>> I see there is support in the 2.2.12 kernel source for...
>>
>> 3C515 ISA Fast EtherLink
>>
>> ...but this has me puzzled, so I'm hoping somebody more clued up
>> than I am can answer this...
>>
>> 1. I recently picked up a 486dx2/50 based workstation base, with
>> no expansion slots, and a networking connector on the back
>> panel that is clearly wired directly to the motherboard. It's
>> not a big system - 8M of RAM and a 430M hard drive - but would
>> be more than sufficient for a print server, which is what I
>> want it for.
>>
>> 2. According to the information that came with it (mostly pages
>> photocopied at random from the original manuals, with various
>> comments scribbled thereon), the network is a "USR 515 10base2
>> network interface". The connector on the back panel is a BNC
>> connector, which tends to confirm the 10base2 part.
>>
>> 3. From memory, USR was recently taken over by 3COM, and I believe
>> the 3C515 is a 3COM network adapter.
>>
>> Based on the above, I would tend to assume that the said driver is the
>> correct one, but I would appreciate any comments anybody can provide
>> regarding this, especially any positive identification either way.
>>
>> Before anybody asks, I can't currently check it out as I don't have a
>> keyboard with a PS/2 connector, but I plan on getting one once my
>> paycheck clears, which should be around September 15th.
> Negative. The 3c515 from my understanding never did 10base2.
That was my instincts as well...
> I could be wrong, but what would the point be of having a
> 10base2 connector on a 10/100-BaseT card? I'd find it more
> likely to be a 3c509 than a 3c515, if it's a 3com of any kind,
> which seems somewhat unlikely to me actually.
Note that this is NOT a separate card, but circuitry on the
motherboard itself, and the only visible external connector is
certainly a BNC one.
> USR was bought by 3com, but well after the probable date of that
> machine's creation. Also, IIRC, the 3c515 is something of a
> hack, w/ a 3c905 chip and a PCI-to-ISA bridge on the card or
> something screwy like that. Unlikely it was even around when
> that machine was built.
Precicely my thoughts...
> USR may have put out some net cards of their own, I'm not sure,
> but you may just be better off trying it as a NE2k, and if that
> doesn't work, picking up a el-cheapo network card for it. :)
Unfortunately, it doesn't work as an NE2k - I tried it when I picked
it up, with a 2.0.29 network kitchen sink (a floppy with a kernel with
all of the available network drivers hard compiled in), and none of
the drivers therein managed to autoprobe it successfully.
I'm planning on building a 2.2.X network kitchen sink and trying that
out to see what comes up, but that will be a while yet...
Best wishes from Riley.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is something frustrating about the quality and speed of Linux |
| development, ie., the quality is too high and the speed is too high, |
| in other words, I can implement this XXXX feature, but I bet someone |
| else has already done so and is just about to release their patch. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* ftp://ftp.MemAlpha.cx/pub/rhw/Linux
* http://www.MemAlpha.cx/Linux/
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