnect the cables until settings are in effect. In some cases, switches or servers might not appropriately recognize modified speed or duplex settings if settings are changed when there is an active link to the network.  • If you are configuring a VLAN, check your switch documentation for VLAN compatibility notes. Not all switches support simultaneous dynamic 802.3ad teams and VLANs. If you do choose to set up VLANs, configure teaming and VLAN settings on the adapter before you link the adapter to the switch. Setting up VLANs after the switch has created an active aggregator affects VLAN functionality. NOTE:  In some switches, copper and fiber adapters cannot belong to the same aggregator in an IEEE 802.3ad configuration. If there are copper and fiber adapters installed in a system, the switch might configure the copper adapters in one aggregator and the fiber-based adapters in another. If you experience this behavior, for best performance you should use either copper or fiber-based adapters in a system.
Protocols	All

See also:

About Teaming

Team Types


Adapter Teaming Information
About Teaming

A team is a group of adapters configured to provide increased throughput and fault tolerance. Teaming is compatible with Windows* 2000, Windows NT* 4.0, and Windows XP.

What are the types of teams?

Intel(R) PROSet II enables you to configure the following team types:

•	Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT)

•	Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT)

•	Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB)

•	FEC* /LA/802.3ad: Static

•	GEC*/LA/802.3ad: Static

•	IEEE 802.3ad: Dynamic

How many adapters can you add to a team?

With the exception of SFT teams, teams can contain two to eight adapters. SFT teams must contain exactly two adapters connected to one link partner.

Can you use adapters from other vendors in a team?

You can create a multi-vendor team (MVT) of adapters for any teaming mode. To create a multi-vendor team, you must have at least one Intel server adapter in the team.

MVT is compatible with:

Adapter type	Check the Network Component Tree to see which adapters in your system are compatible.
Adapter speed	Check the requirements of the teaming mode.
NOTE: If team members are part of a VLAN, Intel PROSet II does not support multi-vendor teaming.

How many teams can you set up on a computer?

The number of teams configured on any computer varies depending on the computer’s hardware and software configuration.

What are the requirements?

Your network configuration as well as the type of adapters you have installed in a computer affect which team types can be set up on the computer. Review the information on the Team Types topic for an overview of team requirements and capabilities.

How do you remove teams?

When removing teams, make sure you use the Intel PROSet II utility. Removing or disabling teams through the Network Panel on your operating system could affect system stability and adapter configuration.

For an overview of adapter teaming, visit the Intel(R) Networking Web site:

  Visit Web site now

For more specific information about the purpose of different team types, read the white paper on Solving Server Bottlenecks:

  Read white paper now

See also:

Team Types


Adapter Details

To view details about an adapter

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click the adapter you would like to see details for.

2.	In the General tab, click Details.

The Detail screen appears.

NOTE: Not all properties are available on every adapter model.

IP Address	IP address currently in use for this adapter. NOTE: Intel(R) PROSet II does not display IPv6 addresses.
Bus Speed	Current speed of PCI bus (in megahertz) the adapter is using
Bus Width	Bit-width of PCI bus (32 or 64) the adapter is using
Controller	Part number or model of component on the adapter
Media Type	Type of connector (fiber or copper)
Permanent Ethernet Address	Node (MAC) address of adapter in hexadecimal. The MAC address is assigned to the adapter by the vendor.
Current Ethernet Address	The MAC address currently used by this adapter.  If the adapter is a member of a team or if a locally administered address (LAA) is assigned to this adapter, the current Ethernet Address differs from the adapter´s permanent address.
PHY Device	Description of the adapter
Part Number	The Intel part number of the adapter
Interrupt	The interrupt the PCI BIOS or operating system assigned to the adapter
Memory Address	The memory address the PCI BIOS or operating system assigned to the adapter
I/O Address	The I/O address the PCI BIOS assigned to the adapter
Bus Slot	The bus number and slot ID of the adapter
System Slot	System Slots are subdivisions of the Bus Slot. For example, if the Bus Slot is split into two, there are two System Slots identifying each part of the Bus Slot.
DHCP Server Address	IP address of the server that provided an IP address to the adapter.


Configure Teaming Advanced Features

There are different advanced settings available for each team type.

To view or change advanced team settings

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click a team.

2.	Click the Advanced tab.

3.	Make the desired changes to the team configuration.

4.	To restore defaults, click Restore Default.

5.	To set changes, click OK.

Descriptions of the advanced settings as well as their defaults are described below. In most cases, it is best to keep the default.

Check Time (seconds)

How often the software verifies team member status. For example, if the Check Time is one second, the software checks the team members every second to ensure they are capable of sending and receiving traffic.

Default: 1 second

Range: 1 - 3 seconds

LinkAggrJoinMethod

This advanced setting is available for Link Aggregation teaming. Based on the IEEE 802.3ad standard, a link can be divided into several links called aggregators. However, only one of the aggregators is active. The LinkAggrJoinMethod parameter specifies how the system chooses the active aggregator. If you set the LinkAggrJoinMethod to Maximum Bandwidth, the system selects the aggregator that generates more traffic. If you set the parameter to Maximum Adapters, the system selects the aggregator that has more adapters.

Default: Maximum bandwidth

Range: Maximum bandwidth, Maximum adapters

Load Balance Refresh Rate

Amount of time that passes before the software resets or refreshes the current load across team members. For optimum performance, keep this setting at the default or as low as possible.

Default: Every 10 Check Time units

Range: 1-50 Check Time units

The number of seconds specified in the Check Time setting is the unit of measurement for the refresh rate.  See the Check Time setting for more details.

Locally Administered Address (LAA)

If you use the Windows NT Load Balancing Service (WLBS), NLB, or other drivers of its class, you can customize the MAC address used by the team.

To customize the MAC address, type a new MAC address for the team in the LAA field. Make sure the new address is in the range of:  0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD.

Exceptions:

o	Do not use a multicast address (LSB of the high byte = 1). For example, in the address 0Y123456789A, "Y" cannot be an odd number. (Y must be 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, A, C, or E.)

o	Do not use all zeros or all Fs.

To restore the default MAC address, delete the address in the Locally Administered Address field and then click OK, or click Restore Default.

NOTE: Intel(R) PROSet II uses either:

•	The team’s LAA if the team has an LAA configured, or

•	The primary adapter’s permanent MAC address if the team does not have an LAA configured

Any LAA setting on the primary adapter is overwritten by the team’s LAA if the team has an LAA configured.

STP and SFT teams: If you change which adapter is the primary (active) adapter of a team, the team is reloaded using the MAC address of the new primary adapter. Similarly, changing the Locally Administered Address (LAA) of the team will cause a reload and the team will have a new MAC address. Both of these actions, if performed on an SFT team while the server is active on the network, will cause the team to be unable to communicate until all of the network devices refresh their ARP tables with the address information of the new primary adapter. The amount of time it takes to refresh the ARP table is set by the ARP cache timeout period, a parameter that is available on some routers and operating systems. Depending on the ARP cache timeout period, the team could be unavailable for up to 10 minutes.

NumRxPackets

Defines the number of Receive Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to allocate received packets to memory. Each received packet requires one Receive Descriptor, and each descriptor uses 2kb of memory.

You might choose to increase the number of Receive Descriptors if you notice a significant decrease in the performance of received traffic. If receive performance is not an issue, use the default setting.

Default: Default. When using the default value, Intel PROSet II automatically calculates the best value for this setting based on team configuration and hardware capabilities.

Recommended: 250

Range: 32 - 512, step 16

NumTxPackets

Defines the number of Transmit Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Descriptors.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Descriptors if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Descriptors can enhance transmit performance, Transmit Descriptors do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the default setting.

Default:  Default. When using the default value, Intel PROSet II automatically calculates the best value for this setting based on team configuration and hardware capabilities.

Range: 16 - 512, step 16

Receive Load Balancing

By default, ALB teams load balance all transmit traffic. Additionally, you can enable or disable Receive Load Balancing with this setting.

If Receive Load Balancing is disabled, the primary adapter receives all traffic.

If Receive Load Balancing is enabled:

•	The primary adapter receives non-IP traffic

•	Active adapters with the highest speeds receive IP traffic

For example, if there is a team of three adapters, one gigabit adapter designated as the primary adapter and two Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters:

•	The gigabit adapter receives non-IP traffic because it is the primary adapter.

•	The gigabit adapter receives IP because it is the highest speed adapter.

•	The Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters do not participate in receive load balancing.

Default: Enabled after initial setup; Disabled if the team is first created in a different team mode and then changed to ALB

Range: Enabled/Disabled

Reset Default Button

This button resets the currently selected Advanced Setting with that setting´s default value.  See the settings listed above for default values.  (This option is not available for every setting.)

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Diagnostics for PRO/100 and PRO/100+ Adapters
Diagnostics for Intel(R) PRO/100, PRO/100+, and PRO/100 S Adapters

NOTE: If diagnostics are running and you click Stop, a short delay occurs before diagnostics halt. When diagnostics halt, the OK button becomes available.

Basic Diagnostics

Adapter diagnostics provides you the flexibility of testing one or multiple items.

NOTE:  If your computer is running Windows 98, you may need to disable the adapter Power Management before running diagnostics. For details, see Disable Power Management Procedure.

Control Registers

Tests the registers the software uses to configure and send commands to the 8255x controller.

If the Control Registers test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.

Intel 8255x Controller

Runs built-in tests on the 8255x controller, confirming that it´s working properly.

If the Controller test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.

EEPROM

Reads the EEPROM contents and confirms that the checksum is correct. This uses the EEPROM Control/Data Register which in effect tests the register.

If the EEPROM test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.

Loopback

Tests the adapter´s ability to send and receive packets.

If the Loopback test fails, replace the adapter and run the test again. If the test fails with the replacement, this might indicate that the motherboard or another device on the bus is not functioning correctly.

Link

Checks the network connection and the adapter´s send and receive functionality by sending 1000 proprietary packets out on the network and retrieving those same packets.

If the Link test fails, make sure the cable is securely attached to the adapter and to the link partner. If the cable is secure, try attaching the cable to a different port on the link partner or try a different cable.


Advanced Settings for PRO/100+ Adapters
Advanced Settings for the Intel(R) PRO/100 Adapter Family

The settings listed in the Advanced tab enable you to customize how the adapter handles Quality of Service (QoS) tagging, offloads, and other capabilities. Some of the advanced features might not be available depending on the operating system you are running and the specific adapters installed.

Advanced Settings

Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing

Compensates for excessive Ethernet packet collisions on your network.  By default, this setting is set to 0, which disables the feature.

The recommended setting (1) works best for most computers and networks by dynamically adapting to the network traffic conditions. This dynamic mode is active only when the value is set to 1.  However, in some rare cases you might obtain better performance by manually setting the spacing value. Setting a value forces a static gap between packets.

Increasing the value increases the delay between frames being transmitted.

Supported adapters	All
Default	0: disabled
Range	0-255

Adaptive Link Response

Speeds system start up by bypassing startup routines requiring network connectivity when the cable is disconnected from the adapter. This significantly reduces the amount of time required to start the computer.

When Adaptive Link Response for Intel Ethernet Controllers is enabled, and a network cable is not connected to the RJ-45 port, the network connection will be disabled. A yellow caution icon will appear next to the network connection in Device Manager.

To re-enable the network connection, connect the network cable to the RJ-45 port, then restart the computer.

Supported adapters	Mobile (cardbus) products only. Not available on every adapter model.
Default	Off
Recommended	On
Range	On, Off
NOTE: Adaptive Link Response (ALR) will not work when a wireless adapter is active in the system.

Adaptive Performance Tuning

Sets the number of frames the adapter receives before triggering an interrupt. Under normal operation, the adapter generates an interrupt every time a frame is received. Reducing the number of interrupts improves CPU utilization.

Move the slider to Max Adapter Bandwidth to generate one interrupt per frame. This increases adapter bandwidth, but might increase CPU utilization, slowing your computer. Move the slider toward Max CPU Utilization to increase the number of frames the adapter receives before generating an interrupt. This improves CPU utilization, but might reduce adapter bandwidth. The default setting works well for most computers.

Supported adapters	All

Adaptive Technology

Enables or disables the micro-code in the adapter driver. The micro-code optimizes performance based on the operating system environment.

To ensure best possible performance, leave Adaptive Technology enabled.

You might choose to disable Adaptive Technology when troubleshooting adapter compatibility issues.  Disabling Adaptive Technology also disables Transmit Control Blocks and Adaptive Performance Tuning.

Supported adapters	All
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Adaptive Transmit Threshold

Specifies the number of bytes the adapter stores in its transmit buffer before sending. For example, if the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value is 100, the adapter stores 100 bytes (800 bits) in its buffer before sending the data.

•	Raising the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value reduces transmit performance, but there might be fewer underruns.

•	Lowering the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value enhances transmit performance, but there might be more underruns. Lowering this value enables the adapter to perform early transmits.

The adapter uses the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value as a starting point only. If the adapter is able to achieve better transmit performance using a lower value, it will automatically use a lower value.

To configure the adapter to first transmit full Ethernet frames and then adjust for best performance, set this value to 190. If transmit performance drops significantly with a value of 190, set the Threshold to 16 and then incrementally increase it.

Supported adapters	All
Default	200
Recommended	• If the computer has multiple bus mastering cards or high latency, set this value above 200. • If the computer has a single bus mastering card, set this value to 12
Range	0-200

Basic Connectivity for No Resource

Maintains network connectivity even if the system does not have enough resources to run all of the advanced settings, such as IPSec Offload and Large Send Offload. Advanced features resume only when you restart the computer.

To identify resource issues, check the system log. The system log displays errors occurring as a result of low system resources.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Enabled
Recommended value	Enabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled
Coalesce Buffers

Optimizes transmit performance by customizing the number of Coalesce Buffers, which enable the adapter to join data segments before packet transmission.

The Coalesce Buffers setting must be configured to work with the Transmit Descriptors setting. The Coalesce Buffers setting should be 30 - 50% of Transmit Descriptors. If the Coalesce Buffers setting is not modified to match the Transmit Descriptors setting, transmit performance might not be enhanced.

The Coalesce Buffers setting significantly increases the transmit performance on Windows NT 4.0 computers. It also enhances transmit performance on Windows 98 and 2000 computers.

Supported adapters	All
Default	8
Recommended value	8
Range	1-32

Enable PME

Enables or disables Wake on capabilities of the adapter on computers which have older Advanced Power Management (APM) implementations. Wake on enables the adapter to come out of a standby or power off state when it receives certain packet types, such as ARP packets.

•	Disabling this feature disables all Wake on settings on computers using older power management implementations.

•	Enabling this feature permits the adapter to respond to Wake on signals. To configure the adapter to respond to specific packet types, see the Wake on settings information later in this topic.

•	The Hardware Default value forces the adapter to configure Wake on capabilities based on the system hardware.

•	The No Action value enables the adapter to use the operating system’s default.

If you would like to disable all Wake on settings, set this feature to disable. Otherwise, set this feature to No Action.

Supported adapters	82559-based adapters. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Flow Control

Enables adapters to more effectively regulate traffic.

•	Adapters generate flow control frames when their receive queues reach a pre-defined limit. Generating flow control frames signals the transmitter to slow transmission.

•	Adapters respond to flow control frames by pausing packet transmission for the time specified in the flow control frame.

By enabling adapters to adjust packet transmission speed, flow control helps prevent dropped packets.

NOTE: For adapters to benefit from this feature, link partners must support flow control frames.

Supported adapters	82540 and 82544-based, transmit and receive. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Generate and respond to flow control frames
Range	Off, Respond, Generate, Generate & Respond, Hardware Default

Link Based Login

Enables the Adaptive Link Response (ALR) feature. Based on the value for the parameter LinkBasedLoad, this feature checks for the PhyLink status and returns a value of Success or Failure.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled (0)
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Link Speed & Duplex

Configures communication settings for the adapter.

In order to operate at the configured setting, the link partner must also be capable of operating at the configured setting. For example, if the adapter is configured to use 100 Mbps/Full Duplex, the link partner must also be able to operate at 100 Mbps/Full Duplex. Similarly, if the adapter is configured to use Auto Detect, the link partner must support auto-negotiation.

Supported adapters	All Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters
Default	Auto Detect
Recommended value	Auto Detect
Range	• Auto Detect - The adapter negotiates with its link partners to identify compatible speed and duplex settings. • 10 Mbps/Half Duplex - The adapter forces a connection at 10 Mbps and completes transmit and receive operations separately. When the adapter is receiving packets it cannot send packets. When sending packets it cannot receive packets. • 10 Mbps/Full Duplex - The adapter forces a connection at 10 Mbps and completes transmit and receive operations simultaneously. This improves the performance of your adapter. Select this mode only if you have a full duplex switch. • 100 Mbps/Half Duplex - The adapter forces a connection at 100 Mbps and completes transmit and receive operations separately. When the adapter is receiving packets it cannot send packets. When sending packets it cannot receive packets. • 100 Mbps/Full Duplex - The adapter forces a connection at 100 Mbps and completes transmit and receive operations simultaneously. This improves the performance of your adapter. Select this mode only if you have a full duplex switch.

Locally Administered Address (LAA)

Overrides the MAC address of the adapter. To enter a new network address, type a 12-digit hexadecimal number in the Value box.

Supported adapters	All
Default	None
Range	0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD Exceptions: • Do not use a multicast address (Least Significant Bit of the high byte = 1).  • Do not use all zeros or all Fs.
NOTE: In a team, Intel(R) PROSet II uses either:

•	The team’s LAA if the team has an LAA configured, or

•	The primary adapter’s permanent MAC address if the team does not have an LAA configured

Intel PROSet II does not use an adapter’s LAA if the adapter is the primary adapter in a team and the team has an LAA.

Windows 98SE Users:

If you want to use the default address after using a manually assigned address, perform one of these procedures:

•	On the Network Properties dialog box’s Advanced tab, select Locally Administered Address and change its value to 0. Click OK to apply the setting.

•	In Intel PROSet II, click the Advanced tab, then click Restore Default or clear all characters from the Value field. Click OK to apply the setting.

Log Link State Event

This setting is used to enable/disable the logging of link state changes. If set to on, a link up change event or a link down change event generates a message that is displayed in the system event logger. Administrators view the event message from the system event logger.

The following events are logged.

LINK_UP_CHANGE

LINK_DOWN_CHANGE

LINK_DUPLEX_MISMATCH

Supported adapters	All
Default	Enable
Range	Enable, Disable
Offloading

Saves CPU cycles if set to correspond with the type of adapter you’re using.

•	If you’re using security offloading with an Intel(R) PRO/100 S adapter, use the IP Security setting.

•	If you’re not using security offloading with an Intel PRO/100 S adapter, use the Checksum setting.

•	For any other adapter type, use the None setting.

Supported adapters	All
Supported operating systems	Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP
Default	Intel PRO/100 S: IP Security  Intel PRO/100 S without security: Checksum
Range	None, IP Security, Checksum (depending on adapter type, some options might not be available)
For information about IP Security, see the topic, Enable IPSec.

PCI Bus Efficiency

Enables the adapter to either use the best method for packet transmission or force packet coalescing at all times.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is disabled, the adapter uses the transmission method that provides the best possible performance. If coalescing packets provides the best transmission performance, the adapter will automatically coalesce packets.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is enabled, the adapter forces packet coalescing.

Set PCI Bus Efficiency to disabled if there are no problems with packet transmission performance. If there are a high number of underruns or the PCI Bus exhibits performance problems, set this value to enabled.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Priority Level Definition

Configures priority level cut-off point for QoS tagged packets.

If the computer has 802.1p/802.1Q tagging (QoS) enabled, you can define the priority levels (0-7) serviced by the priority queues. Intel adapters have two priority queues: high and low. By default, packets with a value of 0-3 are sent through the Low Priority Queue and packets with a value of 4-7 are sent through the High Priority Queue.

The number you enter for the Priority Level Definition is the cutoff point between the High and Low Priority Queues. For example, if you enter 6, then packets with a priority of 0-5 are sent through the Low Priority Queue and packets with a value of 6-7 are sent through the High Priority Queue.

Supported adapters	All
Default	4 • Packets with values 0-3 are sent to the Low Priority Queue.  • Packets with values 4-7 are sent to the High Priority Queue.
Range	0-7

QoS (802.3ac) Packet Tagging

Enables or disables IEEE 802.1p/802.1Q tagging for the priority filters you have set up via Windows* 2000, XP, or Priority Packet   You must set this option to Enabled in order for Priority Packet filters to function properly.

If you have assigned filters using 802.1p/Q tagging but this setting is Disabled, the corresponding packets will still be prioritized using Intel´s High Priority Queue (HPQ).

Supported adapters	82550, 82558 and 82559-based products. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled
Receive Buffers

Specifies the number of buffers used by the driver when copying data to memory.

In high network load situations, increasing receive buffers can increase performance. The tradeoff is that this also increases the amount of system memory used by the driver. In other cases, by modifying this value you could degrade performance on your system.

Supported adapters	All
Default	The default varies depending on the features selected.
Recommended value	• Single adapter in Windows NT: 32 • Single adapter Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP: 48 • Teamed adapter: 250 • Using IPSec and/or multiple features: 350
Range	8-1024

Retransmit Inter-Frame Spacing

Increases the delay between frame retransmissions. Although there is a built-in Ethernet algorithm that adapters use for retransmitting frames after collisions, increasing the delay can improve network performance if there are an abnormally large number of collisions on the network.

Supported adapters	Selected adapters support this feature
Default	6
Range	6-15

Security Associations

Specifies the number of simultaneous Security Associations that can be offloaded to the adapter´s co-processor. A security association is a communication session with another computer running Intel(R) Packet Protect or other IP Security software.

If the computer is capable of supporting more Security Associations than what is specified as the default, increase this value. Note that increasing the number of Security Associations increases the memory consumption of the adapter.

Supported adapters	Intel(R) PRO/100 S
Default	Client: 64 Server: 1000
Range	1-5000

Smart Power Down

Enables the adapter to reduce power consumption when the LAN cable is disconnected from the adapter. When the adapter regains a valid link, adapter power usage returns to its normal state (full power usage).

Supported adapters	82559-based mobile adapters and later
Default	Enabled
Recommended value	Enabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled
Technical Details

Transmit Control Blocks

Defines the number of Transmit Control Blocks, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Control Blocks.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Control Blocks if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Control Blocks can enhance transmit performance, Control Blocks do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the default setting of 16.

Supported adapters	All
Default	16 or 32, depending on the requirements of the adapter
Range	8-64
Wake on Link Change

Wakes the computer if the network connection establishes link while the computer is in standby mode. You can enable the feature, disable it, or let the operating system use its default.

Supported operating systems	Windows 9x, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Range	Disabled, Forced, OS dependent
Default	Disabled
Wake On Settings

These settings refer to features that are activated by either the operating system or Intel(R) PROSet II. The features behave differently or are not supported at all, depending on your version of Windows.

•	These Windows versions do support Wake On Settings: Windows 9x, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP 64 bit Edition, and Windows XP Professional.

•	These Windows versions do not support any Wake On settings:  Windows 98 retail, and Windows NT 4.0.

NOTE: Only the Intel(R) PRO/100+ Management and Server adapters and Intel(R) PRO/100 S adapters support Wake On settings.

Enabling Wake on Settings in the Operating System

The following types of Wake On packets require that the operating system have Wake On Settings enabled:

•	Wake On ARP

•	Wake On Directed Packet

•	Wake On NBT

For the adapter to respond to these types of Wake On packets, the operating system must be enabled to use Wake On Settings. To enable Wake on Settings, navigate to the Device Manager and enable the option Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby. To find this option:

1.	Click Start > Control Panel.
The Control Panel window opens.

2.	Double-click System.
The System dialog box appears.

3.	Click the Hardware tab then click the Device Manager button.
The Device Manager window opens.

4.	Double-click the adapter you would like to enable for Wake On Settings.
The Properties dialog box appears.

5.	Click the Power Management tab.

6.	Click Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby to enable Wake On Settings for the adapter.

To Configure Wake on Settings

1.	In Intel PROSet II, click the Advanced tab.

2.	In the Setting list, select  Wake on Settings.

3.	In the Value list, select the appropriate Wake On setting.

4.	Click OK or Apply.

Available Settings

These Wake On settings are available in Intel PROSet II:

Setting	Description
Disabled	Adapter will not use Wake On settings.
Wake on Magic Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up in response to receiving a Magic Packet. A Magic Packet is a packet containing 16 contiguous copies of the receiving adapter's Ethernet address. When you configure this feature, Intel PROSet II overrides the operating system value for this feature.
Wake on Directed Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up when the adapter receives a Directed Packet, which is a unicast packet sent to the adapter’s MAC address.  The protocol must enable this wake up method in the driver. Deselecting this feature tells the driver to ignore any protocol request to enable this wake up method.
Wake on Magic and Directed Packets	Enables the adapter to wake up when it receives a Magic Packet or a Directed Packet.
OS Controlled	Gives the operating system complete control of Wake on Settings.

NOTE: If multiple IP addresses are configured for one adapter, the operating system may request to wake up on ARP patterns to all of the configured addresses. The adapter will only awaken in response to ARP packets querying the first IP address in the list.

NOTE: Wake On settings do not include the ability to wake a machine from shutdown (S5) state. This state is controlled by the Enable PME setting, which is also available on the Advanced Tab. Even if Wake On settings are disabled, the ability to awaken from S5 is determined by the Enable PME setting.

As long as the adapter driver is enabled, PME settings will work. Once the driver is disabled, however, the device reverts to its hardware default, which may or may not allow the computer to wake from shutdown.

See also

Configure teaming advanced settings


Priority Packet Overview
Intel(R) Priority Packet Overview

Intel(R) Priority Packet is a traffic prioritization utility that enables you to set up filters to process high priority traffic before normal traffic. You can use Intel Priority Packet to set up filters that give priority to critical applications.

Intel Priority Packet is a separate utility from Intel(R) PROSet II.

Requirements

Supported operating systems	• Windows* XP • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 • Windows NT SP5.0 or higher
Supported adapters	Intel(R) PRO/100 and PRO/1000 family of adapters
To install Intel Priority Packet

1.	Insert the adapter CD in your computer´s CD-ROM drive.
The autorun screen appears.

2.	Close the autorun screen.

3.	Navigate to the WINDOWS/PRTPKT folder on the Intel CD.

4.	To install Intel Priority Packet, double-click setup.exe.

5.	Follow the onscreen directions to complete Priority Packet installation.

After installation, you can open the utility by clicking Start > Programs > Intel(R) Priority Packet II.

Prioritizing Network Traffic

Intel Priority Packet lets you set up filters to send information from critical nodes or applications with an indicated priority. By prioritizing traffic at the host or entry point of the network, network devices can base forwarding decisions on priority information defined in the packet.

Intel Priority Packet prioritizes traffic based on filters - parameters you assign to be applied to outgoing (transmit) packets. Using the Priority Packet Filter Wizard, you can set up pre-defined or custom filters based on a node (MAC) address, Ethernet type, or by various properties of the protocol and port. Priority Packet provides two different methods for prioritizing traffic: IEEE 802.1p tagging and Intel High Priority Queue.

IEEE 802.1p Tagging

IEEE 802.1p is an IEEE standard for tagging packets in order to define priority levels. Packets are tagged with four (4) additional bytes, which increase the packet size and indicate a priority level. When these tagged packets are sent out on the network, the higher priority packets are transferred first. Priority packet tagging (also known as Traffic Class Expediting) enables the adapter to work with other elements of the network (switches, routers) to deliver priority packets first. 802.1p tagging enables applications to assign specific priority levels from 0 (low) to 7 (high).

After you set up the filter in Windows* 2000, XP, or in Intel Priority Packet, you must launch Intel PROSet II and enable QoS Tagging on the Advanced Settings tab.

NOTE: IEEE 802.1p tagging increases the size of the packets it tags. Some hubs and switches won´t recognize the larger packets and will drop them. Check your hub or switch documentation to see if they support 802.1p. If these devices don´t support 802.1p or you´re not sure, use High Priority Queue to prioritize network traffic.

Requirements for effectively using IEEE 802.1p tagging:

•	All computers receiving and routing 802.1p tagged packets must support 802.1p.

•	Adapters installed on the computers processing tagged packets must support 802.1p tagging. All Intel(R) PRO/1000, PRO/100+, and PRO/100 S adapters support 802.1p. Intel(R) PRO/100B adapters do not.

•	The adapter(s) cannot be assigned to an adapter team.

•	If you´re setting up VLANs or packet tagging on the same adapter, the 802.1p/802.1Q Tagging must be Enabled on the Intel PROSet II Advanced Settings tab.

•	VLANs (802.1Q) and prioritization (802.1p) share the 802.3ac tag. Intel adapters use the 802.3ac tag when VLANs and/or QoS tagging is configured on the adapter.

•	If an adapter is configured for VLANs, the switch VLAN must support the same type of tagging (802.3ac) as the adapter.

•	If an adapter is configured for prioritization, some switches require a non-default VLAN on the switch to enable tag passing.


Filter

A parameter that is applied to an outgoing (transmit) packet to determine if it should be tagged with IEEE 802.1p or put in the High Priority Queue.


IEEE 802.1p Specification

An IEEE standard for tagging packets with different priority levels. When these packets are sent out on the network, the higher priority packets are transferred first. Priority packet tagging enables the adapter to work with other network devices to deliver better overall performance.

IEEE 802.1p tagging is only effective when your network infrastructure (switches and other routing devices) supports it. If your infrastructure doesn´t support IEEE 802.1p tagging or you´re not sure, you can prioritize traffic using Intel´s High Priority Queue.


High Priority Queue

A transmit queue used with Intel(R) Priority Packet. The High Priority Queue (HPQ) processes the high priority packets.

HPQ is available on Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters that have 82558-based controllers and later. For information about controllers, see the Adapter Specifications table.

For more information about HPQ, see the Intel Priority Packet online help.


Tagging

Adding additional information to a packet. In the case of Priority Packet using IEEE 802.1p tagging, this means adding four additional bytes of information indicating the packet´s priority.


Cardbus Detected

Single Adapter Installation

If you are installing a single Cardbus adapter, click the model you are installing.

NOTE: If you have an Intel(R) PRO/100 Cardbus II adapter (LAN only) installed and you are installing an Intel(R) PRO/100 LAN+Modem56 Cardbus II adapter, you must:

1.	Remove the drivers for the LAN-only adapter.

2.	Restart the computer.

3.	Re-install the drivers for the LAN+Modem56 adapter.

Two Adapter Installation

If you are installing two Cardbus adapters and one or both of them are Intel PRO/100 LAN+Modem56 Cardbus II adapters, click Intel(R) PRO/100 LAN+Modem56 Cardbus II.

If both adapters are Intel PRO/100 Cardbus II adapters (LAN only), click Intel(R) PRO/100 Cardbus II.

PCI Adapters

If you are installing a PCI adapter (on a docking station, for instance), click Intel(R) PRO PCI Adapter.


CardBus Resources
Define Cardbus Resources

Select a set of available resources for your Network Adapter and Modem.

To verify that the selected resources are compatible with your computer

Start Intel(R) PROSet II by double-clicking the Intel PROSet II icon in the Control Panel.
Intel PROSet II appears.

•	If there are no resource conflicts, the General tab displays adapter status information.

•	If there is a resource conflict with another device, Intel PROSet II displays a Troubleshooting tab with instructions. Follow these instructions to choose different resources.


Jumbo Frames

Jumbo Frames are larger than standard Ethernet frames. While standard Ethernet frames are  ~ 1.5k bytes, Jumbo Frames contain up to ~16k bytes.

In situations where large packets make up the majority of traffic and additional latency can be tolerated, Jumbo Frames can reduce CPU utilization and improve wire efficiency.

NOTES: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link. Jumbo Frames are effective on TCP/IP packets only.

Before You Begin

Verify that:

•	You have an Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapter running at 1000 Mbps. Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters do not support Jumbo Frames.

•	The system is running Windows* 2000, XP, or NT* 4.0.

•	Network devices support Jumbo Frames. When setting up Jumbo Frames on other network devices, be aware that network devices calculate Jumbo Frame sizes differently. Some devices include the header information in the frame size while others do not.

Setting Up Jumbo Frames

•	To configure a commonly available packet size, use Intel(R) PROSet II.

•	To configure any other packet size, enter the value in the registry.

To configure Jumbo Frames in Intel(R) PROSet II

Setting up Jumbo Frames on your network is a three-step process.

Step 1: Configure the adapter to support Jumbo Frames:

1.	Open Intel(R) PROSet II.

2.	In the Network Component Tree, click the adapter you would like to configure with Jumbo Frames.

3.	Click the Advanced tab.

4.	From the Setting list, click Jumbo Frames.

5.	From the Value box, click a packet size.

The adapter is now configured to support Jumbo Frames.

Step 2: Configure network switches to support Jumbo Frames. See your switch documentation for details.

Step 3: Configure servers to support Jumbo Frames. See your server documentation for details.

To configure Jumbo Frames using the registry

Setting up Jumbo Frames on your network is a three-step process.

Step 1: Configure the adapter to support Jumbo Frames:

1.	Open the Registry Editor. Click Start > Run. In the Open box, type regedit.
The Registry Editor opens.

2.	Navigate to the MaxFrameSize registry key.

3.	Enter a value from 1415 to 16128 for the frame size.

The adapter is now configured to support Jumbo Frames.

Step 2: Configure network switches to support Jumbo Frames. See your switch documentation for details.

Step 3: Configure servers to support Jumbo Frames. See your server documentation for details.


MiniPCI Adapters

The MiniPCI adapters work with specific mobile computers that support the MiniPCI form factor. These adapters support the same feature set as the client adapters described in this help file. Some MiniPCI adapters also have integrated modem hardware included in the product.

If your product has a modem, see the documentation shipped with your computer for information about modem configuration.

See Also:

Advanced Settings for Intel(R) PRO/100+ Adapters


Advanced Settings for PRO/10+ Adapters
Advanced Settings for Intel(R) PRO/10 and PRO/10+ Adapters

The settings listed in the Advanced tab enable you to customize how the adapter handles link changes, buffers, offloads, and other capabilities. Some of the following features might not be available depending on the operating system you are running and the specific adapters installed.

Advanced settings

Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing

Compensates for excessive Ethernet packet collisions on your network. By default, this setting is set to 0, which disables the feature. The recommended setting (1) works best for most computers by dynamically adapting to the network traffic conditions. This dynamic mode is active only when the value is set to 1.  However, in some rare cases you might obtain better performance by manually setting the spacing value. Setting a value forces a static gap between packets.

Increasing the value increases the delay between frames being transmitted.

Supported adapters	All
Default	1
Range	0-255

Adaptive Technology

Enables or disables the micro-code in the adapter driver. The micro-code optimizes performance based on the operating system environment.

To ensure best possible performance, leave Adaptive Technology enabled.

You might choose to disable Adaptive Technology when troubleshooting adapter compatibility issues.  Disabling Adaptive Technology also disables Transmit Control Blocks and Adaptive Performance Tuning.

Supported adapters	All
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Adaptive Transmit Threshold

Specifies the number of bytes the adapter stores in its transmit buffer before sending. For example, if the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value is 100, the adapter stores 100 bytes (800 bits) in its buffer before sending the data.

•	Raising the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value reduces transmit performance, but there might be fewer underruns.

•	Lowering the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value enhances transmit performance, but there might be more underruns. Lowering this value enables the adapter to perform early transmits.

The adapter uses the Adaptive Transmit Threshold value as a starting point only. If the adapter is able to achieve better transmit performance using a lower value, it will automatically use a lower value.

To configure the adapter to first transmit full Ethernet frames and then adjust for best performance, set this value to 190. If transmit performance drops significantly with a value of 190, set the Threshold to 16 and then incrementally increase it.

Supported adapters	All
Default	12
Recommended	• If the computer has multiple bus mastering cards or high latency, set this value above 200. • If the computer has a single bus mastering card, set this value to 12
Range	0-200

Basic Connectivity for No Resource

Maintains network connectivity even if the system does not have enough resources to run all of the advanced settings. Features such as IPSec Offload and Large Send Offload resume only when there are enough resources. Errors occurring as a result of low system resources can be found in the system log.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Off
Recommended value	On
Range	On, Off
Coalesce Buffers

Optimizes transmit performance by customizing the number of Coalesce Buffers, which enable the adapter to join data segments before packet transmission.

The Coalesce Buffers setting must be configured to work with the Transmit Descriptors setting. The Coalesce Buffers setting should be 30 - 50% of Transmit Descriptors. If the Coalesce Buffers setting is not modified to match the Transmit Descriptors setting, transmit performance might not be enhanced.

The Coalesce Buffers setting significantly increases the transmit performance on Windows NT 4.0 computers. It also enhances transmit performance on Windows 98 and 2000 computers.

Supported adapters	All
Default	8
Recommended value	8
Range	1-32
Flow Control Receive

Enables the adapter to receive full duplex flow control frames by pausing the transmit path. The transmit path is paused for the time specified in the received flow control frame. These settings help fine tune network performance by preventing packets from dropping.

Supported adapters	This feature might not be available on every adapter type.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Link Based Login

Enables the Adaptive Link Response (ALR) feature. Based on the value for the parameter LinkBasedLoad, this feature checks for the PhyLink status and returns a value of Success or Failure.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Link Speed & Duplex

Configures the Intel(R) PRO/10+ adapter with link settings.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Auto Detect
Recommended value	Auto Detect
Range	• Auto Detect - The adapter negotiates with the switch on how to send/receive packets (either full or half duplex).  NOTE:  You must have an auto-negotiating switch to get full duplex support with the Link Speed & Duplex option set to Auto Detect. • 10Mbps/Half Duplex - The adapter uses 10 Mbps speed and performs one operation at a time. It either sends or receives. • 10Mbps/Full Duplex - The adapter uses 10 Mbps speed and sends and receives packets at the same time. This improves the performance of your adapter. Select this mode only if you have a full duplex switch.

Locally Administered Address

Overrides the MAC address of the adapter. To enter a new network address, type a 12-digit hexadecimal number in this box.

Supported adapters	All
Default	None
Range	0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD Exceptions: • Do not use a multicast address (Least Significant Bit of the high byte = 1).  • Do not use all zeros or all Fs.

PCI Bus Efficiency

Enables the adapter to either use the best method for packet transmission or force packet coalescing at all times.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is disabled, the adapter uses the transmission method that provides the best possible performance. If coalescing packets provides the best transmission performance, the adapter will automatically coalesce packets.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is enabled, the adapter forces packet coalescing.

Set PCI Bus Efficiency to disabled if there are no problems with packet transmission performance. If there are a high number of underruns or the PCI Bus exhibits performance problems, set this value to enabled.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Priority Level Definition

Defines the priority level cut-off point for QoS tagged packets.

If the computer has 802.1p/802.1Q tagging (QoS) enabled, you can define the priority levels (0-7) serviced by the priority queues. Intel adapters have two priority queues: high and low. By default, packets with a value of 0-3 are sent through the Low Priority Queue and packets with a value of 4-7 are sent through the High Priority Queue.

The number you enter for the Priority Level Definition is the cutoff point between the High and Low Priority Queues. For example, if you enter 6, then packets with a priority of 0-5 are sent through the Low Priority Queue and packets with a value of 6-7 are sent through the High Priority Queue.

Supported adapters	All
Default	4 • Packets with values 0-3 are sent to the Low Priority Queue.  • Packets with values 4-7 are sent to the High Priority Queue.
Range	0-7

Receive Buffers

Specifies the number of buffers used by the driver when copying data to the protocol memory.

In high network load situations, increasing receive buffers can increase performance. The tradeoff is that this also increases the amount of system memory used by the driver. In other cases, by modifying this value you could degrade performance on your system.

Supported adapters	All
Default	48
Recommended value	• Single adapter in Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP: 48 • Single adapter in Windows NT: 32 • Teamed adapter: 250
Range	8-1024

Retransmit Inter-Frame Spacing

Increases the delay between frame retransmissions. Although there is a built-in Ethernet algorithm that adapters use for retransmitting frames after collisions, increasing the delay can improve network performance if there are an abnormally large number of collisions on the network.

Supported adapters	All
Default	10
Range	6-15

Transmit Control Blocks

Defines the number of Transmit Control Blocks, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Control Blocks.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Control Blocks if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Control Blocks can enhance transmit performance, Control Blocks do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the recommended value of 16.

Supported adapters	All
Default	32
Recommended value	16
Range	8-64


PRO/1000 Link Configuration
Intel(R) PRO/1000 Link Configuration (for copper models only)

CAUTION:  In nearly all cases you should leave auto-negotiation enabled. If you disable auto-negotiation, make sure the link partner settings match the adapter settings. The adapter will not operate at 1000 Mbps with auto-negotiation disabled.

To set speed and duplex

1.	On the Link Config tab, click Enabled or Disabled to modify the auto-negotiation setting.

•	With auto-negotiation enabled, the adapter negotiates speed and duplex with its link partner.

•	With auto-negotiation disabled, the adapter is forced to the specified speed and duplex setting.  When disabling auto-negotiation, make sure the link partner can operate at the specified speed and duplex. If the link partner cannot operate at the adapter’s forced setting, communication cannot be established between the adapter and the link partner.

2.	If auto-negotiation is enabled, select the speed and duplex settings advertised to the link partner during negotiation. By default, all settings are advertised. Possible settings include:

•	10 Mbps HALF

•	10 Mbps FULL

•	100 Mbps HALF

•	100 Mbps FULL

•	1000 Mbps FULL

NOTE: According to IEEE specifications, 1000-based T operation cannot be forced.  However, you can configure the adapter to only operate at 1000 Mbps by selecting auto-negotiation and then selecting only 1000 Mbps Full in the Advertised settings section.

3.	If auto-negotiation is disabled, force the speed and duplex of the adapter by clicking one of the following settings:

•	10 Mbps HALF

•	10 Mbps FULL

•	100 Mbps HALF

•	100 Mbps FULL

To ensure communication, verify that the link partner supports the forced setting.

4.	Click OK.

5.	Restart your computer if prompted.

The speed and duplex setting is now configured for the adapter.


Link Partner

A device that an adapter links to, such as another adapter, a hub, a switch, etc.


Network Component Tree View
Network Component Tree

The Network Component Tree appears on the left side of Intel(R) PROSet II. Click adapters, VLANs, or teams to view details about the component.


Boot Agent

This tab enables you to view the settings that control the behavior of the Boot Agent software. You might be able to change some of the settings in the Setting selection box. You might also be able to use this tab to update a flash ROM device with a Boot Agent software image if your IT administrator has enabled this feature.

For more detailed descriptions about each of the possible configuration settings, see:

•	Network Boot Protocol

•	Boot Order

•	Setup Menu Wait Time

•	Show Setup Prompt

•	Legacy OS Wakeup Support

For instructions on changing configuration settings, refer to the Intel® Boot Agent User´s Guide.

NOTES:

If you are unable to change a configuration setting, your adapter or system might not enable that setting.

The information presented in this Help file is only valid for the 16-bit PXE 2.0 version of the Boot Agent. Most of the Configuration Setup options described here are not used in an EFI environment.

Update Boot Agent Button

Use this button to install or update the Intel Boot Agent software.

NOTES:

The Boot Agent update operation writes a new Boot Agent image to the flash ROM, which might temporarily disable the operation of the Windows* network device driver. You might need to reboot the computer following this operation.

If DOS installation is required, see Installing/Updating in DOS Environments in the Intel® Boot Agent User´s Guide.

To install or update Boot Agent software

NOTE: When downloading a flash ROM image file from Intel´s Web site, be sure to save it to a temporary directory or a location where you can easily locate it for this procedure.

1.	From the Start menu, click Settings, and then click Control Panel.
The Control Panel window appears.

2.	Double-click the Intel(R) PROSet II icon.
The Intel PROSet II screen appears.

3.	From the Network Components Tree, select the adapter that contains the flash ROM you want to update.

4.	Click the Boot Agent tab. If the tab does not appear, update your network driver or make sure you have Intel PROSet II Version 4.0 or higher.

NOTE: Intel PROSet II also enables you to change configuration settings for PXE and RPL environments. If you select an adapter that operates in PXE or RPL environments from the devices listed under Network Components on the left side of the Intel PROSet II screen, you might view or change the configuration settings that appear on the right side of the screen. For more information, see Configuring the Boot Agent in a Windows Environment in the Intel® Boot Agent User´s Guide. Some Flash ROMs do not support all configuration settings.

5.	To edit a setting, press Ctrl+S. Once you press Ctrl+S, the appearance of the Boot Agent tab changes to include a dimmed (disabled) Apply Settings button.

6.	Click Update Boot Agent.
A warning dialog box appears stating that network connectivity is temporarily lost while the Boot image updates.

7.	Click Yes to continue with the update process.
A dialog box appears asking if you want to create a backup of the current existing Flash ROM.

8.	If you want to create a backup of the current flash ROM image before updating the flash, click Yes. The Save Existing Flash Image As dialog box appears. Proceed to step 10.

9.	If you are not saving a backup of the current flash ROM image to a file, click No.
A Warning dialog box appears. Click Yes, then proceed to step 11.

10.	Click Save if you want to accept the default path and filename (the filename defaults to the adapter´s unique MAC address). Otherwise, modify these parameters, then click Save.

11.	At the Open File dialog box, click Open if the desired flash ROM image file you stored appears as the screen´s default path and filename. Otherwise, modify the path and filename and then click Open.
NOTE: Flash ROM images are available on Intel’s Web site.

The update process takes between five and ten seconds, and a progress indicator appears while the update operation is in progress.


Network Boot Protocol

If your Boot Agent does not support RPL, this setting will be unchangeable.

Possible Values:

•	PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment)

•	RPL (Remote Program Load)

Description:

Select PXE for use with WfM-compliant network management programs, such as LANDesk* Management Suite, Windows* 2000 RIS, Windows XP RIS, and Linux*.

Select RPL for legacy-style remote booting, as well as for some Novell NetWare* remote boot solutions.


Boot Order

Possible Values:

•	Use BIOS Setup Boot Order

•	Try network first, then local drives

•	Try local drives first, then network

•	Try network only

•	Try local drives only

Description:

Enables you to select the order in which boot devices are selected when the system boots. If your computer has a BIOS that supports the BIOS Boot Specification (BBS) or enables Plug and Play (PnP) compliant selection of the boot order in the BIOS setup program, this setting will always be Use BIOS Setup Boot Order and cannot be changed. In this case, refer to the BIOS setup manual specific to your client computer to set up boot options.

If your client computer does not have a BBS- or PnP-compliant BIOS, you can select any one of the values listed above except Use BIOS Setup Boot Order.


Show Setup Prompt

Possible Values:

•	Enabled – Default value

•	Disabled

Description:

If you select Enabled, the Ctrl+S setup prompt appears after POST so that you can press Ctrl+S within the number of seconds allowed by the Setup Menu Wait Time setting to display the Configuration Setup Menu.

If you select Disabled, the Setup Menu Wait Time setting is zero, the Ctrl+S setup prompt will not appear during the boot process. However, you can still display the Configuration Setup Menu by repeatedly pressing Ctrl+S immediately after POST until the menu appears. If the Configuration Setup Menu does not appear after repeated pressings of Ctrl+S, reboot and try again.


Setup Menu Wait Time

Possible Values:

•	0 seconds

•	2 seconds

•	3 seconds

•	5 seconds

Description:

The number of seconds the Boot Agent waits for you to press Ctrl+S so as to display the Configuration Setup Menu during the system boot process.

If you select a Setup Menu Wait Time setting of zero and/or a Show Setup Prompt setting of Disabled, the Ctrl+S setup prompt will not appear during the boot process. However, you can still display the Configuration Setup Menu by repeatedly pressing Ctrl+S immediately after POST until the menu appears. If the Configuration Setup Menu does not appear after repeated pressings of Ctrl+S, reboot and try again.


Legacy OS Wakeup Support

This setting does not appear in the Configuration Setup Menu when booting off a gigabit adapter.

Consult your operating system instructions to determine if your operating system supports remote wakeup, as well as how to use this capability.

Possible Values:

•	Enabled

•	Disabled

Description:

Select Enabled to enable non-Windows* operating systems (such as DOS or NetWare*) to use the WfM adapter´s remote wakeup capability.

Select Disabled for this setting when using Windows 2000, XP, Me, or 98SE.


VLAN Listing

If you have configured VLANs, they appear in the Network Component Tree:

When you right-click a VLAN, the following options appear:

•	Change VLAN Properties  - Enables you to change VLAN configuration.

•	Remove - Enables you to remove the VLAN.

See Also

Add a VLAN


Team Listing

If you have configured adapter teams, they appear in the Network Component Tree:

When you right-click a team, the following options appear:

•	Remove Team

•	Change Team Mode

•	Add VLAN

•	Enable IPSec

•	Enable GVRP

If you have configured a team but it does not appear in the Network Component Tree, you might need to close Intel(R) PROSet II to apply the team setup.


Teamed Adapter Listing

When you right-click a Teamed Adapter Listing, the following options appear:

•	Preferred Primary - Designates the selected adapter as the primary transmitting adapter for the team. Usually, the adapter you specify here is your highest bandwidth adapter.

•	Preferred Secondary - Designates the selected adapter as the backup adapter for the Preferred Primary adapter.  This option is not available until you specify a Preferred Primary adapter.

•	Remove from Team - Removes the selected adapter from the team.

See Also

•	Change adapter teaming mode

•	Add an adapter to an existing team

•	Create a new team

•	Remove an adapter from a team

•	Remove an adapter team

•	Specify an adapter as primary or secondary


Network Components
Network Component Tree

The Network Component Tree lists the network components that are active on your system. Network Components can include adapters, teams, and VLANs.


Member Adapters

The Member Adapters list box contains the adapters that make up a team. Click a member adapter to view information specific to that adapter.

See Also

Remove an adapter from a team


Virtual LANs

The Virtual LANs tab entry in the Network Component Tree lists configured VLANs.

See Also

Add a VLAN

Change VLAN properties

VLAN definition

Remove a VLAN

Advanced Settings for VLANs

Setting up GVRP


Remove an Adapter Instance
Remove an Adapter

Before removing an adapter from Intel(R) PROSet II or removing an adapter from a computer, make sure the adapter is not a member of a team. If the adapter is a member of a team, first remove the adapter from the team and then follow the directions below.

To remove an adapter from Intel(R) PROSet II

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click the adapter you want to remove.

2.	Click Remove.
A confirmation dialog box appears, informing you that this adapter is NOT a member of a team.

3.	Click Yes.

4.	Click OK to close Intel PROSet II and apply changes.

5.	Restart your system if prompted.

Intel PROSet II no longer manages the adapter.


Create a New Team

A team is a group of adapters configured to enhance network functionality, such as failover or increased transmission throughput.

To create a team

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a non-teamed adapter.

2.	Click Add to Team, then Create New Team.
The Teaming Wizard appears.

3.	Select the type of team you want to create and click Next. Choices are:

•	Adapter Fault Tolerance

•	Switch Fault Tolerance

•	Adaptive Load Balancing

•	Link Aggregation (Dynamic_3ad* / GEC / LA / 802.3ad static mode)

4.	If you are creating an Adaptive Load Balancing team, you can choose to either enable or disable Receive Load Balancing (RLB).

•	If you enable RLB, team members capable of the highest speed receive IP traffic, and the primary adapter receives non-IP traffic.
NOTE: With RLB enabled, Intel(R) PROSet II automatically selects a preferred primary adapter. Intel PROSet II’s selection of a preferred primary adapter is not based on adapter model or speed.

•	If you disable RLB, only the primary adapter receives traffic.

5.	The list displays all adapters that are not currently part of a team. From the list, click the adapters you want to include in this team, then click Next.

6.	Click Finish.

7.	If you choose, you can specify an adapter in the team as the primary adapter. To specify a primary adapter, right-click the adapter you would like to use as the primary then click Preferred Primary.
If you choose not to select a primary adapter, Intel PROSet II selects a preferred primary adapter.

8.	Click Close to close Intel PROSet II and apply changes.

The team is now configured.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Add an Adapter to an Existing Team

You can add an adapter to an existing team at any time.

NOTE:  In Dynamic 802.3ad teams, changing the configuration might temporarily interrupt the traffic flow as the switch recalculates link aggregators.

To add an adapter to an existing team in Intel(R) PROSet II

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Team Listing.

2.	Click Add Adapter to Team, then select the adapter you want to add.

The adapter is now part of the team.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R) PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Add a VLAN
Create a VLAN

A VLAN is a logical grouping of adapters configured to enhance network security and reduce the size of broadcast domains.

To create a VLAN

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click on Team Listing or Non-Teamed Adapter Listing.

2.	Click Add VLAN.
The Add New VLAN dialog box appears.

3.	In the VLAN ID field, type the number of the VLAN assigned to the adapter.  The VLAN ID must match the VLAN ID configured on the switch.
NOTE: VLAN numbers 0 and 1 are often reserved. Check your switch documentation for details.

4.	In the VLAN Name field, type a label for the VLAN. For example, Marketing or Engineering. The name does not have to match the name on other network devices; it is for identification purposes only.

5.	Click OK.

The adapter is now configured to be a VLAN member. After setting up the adapter to be a VLAN member, make sure to complete VLAN configuration by setting up other network devices with appropriate VLAN information.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R)PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Remove a VLAN

When removing VLANs, use Intel(R) PROSet II. Removing or disabling VLANs through the Network Panel on your operating system could affect system stability and adapter configuration.

To remove a VLAN from a team or adapter

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a VLAN Listing.

2.	Click Remove VLAN.

The VLAN is removed from the team or adapter.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Remove an Adapter Team

When removing teams, make sure you use the Intel(R) PROSet II utility. Removing or disabling teams through the Network Panel on your operating system could affect system stability and adapter configuration.

To remove an entire adapter team

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Team Listing.

2.	Click Remove.

3.	A confirmation message appears.  Click Yes.

The team is now removed. Adapters continue to function as separate devices.

NOTE: If you have created VLANs or Priority Packet Filters for the team, these will be removed along with the team.  If you created VLANs or Priority Packet Filters for an adapter before it was teamed, these will be lost when the team is removed.


Change Adapter Teaming Mode
Change Teaming Mode

To change the teaming mode of a team

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Team Listing.

2.	Click Change Team Mode, then click one of the following:

•	Adapter Fault Tolerance

•	Switch Fault Tolerance

•	Adaptive Load Balancing
When changing the team mode to Adaptive Load Balancing, receive load balancing is disabled by default. To enable receive load balancing, change the team mode and then enable receive load balancing in the Teaming Advanced tab.

•	Link Aggregation (Dynamic_3ad* / GEC / LA / 802.3ad static mode)

The team mode is now changed.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R) PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Remove an Adapter from a Team

You can remove an adapter from an existing team at any time.

NOTE:  In Dynamic 802.3ad teams, changing the configuration might temporarily interrupt the traffic flow as the switch recalculates link aggregators.

To remove an adapter from a team

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Team.

2.	Click Remove From Team.

3.	Click OK to apply the change.

The adapter is no longer part of the team.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R) PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Change VLAN properties

You can reconfigure the adapter to be a member of a different VLAN by changing the VLAN ID. Changing the VLAN ID associated with the adapter removes the adapter from the existing VLAN, severing communication with computers in the existing VLAN.

For example, if you change the VLAN ID from 7 to 9, the computer no longer communicates with computes in VLAN 7. Instead, it communicates with computers in VLAN 9.

To change VLAN configuration

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a VLAN.

2.	Click Change VLAN Properties.

3.	In the VLAN ID field, type the number of the VLAN assigned to the adapter.  The VLAN ID must match the VLAN ID configured on the switch.
NOTE: VLAN numbers 0 and 1 are often reserved. Check your switch documentation for details.

4.	In the VLAN Name field, type a label for the VLAN. For example, Marketing or Engineering. The VLAN name is for informational purposes only and does not have to match the VLAN name configured on other network devices.

5.	To close Intel(R) PROSet II, click OK.

The VLAN configuration is now updated.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R) PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.

See Also

Enable GVRP

Advanced settings for VLANs


Specify an Adapter as Primary or Secondary

Within each team, there is a primary adapter and one or more secondary adapters.

You can choose to either manually select the primary adapter of a team or let Intel(R) PROSet II select the primary adapter.

•	If you select a primary adapter, the selected adapter becomes the Preferred Primary adapter. The Preferred Primary adapter transmits and receives traffic as long as it has an active status. If the Preferred Primary adapter fails but is later restored to an active status, control automatically passes back to the Preferred Primary adapter.

For example, if you have a server with a Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit adapter as the primary adapter and a Intel(R) PRO/100+ or PRO/100 S adapter as the secondary, you would want the Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit adapter to be the Preferred Primary. In this scenario, if the Intel PRO/1000 adapter fails, the Intel PRO/100+ or PRO/100 S takes over. When the Intel PRO/1000 adapter is replaced, it automatically resumes the primary adapter role in the team.

If you manually select a primary adapter, there is always a Preferred Primary adapter in the team.

•	If you do not set an adapter as primary, Intel PROSet II selects the best adapter based on adapter model and speed. This means that although there is a primary adapter, there is no Preferred Primary adapter. When there is no Preferred Primary adapter, Intel PROSet II can select an alternate primary adapter in the event that the primary adapter fails.

For example, if the primary adapter, an Intel(R) PRO/1000 Gigabit adapter, fails, Intel PROSet II can designate a different adapter in the team to act as the primary adapter.  If the Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapter resumes an active status, it rejoins the team as a member and not as the primary adapter.

To set an adapter as a primary or secondary adapter

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Teamed Adapter Listing.

2.	Click Preferred Primary or Preferred Secondary.

The adapter now has the configured status.

To change adapter priority status

Using the same procedure listed above, you can also change the priority of an adapter.

STP and SFT teams:  If you change which adapter is the primary (active) adapter of a team, the team is reloaded using the MAC address of the new primary adapter. Similarly, changing the Locally Administered Address (LAA) of the team will cause a reload and the team will have a new MAC address. Both of these actions, if performed on an SFT team while the server is active on the network, will cause the team to be unable to communicate until all of the network devices refresh their ARP tables with the address information of the new primary adapter. The amount of time it takes to refresh the ARP table is set by the ARP cache timeout period, a parameter that is available on some routers and operating systems. Depending on the ARP cache timeout period, the team could be unavailable for up to 10 minutes.

NOTE: The Preferred Secondary option is not available until you´ve specified a Preferred Primary.


PROSet Tray Icon
Intel(R) PROSet II Tray Icon

When you install Intel(R) PROSet II, you´ll see an Intel PROSet II tray icon in the taskbar near the clock.

When you right-click the icon, the following options appear:

Command	Description
Launch Intel(R) PROSet II	Displays the Intel PROSet II utility.
Show Status for	Shows the names of the installed wireless adapters.
Hide Tray Icon	Hides the tray icon in the taskbar.   To make the icon reappear in the taskbar: In the General tab in Intel PROSet II, click Show the tray icon.
Exit	Closes Intel PROSet II and temporarily removes the tray icon from the taskbar.  Although the icon is not visible in the taskbar, you can launch Intel PROSet II by double-clicking the Intel PROSet II icon in the Control Panel. When the computer restarts, the Intel PROSet II tray icon appears in the taskbar.
Exit and Do Not Launch at Start Up	Removes the Intel PROSet II tray icon and prevents it from appearing when the computer restarts. To restore the tray icon after selecting this option:  1. Click Start > Run. 2. In the Open field, type PROMON then click OK.   The Intel PROSet II icon remains in the taskbar until the computer restarts. To permanently display the tray icon, see Start Tray Icon at Start Up, below.
Start Tray Icon at Start Up	Configures the Intel PROSet II tray icon to appear in the taskbar. This option ensures the tray icon is visible after the computer restarts. NOTE: This option is available only if you have used the Exit and Do Not Launch at Start Up option.


Smart Power Down Technical Details
Smart Power Down Details

Smart Power Down (SPD) is a power saving method used on Intel 82558, 82559, and 82550-based adapters to minimize power consumption when there is not a valid link. SPD enables adapters to enter into a deep sleep mode, which saves up to 150% more power. SPD is activated when:

•	The adapter does not have a valid link

•	The operating system is in Suspend mode

In both scenarios, if Smart Power Down is enabled the operating system places the adapter in sleep mode, reducing overall power consumption. Normal power consumption and adapter activity resume when the adapter has a valid link or when the operating system comes out of Suspend mode.


Failed to Uninstall the Device Message

If you try to remove an Adapter Team Listing or VLAN Listing using Device Manager, you will receive the following message: "Failed to uninstall the device. The device might be required to boot the computer."

This message means that you cannot use Device Manager to remove a virtual adapter created by Intel(R) PROSet II.  To remove adapters from Device Manager, use Intel PROSet II.

See Also

Remove an Adapter Team

Remove a VLAN

Enable GVRP


Advanced Settings for VLANs

To customize advanced VLAN settings

1.	Click a VLAN Listing in the Network Component Tree.

2.	Click the Advanced tab.

3.	From the drop-down list, click NumRxPackets then type the new value.
NumRxPackets defines the number of Receive Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to allocate received packets to memory. Each received packet requires one Receive Descriptor, and each descriptor uses 2kb of memory.

You might choose to increase the number of Receive Descriptors if you notice a significant decrease in the performance of received traffic. If receive performance is not an issue, use the default setting.

Caution: Modifying this value could degrade performance on your system.

4.	From the drop-down list, click NumTxPackets then type the new value.

NumTxPackets defines the number of Transmit Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Descriptors.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Descriptors if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Descriptors can enhance transmit performance, Transmit Descriptors do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the default setting.

Caution: Modifying this value could degrade performance on your system.

5.	Click OK.

6.	The VLAN now has customized settings.

The VLAN is now customized.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel(R) PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Enable IPSec

IP Security (IPSec) is a set of standards developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that protects IP communications by verifying that data packets aren´t changed during transit. For detailed information about IP Security, go to the Intel support site: http://support.intel.com or, if you have Intel(R) Packet Protect, see your Packet Protect User Guide.

Requirements

You can enable or disable IP Security in Intel(R) PROSet II if:

•	You are using one of the following operating systems:

•	Windows* 98

•	Windows NT* 4.0, SP5 or later

•	Windows Me

•	You are using an Intel® PRO/100 adapter

If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP, IP Security is available as a snap-in in the Microsoft Management Console. See the operating system documentation for more information about IPSec implementation in Windows 2000 or XP.

To enable IPSec

1.	Right-click on a Team Listing or Non-Teamed Adapter Listing in the Network Component Tree and then select Enable IPSec.

2.	Reboot the computer.

3.	Install the Intel(R) Packet Protect software.
NOTE:  In order to install Packet Protect, you must select the Enable IPSec option on at least one adapter or team of adapters prior to installing Packet Protect.

IPSec is now enabled.

To disable IPSec

Right-click on a Team Listing or Non-Teamed Adapter Listing in the Network Component Tree and then clear Enable IPSec.

Offloading encryption on Intel(R) PRO/100 S adapters

The Intel(R) PRO/100 S family of adapters can offload the encryption processing of IP Security transactions. By handling encryption processing, adapters reduce CPU utilization. To enable this offload capability:

1.	Enable IP Security using either Intel Packet Protect or, if the computer is running Windows 2000 or XP, by using the Microsoft Management Console.

2.	In Intel PROSet II, select the Intel PRO/100 S adapter in the Network Component Tree that you would like to handle IP Security encryption.

3.	Click the Advanced Tab.

4.	In the Setting list, click Offloading.

5.	In the Value box, select IP Security.

6.	Click OK.

The adapter is now configured to offload encryption processing from the CPU.


GVRP Support

Workstations and switches use GVRP (GARP VLAN Registration Protocol) to dynamically create, change and remove VLANs. GVRP-enabled switches can identify the switch port of VLAN members and track VLAN status.

Requirements

In order for GVRP to be supported across the network, adapters and switches must have GVRP enabled.

To enable GVRP on an adapter

1.	In the Network Component Tree, right-click a Teamed Adapter Listing that has at least one VLAN.

2.	Click GVRP Support.
The GVRP Support dialog box appears.

3.	Click Enabled.

4.	From the GVRP Join Time drop down box, type the number of milliseconds between the switch GVRP LEAVE command and the PROSet II GVRP Join command. By default, Intel(R) PROSet II initiates a Join command 200 ms after a Leave command.

5.	Click OK.

The adapter is now GVRP-enabled.

Troubleshooting

Because there are different implementations of GVRP, enabling GVRP on the adapter does not guarantee GVRP compatibility between network devices. If GVRP does not seem to be functioning, disable GVRP on the adapter.

NOTE:  When making multiple changes to teams or VLANs in Intel PROSet II, it is recommended that you close Intel PROSet II at the end of each change, in order to set the change.  Then, you might reopen Intel PROSet II to make the next change.


Windows NT 4.0 Service Packs
Windows NT* 4.0 Service Packs

To use Intel(R) PROSet II and most advanced teaming features, your installation of Windows NT 4.0 needs to be updated to service pack 6a or newer.

For Microsoft service pack information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/ to download a service pack and instructions.


Advanced Settings for PRO/1000 Desktop Adapters

NOTE:  Check with your network administrator before making any changes to these settings. Configuring advanced settings in a way that is not compatible with other network devices might adversely affect adapter or system performance.

Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing

Compensates for excessive Ethernet packet collisions on your network.

Supported adapters	All
Default	enabled

Adaptive Link Response

Speeds system start up by bypassing startup routines requiring network connectivity when the cable is disconnected from the adapter. This significantly reduces the amount of time required to start the computer.

When Adaptive Link Response for Intel Ethernet Controllers is enabled, and a network cable is not connected to the RJ-45 port, the network connection will be disabled. A yellow caution icon will appear next to the network connection in Device Manager.

To re-enable the network connection, connect the network cable to the RJ-45 port, then restart the computer.

Supported adapters	Not available on every adapter model.
Default	Off
Recommended	On
Range	On, Off
NOTE: Adaptive Link Response (ALR) will not work when a wireless adapter is active in the system.

Coalesce Buffers

Optimizes transmit performance by customizing the number of Coalesce Buffers, which enable the adapter to join data segments before packet transmission.

The Coalesce Buffers setting must be configured to work with the Transmit Descriptors setting. The Coalesce Buffers setting should be 30 - 50% of Transmit Descriptors. If the Coalesce Buffers setting is not modified to match the Transmit Descriptors setting, transmit performance might not be enhanced.

The Coalesce Buffers setting significantly increases the transmit performance on Windows NT 4.0 computers. It also enhances transmit performance on Windows 98 and 2000 computers.

Supported operating systems	Windows NT 4.0, 98, 2000, XP
Supported adapters	All
Default	128
Range	16-768
Enable PME

Enables or disables Wake on capabilities of the adapter on computers which have older Advanced Power Management (APM) implementations. Wake on enables the adapter to come out of a standby or power off state when it receives certain packet types, such as ARP packets.

•	Disabling this feature disables all Wake on settings on computers using older power management implementations.

•	Enabling this feature permits the adapter to respond to Wake on signals. To configure the adapter to respond to specific packet types, see the Wake on settings information later in this topic.

•	The Hardware Default value forces the adapter to configure Wake on capabilities based on the system hardware.

•	The No Action value enables the adapter to use the operating system’s default.

If you would like to disable all Wake on settings, set this feature to disable. Otherwise, set this feature to No Action.

Supported adapters	82559-based adapters. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled
Fast Transmit Completion

Optimizes transmit performance by freeing Transmit Descriptors for reuse before packets are sent out on the network.

•	With Fast Transmit Completion disabled, the adapter must wait until packets are sent to reuse Transmit Descriptors.

•	With Fast Transmit Completion enabled, the adapter reuses Transmit Descriptors sooner, enabling the adapter to enhance transmit performance.

Supported adapters	82544-based. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Flow Control

Enables adapters to more effectively regulate traffic.

•	Adapters generate flow control frames when their receive queues reach a pre-defined limit. Generating flow control frames signals the transmitter to slow transmission.

•	Adapters respond to flow control frames by pausing packet transmission for the time specified in the flow control frame.

By enabling adapters to adjust packet transmission based, flow control helps prevent dropped packets.

NOTE: For adapters to benefit from this feature, link partners must support flow control frames.

Supported adapters	82540 and 82544-based, transmit and receive. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Generate and respond to flow control frames
Range	• Off, Respond, Generate, Generate & Respond, Hardware Default
Gigabit Master Slave Mode

Determines whether the adapter or link partner is designated as the master. The other device is designated as the slave. By default, the IEEE 802.3ab specification defines how conflicts are handled. Multiport devices such as switches have higher priority over single port devices and are assigned as the master. If both devices are multiport devices, the one with higher seed bits becomes the master. This default setting is called "Hardware Default".

Setting this to either "Force Master Mode" or "Force Slave Mode" overrides the hardware default.

Supported  adapters	All
Default	Hardware Default
Range	Force Master Mode; Force Slave Mode; Hardware Default
Jumbo Frames

NOTE: Jumbo Frames are supported at 1000 Mbps only. Using Jumbo Frames at 10 or 100 Mbps may result in poor performance or loss of link.

Enables or disables Jumbo Frame capability. Jumbo Frames can increase throughput and decrease CPU utilization by putting more data in each frame, thereby sending out fewer frames. The standard Ethernet frame size is 1514 bytes, while Jumbo Frames can contain 4088, 9014, or 16128 bytes.

Enable Jumbo Frames only if devices across the network support them and are configured to use the same frame size. When setting up Jumbo Frames on other network devices, be aware that network devices calculate Jumbo Frame sizes differently. Some devices include the header information in the frame size while others do not. Intel adapters do not include header information in the frame size.

For more information, see the Jumbo Frames topic.

Supported adapters	All
Default	Disabled
Range	Disabled (1514), 4088, 9014 and 16128. (Set the switch 4 bytes higher for CRC, plus 4 bytes if using VLANs or QoS packet tagging.)  NOTE: Any value in the range (1514-16128) can be set in the Windows registry key MaxFrameSize.
Locally Administered Address

Overrides the MAC address of the adapter. To enter a new network address, type a 12-digit hexadecimal number in the Value box.

Supported adapters	All
Default	None
Range	0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD Exceptions: • Do not use a multicast address (Least Significant Bit of the high byte = 1).  • Do not use all zeros or all Fs. Not Present setting: reverts to original network address of the adapter.
Windows 98SE Users:

If you want to use the default address after using a manually assigned address, perform one of these procedures:

•	On the Network Properties dialog box’s Advanced tab, select Locally Administered Address and change its value to 0. Click OK to apply the setting.

•	In Intel PROSet II, click the Advanced tab, then click Restore Default or clear all characters from the Value field. Click OK to apply the setting.

Log Link State Event

This setting is used to enable/disable the logging of link state changes. If set to on, a link up change event or a link down change event generates a message that is displayed in the system event logger. Administrators view the event message from the system event logger.

The following events are logged.

LINK_UP_CHANGE

LINK_DOWN_CHANGE

LINK_DUPLEX_MISMATCH

Supported adapters	All
Default	Enable
Range	Enable, Disable
Offload Receive TCP Checksum

Enables the adapter to verify the TCP or UDP checksum of incoming packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the TCP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances reception performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	• Windows* XP: On • Windows 2000: Off
Range	On, Off
Offload Transmit IP Checksum

Enables the adapter to compute the IP checksum of outgoing packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the IP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances IP transmit performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off
Offload Transmit TCP Checksum

Enables the adapter to compute the TCP or UDP checksum of outgoing packets.

•	With Offloading disabled, the operating system verifies the TCP checksum.

•	With Offloading enabled, the adapter completes the verification for the operating system.

This feature enhances TCP and UDP transmit performance and reduces CPU utilization.

Supported operating systems	• Windows XP* • Windows 2000 • Windows 98 does not support offloading.
Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	On
Range	On, Off NOTE: Set this feature to Off when the server is supporting DOS-based clients.
QoS Packet Tagging

Enables the adapter to send and receive IEEE 802.3ac tagged frames, which include:

•	802.1p QoS (Quality of Service) tags required for priority-tagged packets, and

•	802.1Q tags required for VLANs

Intel PROSet II automatically enables 802.1p tagging when you set up a VLAN.

Supported adapters	82559-based adapters and later. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled
Receive Descriptors

Defines the number of Receive Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to allocate received packets to memory. Each received packet requires one Receive Descriptor, and each descriptor uses 2kb of memory.

You might choose to increase the number of Receive Descriptors if you notice a significant decrease in the performance of received traffic. If receive performance is not an issue, use the default setting of 256.

Supported adapters	All
Default	160
Range	80-2048
TCP Segmentation Offload

Enables the adapter hardware to segment data into valid Ethernet frames.

•	With TCP Segmentation disabled, the operating system software segments the data before sending it to the adapter for transmission.

•	With TCP Segmentation enabled, the adapter segments the data into frames.

Because the adapter hardware is able to complete data segmentation much faster than operating system software, this feature greatly increases transmission performance. In addition, the adapter consumes fewer CPU resources.

Supported operating systems	Windows XP
Supported adapters	82544 and 82540-based only. View the Adapter Specifications topic for help identifying your adapter.
Default	1
Range	0 = do not advertise this feature; 1 = advertise this feature.

Transmit Descriptors

Defines the number of Transmit Descriptors, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Descriptors.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Descriptors if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Descriptors can enhance transmit performance, Transmit Descriptors do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the default setting of 256.

Supported adapters	All
Default	256
Range	80-2048
Wake on Link Settings

Wakes the computer if the network connection establishes link while the computer is in standby mode. You can enable the feature, disable it, or let the operating system use its default.

Supported operating systems	Windows 9x, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Range	Disabled, Forced, OS controlled
Default	Disabled

Wake On Settings

These settings refer to features that are activated by either the operating system or Intel PROSet. The features behave differently or are not supported at all, depending on your version of Windows.

These Windows versions do support Wake On Settings: Windows 2000, Windows XP 64 bit Edition, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Server 2003. This feature is not supported in Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit Itanium(R)-based Systems.

Enabling Wake On Settings

You can use Intel PROSet to configure the Wake On setting the adapter uses. Before selecting the Wake On Settings, you must enable the operating system to use Wake On Settings. To do this, see the instructions.

To enable Wake on Settings

6.	In Intel PROSet, click the Advanced tab.

7.	In the Setting list box, select Wake on Settings.

8.	In the Value list, select the appropriate Wake On setting.

9.	Click OK or Apply.

10.	For the adapter to respond to these types of Wake On packets, you must also enable the operating system to use Wake On Settings. To enable Wake on Settings, navigate to the Device Manager and enable the option Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby.

Available Settings

These Wake On settings are available in Intel PROSet:

Setting	Description
Disabled	Adapter will not use Wake On settings.
Wake on Magic Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up in response to receiving a Magic Packet. A Magic Packet is a packet containing 16 contiguous copies of the receiving adapter's Ethernet address. When you configure this feature, Intel PROSet overrides the operating system value for this feature.
Wake on Directed Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up when the adapter receives a Directed Packet, which is a unicast packet sent to the adapter’s MAC address.  The protocol must enable this wake up method in the driver. Deselecting this feature tells the driver to ignore any protocol request to enable this wake up method.
Wake on Magic and Directed Packets	Enables the adapter to wake up when it receives a Magic Packet or a Directed Packet.
OS Controlled	Gives the operating system complete control of Wake on Settings.
NOTE: If multiple IP addresses are configured for one adapter, the operating system may request to wake up on ARP patterns to all of the configured addresses. The adapter will only awaken in response to ARP packets querying the first IP address in the list.

NOTE: Wake On settings do not include the ability to wake a machine from shutdown (S5) state. This state is controlled by the Enable PME setting, which is also available on the Advanced Tab. Even if Wake On settings are disabled, the ability to awaken from S5 is determined by the Enable PME setting.

As long as the adapter driver is enabled, PME settings will work. Once the driver is disabled, however, the device reverts to its hardware default, which may or may not allow the computer to wake from shutdown.

Restore Default button

This button resets the currently selected Advanced Setting with that setting's default value. See the settings listed above for default values. This option is not available for every setting.


Save or Restore Configuration
Restore Intel(R) PROSet II configuration from a saved file

If you have saved an adapter’s advanced settings to a file, you can use the file to restore custom VLAN and teaming settings. Note that restoring Intel PROSet II configuration does not restore operating system-specific network settings such as IP address or protocol bindings.

Before you begin

When you restore settings, settings must be restored on the same computer they were created from. In addition, the computer must have the same network and hardware installed as the original saved configuration. For example, if the computer was connected to an Intel gigabit switch at the time when the configuration file was saved, the computer must be connected to the same switch when the configuration is restored.

The Save/Restore feature is compatible with Windows NT* 4.0, 2000, 98SE, Me, and XP.

CAUTION: Do not edit the configuration file. Modifying the configuration file will make it unusable.

To restore adapter settings from a saved file

1.	From the Tools menu, click Save/Restore Configuration.
The Save/Restore dialog box appears.

2.	Click Restore.
The Open dialog box appears.

3.	Browse to the folder where you saved your configuration file and select the file.

4.	Click Open.
Intel PROSet II displays the restored settings. These settings are not applied until you click OK.

5.	If needed, make changes to the adapter configuration.

6.	Click OK to close Intel(R) PROSet II and apply the restored configuration.

See also:

Save Configuration


Add Adapter to Team Warning
Adding an Adapter to Team

When creating a team, make sure each adapter is a member of only one team. This includes teams created in Intel(R) PROSet and teams created using other configuration tools. Adding the same adapter to multiple teams might negatively impact team functionality and performance.

•	If you used Intel PROSet to create teams, check the Tree View to identify existing team members.

•	If you used other configuration tools to create teams, review teams and team members in those tools to ensure the adapter is not already teamed.

See also

Remove an Adapter from a Team

Create a New Team


Navigate PROSet II
Navigating Intel(R) PROSet II

Intel(R) PROSet II has three navigation areas:

•	Menu

•	Network Component Tree

•	Tabs

From the Menu, you can:

•	Set up teams or enable IP Security from Action.

•	Save or restore adapter VLAN and teaming configuration from Tools.

•	Use the online help system or access the Intel Web site for support.

From the Network Component Tree, you can:

•	Single-click an adapter to view adapter details and configuration settings.

•	Right-click an adapter to set up teams and enable IPSec.

•	Right-click a team to change team settings or set up VLANs.

•	Right-click a team member to change team adapter settings.

From the Tabs, you can perform adapter monitoring and configuration tasks.

The Tray Icon

The Show Tray Icon checkbox enables you to show or hide the Intel PROSet II tray icon on the taskbar (near the clock). To hide the tray icon, clear the checkbox.

More on the Intel(R) PROSet II Tray Icon


General Information

To view general information about an adapter, click the adapter in the Network Component Tree.

The General tab enables you to:

•	Review basic adapter information

•	Test cable functionality
NOTE: The cable test is available for select adapters only.

•	Identify adapter slot position

•	View additional details


Review basic adapter information

The General tab contains the following information about the adapter selected in the Network Component Tree.

Ethernet Address	The 12-digit hexadecimal node address of this adapter, also called a MAC address.
Part Number	The Intel part number of this adapter.
IP Address	If using the IPv4 protocol, the TCP/IP address of this adapter.  Intel PROSet II does not display IPv6 addresses at this time.
Network Driver Status	Indicates if the Intel network driver is loaded or not loaded for the currently selected adapter.
Network Status	Indicates the link, speed, and duplex status of the selected adapter. The fields in the Network Status group box vary by adapter.  • Link LED: On indicates the adapter cable is connected to a valid hub or switch port; Off indicates no link. • Speed: The speed listed here (1000, 100, or 10) indicates the speed the adapter is linked at. • Activity LED: Flashes when the adapter is connected to a network with activity; Off indicates no activity or disconnected cable. • Duplex: Full Duplex indicates the adapter is sending and receiving traffic simultaneously; Half Duplex indicates that at any time the adapter is sending or receiving (traffic is not sent and received simultaneously).


Set Speed and Duplex

By default, Intel adapters auto-negotiate speed and duplex settings. If the adapter is unable to establish connectivity using auto-negotiation, you might need to manually configure speed and duplex settings on the adapter and link partner. For example, if a switch does not support auto-negotiation or is configured with a specific speed and duplex, you must manually configure the adapter speed and duplex to match the switch settings.

CAUTION: If adapter speed and duplex configuration do not exactly match the settings on link partner, network connectivity might be lost.

When auto-negotiation is disabled, possible settings for Link Speed and Duplex are:

•	10 Mbps or 100 Mbps Full duplex (requires a full duplex link partner set to full duplex). The adapter can send and receive packets at the same time.

•	10 Mbps or 100 Mbps Half duplex (requires a link partner set to half duplex). The adapter performs one operation at a time; it either sends or receives.

For information on configuring speed and duplex, click the appropriate adapter family:

•	Intel(R) PRO/1000 (copper)
NOTE: Fiber-based Intel(R) PRO/1000 adapters operate at 1000 Mbps, full-duplex.

•	Intel(R) PRO/10 or PRO/100


PRO 10/100 Link Configuration
Configuring speed and duplex: Intel(R) PRO/10 and PRO/100 adapters

In the Network Component Tree, click the Intel(R) PRO/10 or PRO/100 adapter you would like to configure.

1.	Click the Advanced tab.

2.	In the Setting list, click Link Speed and Duplex.

3.	In the Link Speed and Duplex box, click the speed and duplex mode appropriate for your adapter and its link partner.  For information on how to identify the speed and duplex mode of the link partner, see the link partner documentation.

4.	Click OK.

5.	Restart your computer if prompted.

The adapter is now configured with the specified speed and duplex settings.

CAUTION: If adapter speed and duplex configuration do not exactly match the settings on the connected device, network connectivity might be lost or adapter performance impaired.


Configure Adapter Advanced Features

To view advanced features for an adapter, choose an adapter type:

•	Intel(R) PRO/1000 Desktop

•	Intel(R) PRO/1000 Server

•	Intel(R) PRO/100

•	Intel(R) PRO/100 VE and VM

•	Intel(R)PRO/10


Switch Fault Tolerance

Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT) enables you to connect two teamed adapters to two switches. Each adapter connects to a separate switch:

Switch Fault Tolerance can detect failures when they occur:

•	On either teamed adapter

•	On either cable connecting the teamed adapter to its switch

•	On switch ports connected to the adapters

•	On either switch connected to the adapters

In SFT teams, one adapter is the primary adapter and one adapter is the secondary adapter. During normal operation, the secondary adapter is in standby mode. It does not transmit or receive traffic. If the primary adapter loses connectivity, the secondary adapter automatically takes over.

Adapter speed	Can be mixed, such as one adapter running at 100 Mbps and one running at 1000 Mbps
Protocols	All
Network Configuration	• Each adapter connects to a different switch  • Spanning Tree must be enabled
See also:

About Teaming

Team Types


Save configuration to an external file
Save configuration to a file

You can save your Intel(R) PROSet II teaming and VLAN configuration to a file and restore it back to Intel PROSet at a later time. Note that saving Intel PROSet II configuration does not save operating system-specific network settings such as IP address or bound protocols.

The Save/Restore feature is compatible with Windows NT* 4.0, 2000, 98SE, Me, and XP.

NOTE: Once you have saved a configuration under a specific filename, you cannot use that filename again. You must use a different name each time you save the Intel PROSet II configuration.

To save Intel(R) PROSet II configuration

1.	From the Tools menu, click Save/Restore Configuration.
The Save/Restore dialog box appears.

2.	Click Save.
The Save As dialog box appears.

3.	Browse to the folder where you would like to save your configuration file then type a filename.

4.	Click Save.

5.	Click OK.

The Intel PROSet II configuration is saved.

After saving the configuration, do not edit or modify the file. Modifying the configuration file will make it unusable.

See also

Restoring configuration


Test Switch Configuration

You can ensure that link partners support the configured teaming mode by running the Switch Configuration Test. For example, if the adapter is a member of a Fast EtherChannel* team, Intel(R) PROSet II can verify that link partners connected to the adapter support Link Aggregation.

For specific information about the requirements of each team mode, see About Teaming.

Caution: When running this test, the team temporarily loses network connectivity.

NOTE: This test does not detect errors when either of the following scenarios exists.

Adapter configuration	Switch configuration
Dynamic 802.3ad	Any
Teamed in Link Aggregation mode without VLANs	The switch either: • Does not belong to any VLAN • Is configured with tagged VLANs
Teamed in Link Aggregation mode with VLANs	The switch: • Does not belong to the VLAN configured on the adapter, and • Does not have Link Aggregation defined
To run the Switch Configuration Test

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click the team that you would like to test.
To run the test, there must be at least two adapters in the team.

2.	In the Team Configuration tab, click Test Switch Configuration.
The Test Switch Configuration dialog box appears.

3.	To continue with the test, click Yes.
If any team or link partner configuration errors are detected, the Troubleshooting Tab appears.

NOTE:  Because of the amount of time required to test for Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), Intel(R) PROSet II might not accurately indicate if Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is enabled on the network. Ensure switches are configured with STP:

•	Enabled for SFT teams

•	Disabled (portfast) for all other team modes


Third-party disclaimer
* Other product and corporate names might be trademarks of other companies and are used only for explanation and to the owners´ benefit, without intent to infringe.


Configure Power Management
Configure Power Usage

Using the Power Saver tab, you can configure adapter power usage.  When the adapter is conserving power, it operates at 10Mbps.

To support this feature, the adapter must:

•	Be configured to auto-negotiate speed, and

•	Be connected to a link partner that can auto-negotiate speed

If the adapter speed is forced to operate at 100Mbps or if the link partner cannot operate at 10Mbps, Power Saving cannot be enabled on the adapter.

On some computers, the power saver options are not saved after the computer is rebooted. If the settings are not saved, the upper portion of the Power Saver tab displays the text Temporary Power Saver. For all systems running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, the settings are not saved.

If the settings do not change after rebooting the computer, the upper portion displays the text Power Saver Settings.

NOTE: When Power Saving is enabled, Intel(R) PRO/100 M adapters slow down adapter processing cycles. This feature enables Intel PRO/100 M adapters to further decrease power consumption. Other Intel PRO/100 adapters do not reduce processing cycles to conserve power.

In the Power Save tab, you can customize:

•	Overall adapter power usage. When you configure overall power usage, the adapter retains this setting as long as it remains enabled. If the adapter is disabled, this power setting is not saved.

•	Power usage in standby mode. When the computer goes into standby, the adapter automatically conserves power and negotiates to 10 Mbps. Intel PROSet II retains this setting between computer boots.

•	Power usage during battery operation for Windows* XP. When the computer uses the battery, the adapter automatically conserves power and negotiates to 10 Mbps. Intel PROSet II retains this setting between computer boots.

Supported adapters	Intel(R) PRO/100 adapters
Supported operating systems	• Windows* 98, 2000, XP, Me, and NT* for defining overall power usage or power usage during standby mode • Windows XP when defining power usage when the computer operates from the battery
Default	By default, adapters consume the normal amount of power required to sustain speed and duplex settings.  When the adapter conserves power, the adapter negotiates to 10Mbps, reducing the overall amount of traffic handled by the adapter.
To configure adapter power usage

1.	In the Network Component Tree, click the adapter you would like to configure for power usage.
If the adapter supports Power Management, the Power Saver tab appears.

2.	To reduce overall power usage, click Use low power and negotiate to 10Mbps then click Apply. The adapter retains this setting as long as it remains enabled.
To configure the adapter to use its normal amount of power and to operate at its default speed setting, click Use normal power and resume original speed then click Apply.

3.	To reduce the amount of power the adapter consumes when the computer is in standby mode, click Low power usage during standby.

4.	If the adapter is running on a Windows XP computer, you can also define Power Saver settings when the computer is using the battery. To reduce the amount of power the adapter consumes when the computer is using the battery, click Low power usage during battery operation.

5.	Click OK to apply the power configuration.


Receive Load Balancing

With Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB) teams, you can choose to either enable or disable Receive Load Balancing (RLB). The RLB option is always available:

•	In the Advanced Settings tab of an Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB) team

•	When creating an ALB team using the Teaming Wizard

If you disable RLB, only the primary adapter receives traffic. All adapters load balance outgoing (Tx) traffic.

If you enable RLB, traffic distribution is dependent on the differences in speed between team members.

•	In a same speed team, all adapters transmit and receive IP traffic. The primary adapter passes non-routed (layer 2) traffic.

•	In a mixed speed team, team members with the fastest connection load balance incoming (Rx) IP traffic. All adapters load balance outgoing (Tx) IP traffic. The primary adapter passes non-routed (layer 2) traffic.
NOTE: With RLB enabled, Intel(R) PROSet II automatically selects a Preferred Primary Adapter. You can override the default selection by Specifying an Adapter as the Primary or Secondary adapter.

See also:

About Teaming

Create a New Team


Advanced Settings for PRO/100 VE and VM adapters
Advanced Settings for Intel(R) PRO/100 VE and VM adapters

The settings listed in the Advanced tab enable you to customize how the adapter handles buffers, power management, and other capabilities. Some of the following features might not be available depending on the operating system you are running and the specific adapters installed.

Advanced settings

Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing

Compensates for excessive Ethernet packet collisions on your network.  By default, this setting is set to 0, which disables the feature.

The recommended setting (1) works best for most computers and networks by dynamically adapting to the network traffic conditions. This dynamic mode is active only when the value is set to 1.  However, in some rare cases you might obtain better performance by manually setting the spacing value. Setting a value forces a static gap between packets.

Increasing the value increases the delay between frames being transmitted.

Supported adapters	All
Default	0: disabled
Range	0-255

Adaptive Link Response

Speeds system start up by bypassing startup routines requiring network connectivity when the cable is disconnected from the adapter. This significantly reduces the amount of time required to start the computer.

When Adaptive Link Response for Intel Ethernet Controllers is enabled, and a network cable is not connected to the RJ-45 port, the network connection will be disabled. A yellow caution icon will appear next to the network connection in Device Manager.

To re-enable the network connection, connect the network cable to the RJ-45 port, then restart the computer.

Supported adapters	Mobile products only. Not available on every adapter model.
Default	Off
Recommended	On
Range	On, Off
NOTE: Adaptive Link Response (ALR) will not work when a wireless adapter is active in the system.

Coalesce Buffers

Optimizes transmit performance by customizing the number of Coalesce Buffers, which enable the adapter to join data segments before packet transmission.

The Coalesce Buffers setting must be configured to work with the Transmit Descriptors setting. The Coalesce Buffers setting should be 30 - 50% of Transmit Descriptors. If the Coalesce Buffers setting is not modified to match the Transmit Descriptors setting, transmit performance might not be enhanced.

The Coalesce Buffers setting significantly increases the transmit performance on Windows NT 4.0 computers. It also enhances transmit performance on Windows 98 and 2000 computers.

Default	8
Recommended value	8
Range	1-32
Locally Administered Address

Overrides the MAC address of the adapter. To enter a new network address, type a 12-digit hexadecimal number in the Value box.

Default	None
Range	0000 0000 0001 - FFFF FFFF FFFD Exceptions: • Do not use a multicast address (Least Significant Bit of the high byte = 1).  • Do not use all zeros or all F’s.
Windows 98SE Users:

If you want to use the default address after using a manually assigned address, perform one of these procedures:

•	On the Network Properties dialog box’s Advanced tab, select Locally Administered Address and change its value to 0. Click OK to apply the setting.

•	In Intel PROSet II, click the Advanced tab, then click Restore Default or clear all characters from the Value field. Click OK to apply the setting.

PCI Bus Efficiency

Enables the adapter to either use the best method for packet transmission or force packet coalescing at all times.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is disabled, the adapter uses the transmission method that provides the best possible performance. If coalescing packets provides the best transmission performance, the adapter will automatically coalesce packets.

•	When PCI Bus Efficiency is enabled, the adapter forces packet coalescing.

Set PCI Bus Efficiency to disabled if there are no problems with packet transmission performance. If there are a high number of underruns or the PCI Bus exhibits performance problems, set this value to enabled.

Default	Disabled
Range	Enabled, Disabled

Receive Buffers

Specifies the number of buffers used by the driver when copying data to the protocol memory.

In high network load situations, increasing receive buffers can increase performance. The tradeoff is that this also increases the amount of system memory used by the driver. In other cases, by modifying this value you could degrade performance on your system.  Use at your own risk.

Default	48
Recommended value	• Single adapter in Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows2000 and Windows XP: 48 • Single adapter in Windows NT 4.0: 32 • Teamed adapter: 250
Range	8-1024
Retransmit Inter-Frame Spacing

Increases the delay between frame retransmissions. Although there is a built-in Ethernet algorithm that adapters use for retransmitting frames after collisions, increasing the delay can improve network performance if there are an abnormally large number of collisions on the network.

Supported adapters	All
Default	6
Range	6-15

Transmit Control Blocks

Defines the number of Transmit Control Blocks, which are data segments that enable the adapter to track transmit packets in the system memory. Depending on the size of the packet, each transmit packet requires one or more Transmit Control Blocks.

You might choose to increase the number of Transmit Control Blocks if you notice a possible problem with transmit performance. Although increasing the number of Transmit Control Blocks can enhance transmit performance, Control Blocks do consume system memory. If transmit performance is not an issue, use the recommended value of 32.

Default	16
Recommended value	32
Range	8-64
Wake on Link Change

Wakes the computer if the network connection establishes link while the computer is in standby mode. You can enable the feature, disable it, or let the operating system use its default.

Supported operating systems	Windows 9x, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Range	Disabled, Forced, OS dependent
Default	Disabled
Wake On Settings

These settings refer to features that are activated by either the operating system or Intel(R) PROSet II. The features behave differently or are not supported at all, depending on your version of Windows.

•	These Windows versions do support Wake On Settings: Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP.

•	These Windows versions do not support any Wake On settings:  Windows 98 retail, and Windows NT 4.0.

NOTE: Only the Intel(R) PRO/100+ Management and Server adapters and Intel(R) PRO/100 S adapters support Wake On settings.

Enabling Wake On Settings in the Operating System

The following types of Wake On packets require that the operating system have Wake On Settings enabled:

•	Wake On ARP

•	Wake On Directed Packet

•	Wake On NBT

For the adapter to respond to these types of Wake On packets, the operating system must be enabled to use Wake On Settings. To enable Wake on Settings, navigate to the Device Manager and enable the option Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby. To find this option:

1.	Click Start > Control Panel.
The Control Panel window opens.

2.	Double-click System.
The System dialog box appears.

3.	Click the Hardware tab then click the Device Manager button.
The Device Manager window opens.

4.	Double-click the adapter you would like to enable for Wake On Settings.
The Properties dialog box appears.

5.	Click the Power Management tab.

6.	Click Allow this device to bring the computer out of standby to enable Wake On Settings for the adapter.

Available Settings

These Wake On settings are available in Intel PROSet II:

Setting	Description
Disabled	Adapter will not use Wake On settings.
Wake on Magic Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up in response to receiving a Magic Packet. A Magic Packet is a packet containing 16 contiguous copies of the receiving adapter's Ethernet address. When you configure this feature, Intel PROSet II overrides the operating system value for this feature.
Wake on Directed Packet	Enables the adapter to wake up when the adapter receives a Directed Packet, which is a unicast packet sent to the adapter’s MAC address.  The protocol must enable this wake up method in the driver. Deselecting this feature tells the driver to ignore any protocol request to enable this wake up method.
Wake on Magic and Directed Packets	Enables the adapter to wake up when it receives a Magic Packet or a Directed Packet.
OS Controlled	Gives the operating system complete control of Wake on Settings.

NOTE: If multiple IP addresses are configured for one adapter, the operating system may request to wake up on ARP patterns to all of the configured addresses. The adapter will only awaken in response to ARP packets querying the first IP address in the list.

NOTE: Wake On settings do not include the ability to wake a machine from shutdown (S5) state. This state is controlled by the Enable PME setting, which is also available on the Advanced Tab. Even if Wake On settings are disabled, the ability to awaken from S5 is determined by the Enable PME setting.

As long as the adapter driver is enabled, PME settings will work. Once the driver is disabled, however, the device reverts to its hardware default, which may or may not allow the computer to wake from shutdown.


Team Types

Intel(R) PROSet II enables you to configure the following teams:

•	Adapter Fault Tolerance (AFT)

•	Switch Fault Tolerance (SFT)

•	Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB). Includes Receive Load Balancing (RLB).

•	FEC* / LA / 802.3ad: Static

GEC* / LA / 802.3ad: Static

•	IEEE 802.3ad: Dynamic

Adapter Fault Tolerance

Features	• Failover Provides automatic redundancy for your adapter. If the primary adapter fails, the secondary takes over.
Network configuration	• All adapters must be connected to the same switch • Spanning Tree must be disabled • All types of switches are supported

Switch Fault Tolerance

Features	• Failover Creates a failover relationship between two adapters when each adapter is connected to a separate switch.
Network configuration	• Each adapter connects to a different switch  • Spanning Tree must be enabled

Adaptive Load Balancing  (ALB)

Features	• Failover • Transmit Load Balancing • Receive Load Balancing (RLB) of IP traffic (Optional)
Network configuration	• All adapters must be connected to the same switch • All types of switches are supported

FEC/ LA/ 802.3ad: Static

Features	• Failover • Transmit Load Balancing • Receive Load Balancing
Network configuration	• All adapters must run at 100MBs • All adapters must be connected to the same switch • Must be used with a switch capable of handling Link Aggregation: • Cisco FEC capable switches using the PAgP protocol • Intel Express(R) switches capable of Link Aggregation  • Other switches capable of static 802.3ad

GEC/ LA/ 802.3ad: Static

Features	• Failover • Transmit Load Balancing • Receive Load Balancing
Network configuration	• All adapters must run at 1000 MBs • All adapters must be connected to the same switch • Must be used with a switch capable of handling Link Aggregation: • Cisco GEC capable switches using the PAgP protocol • Intel Express switches capable of Link Aggregation  • Other switches capable of static 802.3ad

IEEE 802.3ad: Dynamic

Features	• Failover • Transmit Load Balancing • Receive Load Balancing
Network configuration	• Team members can operate at different speeds • All adapters must be connected to the same switch • The switch connected to the adapters must fully support the IEEE 802.3ad standard
See also:

About Teaming


Diagnostic Log
Setting up the diagnostic Log

Intel PROSet II saves information from the diagnostic tests and the Sender/Responder test in a diagnostic log.

To configure the log

1.	Open the Registry Editor. Click Start > Run. In the Open box, type regedit.
The Registry Editor opens.

2.	Navigate to the HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Intel\\NETWORK_SERVICES\\NMS\\DiagnosticsLogInformation registry key.

3.	Modify the registry parameters.

Task	Name	Default value	Possible values
Enable or disable diagnostic logging	Enable	1: Enable	1: Enable 0: Disable
Log file location	FilePath	System32	Any valid path on the system
Define whether Intel PROSet II retains or deletes existing information in the log	FileAppend	1: Enable	1: Add onto information in the existing log 0: Delete existing information each time the user runs diagnostics or the Sender/Responder test
Sets the maximum file size of the log, in bytes	MaxFileSize	36 kb	Number of bytes of information the log can contain.
4.	Close the Registry Editor when you are finished making changes to the log configuration.


Diagnostics: An Overview
Overview of Diagnostics

Intel(R) PROSet II provides you with three types of diagnostic tests.

•	Diagnostic tests provide you with a basic analysis of adapter health.  When running basic diagnostic tests, Intel PROSet II checks for I/O conflicts, memory faults, EEPROM operability, transmit and receive functionality, and link.

•	The Cable test provides information about cable length, polarity, and other cable properties.

•	The Sender Responder test enables you to analyze adapter functionality across a network. This is a more advanced test that requires two computers to run.

Test results appear in Intel PROSet II. In addition, Intel PROSet II saves the results of the Diagnostic tests and the Sender Responder test to a diagnostic log file. See Setting up the diagnostic log for more information.


Adapter Specifications

Controller	Board ID Number	Product Name (Connectors)	Intel Part Number
82545EM	A92165-xxx	PRO/1000 MT Server Adapter	PWLA8490MT
82546EB	A92111-xxx	PRO/1000 MT Dual Port Server Adapter	PWLA8492MT
82545EM	A91622-xxx	PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter	PWLA8490MF
82545EM	A91624-xxx	PRO/1000 MF Server Adapter (LX)	PWLA8490LX
82546EB	A91620-xxx	PRO/1000 MF Dual Port Server Adapter	PWLA8492MF
82540	A78408-xxx	PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter	PWLA8390MT
82544 GC	A62947-xxx	PRO/1000 T Desktop	PWLA8390T
82544 EI	A50484-xxx	PRO/1000 XF Server Adapter	PWLA8490XF
82544 EI	A73668-xxx	PRO/1000 XT Lo Profile PCI Server Adapter	PWLA8490XTL
82544 EI	A51580-xxx	PRO/1000 XT Server Adapter	PWLA8490XT
82543 GC	A19845-xxx A33948-xxx	PRO/1000 T Server Adapter	PWLA8490T
82543 GC	738640-xxx A38888-xxx	PRO/1000 F Gigabit Server Adapter	PWLA8490SX
82542	700262-xxx 717037-xxx	PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter	PWLA8490
82562	A19716-xxx	PRO/100 VE Desktop Adapter	CNLA6000
82550	A78921-xxx	PRO/100 M Desktop Adapter	A69928-01
82550	751767-xxx	PRO/100 S Desktop (TP)	PILA 8460C3
82550	752438-xxx	PRO/100 S Server (TP)	PILA8470C3
82550	A56831-xxx	PRO/100 S Dual Port Server adapter	PILA8472C3
82559	741462-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI (TP)	PILA8460BN
82559	721383-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI Management Adapter (TP)	PILA8460B
82559	748566-xxx	PRO/100 S Management (TP)	PILA8464BUS
82559	748564-xxx	PRO/100 S Management (TP)	PILA8464B
82559	742252-xxx	InBusiness™ 10/100 adapter	SA101TX
82559	352509-xxx 661949-xxx 667280-xxx 678400-xxx	EtherExpress™ PRO/100B PCI adapter(TP)	PILA8465B
82559	352433-xxx	PRO/100B PCI T4 (TP)	PILA8475B
82559	351360	PRO/100 EISA (TP)	EILA8265
82559	351361-xxx	PRO/100 PCI (TP)	PILA8465
82559	651538-xxx	PRO/100 ISA (TP)	PCLA8560
82559	670666-xxx	PRO/100 Mobile PC Card (TP)	MBLA1600
82559	670667-xxx	PRO/100 Mobile CardBus (TP)	MBLA3200
82559	687755-xxx	PRO/100 Mobile LAN+Modem56 PC Card (TP)	MBLA1656
82559	748568-xxx	PRO/100 S Server (TP)	PILA8474BUS
82559	748565-xxx	PRO/100 S Server (TP)	PILA8474B
82558	668081-xxx 689661-xxx 722762-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI (TP)	PILA8460
82558	691334-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI Management Adapter	PILA8900
82558	701738-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI Management Adapter (TP)	PILA8461
82558	714303-xxx  711269-xxx	PRO/100+ Dual Port Server adapter	PILA8472
82559	729757-xxx	PRO/100+ Server Adapter (TP)	PILA8470B
82558	710550-xxx	PRO/100+ PCI Server Adapter (TP)	PILA8470


FEC
FEC* /LA/802.3ad: Static

Fast EtherChannel/Link Aggregation teams increase throughput by:

•	Adapter configuration. By adding members to a team, you can increase throughput. Teams can consist of up to eight adapters. Each server can operate with up to four teams.

•	Traffic analysis. The software continuously analyzes transmission loads on each team member and then balances the loads across the adapters as needed. The switch load balances receive traffic.

In addition, FEC teams provide fault tolerance. When an adapter fails in the team, a secondary adapter takes over.

Link Aggregation teams are compatible with the following:

Adapter speed	All adapters must operate at the same speed
Network configuration	• All adapters must run at 100MBs • All adapters must be connected to the same switch • Must be used with a switch capable of handling Link Aggregation: • Cisco FEC capable switches using the PAgP protocol • Intel Express(R) switches capable of Link Aggregation  • Other switches capable of static 802.3ad
Protocols	All

See also:

About Teaming

Team Types


GEC
GEC* /LA/802.3ad: Static

Gigabit EtherChannel/Link Aggregation teams increase throughput by:

•	Adapter configuration. By adding members to a team, you can increase throughput. Teams can consist of up to eight adapters. Each server can operate with up to four teams.

•	Traffic analysis. The software continuously analyzes transmission loads on each team member and then balances the loads across the adapters as needed. The switch load balances receive traffic.

In addition, GEC teams provide fault tolerance. When an adapter fails in the team, a secondary adapter takes over.

Link Aggregation teams are compatible with the following:

Adapter speed	All adapters must operate at the same speed
Network configuration	• All adapters must run at 100MBs • All adapters must be connected to the same switch • Must be used with a switch capable of handling Link Aggregation: • Cisco GEC capable switches using the PAgP protocol • Intel Express(R) switches capable of Link Aggregation  • Other switches capable of static 802.3ad
Protocols	All

See also:

About Teaming

Team Types


Disable Network Adapter Power Management

1. On the Windows desktop, right-click My Computer

2. Click Properties.

3. Click the Device Manager tab.

4. Double-click the Network Adapters icon.

5. Double-click the Intel network adapter.

6. If the Power Management tab is visible, click it and make sure the
Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
checkbox is deselected.

7. Click OK. Now you can run diagnostics.

After running diagnostics you may want to restore the Power Management
feature by selecting the checkbox in step 6, above.