Michael Kapsak wrote:

>      I've been mulling over the NS manuals to replace an existing 10MB LAN
> card with a 100MB card on our HP3000 running 5.5 PP4. I have my hands on
> the subsys tape which I'll need to do an update along with the recommended
> HP patches. I'm OK with that part. My dilemma is how to configure the card
> in NMMGR while removing the 10MB card.

Sorry to be so long in responding, but I was up to my ears in alligators
last week.

We finally -- after *four* tries -- got the software installed. We are
also on 5.5 PP4. I won't bore you with all the details, but I will tell
you that the solution in our case was to install patch VGFFD21 *prior*
to updating the system with the 100BT subsys tape. Then we had to load
the other patches afterward. Yes, I know this means an extra
update/reboot. But according to HP's network group, without VGFFD21 the
100BT subsys product doesn't get installed correctly... to quote, "The
100BT is software is based largely on the 100VG software," so if you
don't have this patch, good luck getting it to work. This was the cause
of our problems. (Apparently you can save yourself a lot of hassles
installing the 100BT software if you've installed PP6 first. It includes
the aforementioned patch.)

To answer your question about configuration, I would recommend:
  a) Make an *additional* backup copy of your NMCONFIG file in case
something goes wrong and you have to back out. Put it somewhere other
than PUB.SYS. Saved my hide more than once.
  b) Print out your current NS configuration. You can do this by setting
a file equation for FORMLIST to go to your favorite printer, then going
into NMMGR and going to UTILITY and OUTPUT and selecting PRINT DATA for
NETXPORT (option 3). Use this as your roadmap when doing the 100BT
configuration, so you can be sure to configure everything the same way.
(This was a big help to us, since we have not a few remote clients and
several different gateways.)
  c) Print out your new configuration after it has been saved and
validated. Compare it to the old printout to make sure all your
gateways, IP address, etc. are the same.

A caveat: HP told me *not* to configure the 100BT link in NMMGR until
the hardware (network card) and software were *both* installed. If you
configure it and restart your network prior to that, you'll probably get
a system abort (even if you don't start that portion of the network!).

> As a side question: I believe the card can run at either 10 or 100mb. Is
> this true?  I would appreciate any help

Yes, this is true. Also, there was a rumor floating around somewhere
(I'm not sure if it was on this list or I got it directly from someone
off-list - sorry) that the 100BT doesn't support full-duplex, but it
does. Just make sure your hub or switch you're plugged into is set the
same way. You can also configure it to use auto-negotiation to determine
whether it's on a 10Mb or 100Mb link at half- or full-duplex.

Lastly, if you're using DTC's on your HP3000, you'll need to keep your
10BT card, since DTS network services are not supported over 100BT.

Maybe someday I'll write up my experience with this installation, Jim
Trudeau-style. It'd be a hoot. :-)

Patrick
--
Patrick Santucci
Technical Services Analyst
KVI, a division of Seabury & Smith, Inc.
Visit our site! http://www.kvi-ins.com
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