Microsoft KB Archive/92406

= Intel EtherExpress 16 Specifications =

Article ID: 92406

Article Last Modified on 2/19/2002

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1

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This article was previously published under Q92406



SUMMARY
The following information describes the Intel EtherExpress 16 Network card specifications. For more information about this Network card, contact Intel Corporation.

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The Intel EtherExpress 16 is a half-slot board. It is short enough to allow an adjacent board to use a piggyback card that is also half length. The board is 4.2 inches tall and 6.5 inches long.

CONNECTORS
The board has two external connectors: DIX:   A 15-pin, D-shaped connector for AUI interfaced to thick Ethernet cables

BNC:   A cylindrical, bayonet connector for interfacing to thin Ethernet or Cheapernet cables

FCC COMPLIANCE
The board is an FCC Class B device, making it suitable for use in both commercial and residential applications.

ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS
The board can operate under the following environmental conditions:   Operating Temperature:  0 to 50 degrees centigrade Operating Humidity:    10 to 90 percent, non-condensing

MEMORY ON BOARD
The board has 32K bytes of RAM on it. While this memory is used to buffer the communications between the board and the network (whether you select memory-mapped or I/O-mapped buffering), Intel recommends using I/O-mapped buffering.

Bus Characteristics
The board works in 8- or 16-bit Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) busses. This is the same bus that is used on IBM PCs (8 bit) and IBM PC/ATs (8-bit or 16-bit). The board also works in EISA computers (because EISA computers are designed to accept both ISA and EISA boards).

Slot Characteristics
Use a 16-bit slot whenever possible because it provides faster transfer of data between the computer and the network. If a 16-bit slot is not available, an 8-bit slot works, but at lower performance.

WORST-CASE POWER CONSUMPTION
Power consumption depends upon the kind of connector being used. The table below shows worst-case power consumption.   Connector                    Worst-Case Consumption in mA   -

BNC                         610 @ +5V 215 @ +12V DIX                         610 @ +5V *variable @ +12V

at +12V. It simply passes it through to power any external transceiver connected to the AUI cable. To provide you with a means of estimating the amount of power likely to be consumed, the following table shows the power consumption for external transceivers made by three different manufacturers:
 * When the DIX connector is used, the board does not consume any power

Manufacturer        Model                   Power Consumed ---

Intel               External                150 mA   Synoptics            508 10BASE-T            420 mA   HP                   ThinMAU 28641A          270 mA

CABLE SPECIFICATIONS
Each connector requires a different kind of cable. Here are the specifications for the cable required for each kind of connector.

Cable for DIX Connectors
DIX connectors use the standard transceiver cable or AUI cable conforming to the 10BASE-5 specification. An example suitable cable is Belden 9898. The maximum distance between the computer and the transceiver on the thick Ethernet cable is 50 meters.

Cable for BNC Connectors
BNC connectors require RG-58 coaxial cable conforming to the 10BASE-2 specification. This is sometimes called thin Ethernet or Cheapernet cable. The layout of the network must conform to the following specifications:


 * Maximum trunk length with repeaters in the network: 300 meters
 * Maximum trunk length without repeaters in the network: 185 meters
 * Minimum distance between nodes: 1 meter

This information was obtained from &quot;The Complete Guide to Installing and Configuring the Intel ExtherExpress 16 and 16TP Network Adapters for ISA Computers.&quot; The installation guide is available from Intel Corporation.

The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words: etherexpress specs nic ether express 3rdparty

Keywords: KB92406

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