lan config

[lastgreatone]

Does anyone know the equivalent of /etc/rc.config.d/hpbasetconf on an NT server?
I want to know if the NT server is running at 100FD.

[Hal Rottenberg · Accepted solution]

Well other than looking at the back of the card to see if the 100mb light is on, you can go to the NIC properties to make sure that the correct options are enabled.

1) Right-click on Network Neighborhood and go to Properties.
2) Click on the Adapter tab and double-click the adapter you wish to configure.
3) If the NIC driver is configurable (some are not), you will see options such as "Full Duplex", "Autoswitch 10/100", etc. This dialog box will be different according to the network card and the version of the drivers you have loaded.

If you post the type of server you have and the network card it has (if you know), we would be able to assist you better.

If you know the network card type (e.g. HP, 3Com, AMD), go to the vendor's website and download the latest drivers. Often you will find diagnostic tools for that card with the driver package (or available as a separate download) that will tell you precisely what mode the card is in.

-hal

[Mike Rightmire]

Windows NT is designed to be "user friendly", which by default, also means it is not as controllable as UNIX. There is no 'control files' for the NIC as in UNIX, however the above reply about checking the duplex mode and card settings is a good one.

If the card is set to 10/100 mode, the card will go to the highest setting it thinks the network it is attached to can support. Many cards do allow you to choose 10, 100 or 10/100. You can simply set the card to 100 and see if it continues to communicate.

The other option is to use the performance monitor to try and determine what the actual packets are doing. There are settings to watch the actual packets themselves, which indicate what they think they are set at, you can monitor network traffic, packets sent per second, received per second, retransmissions, ETC. Performance monitor is kind of complicated to explain in an email, however there are some great books out there on how to use it for performance testing, as well as some areas on www.microsoft.com.

In lieu of performance monitor, the simplest "common sense" way to check is get a large file (like an MPG), simply start a copy between two machines and time it. The larger the amount of data, the better the statistics will be, and be sure to take processing issues into consideration (one really big file will work better than copying a hard drive, because the computer has to take time to find and disseminate all the files individually.)

Simply put, 10/100 refers to MegaBITS (not bytes.) Take a 100 meg file, times 8 to get the bits (800 megabits roughly) and time the copy. If it takes 80 seconds, you are running at 10 mb. If it takes 8 seconds, you are running at 100. This is BY FAR over simplified, but you get the idea. Remember, you will never get a true 100 mb transfer rate due to collisions, packet corruption/retransmission, ETC.

Try it,
Mike

[Roger Faucher]

Generally speaking, you cannot get Full-Duplex without a switching hub (AKA Switch) and those products usually have indicators to reflect the mode of operation of each port. Is that not your situation?