a:\readme.txt                           23-AUG-1996

                            Version 2.6
                      DOS-format Driver Diskette 
                               for     
                   Digital Fast EtherWORKS PCI 10/100 
                        (DE500-XA and DE500-AA)

    
    Copyright (c) Digital Equipment Corporation, 1995.
    All Rights Reserved.  Unpublished rights reserved
    under the copyright laws of the United States.

    RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND   Use, duplication, or 
    disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to
    restrictions as set forth in Subparagraph (c)(1)(ii)
    of DFARS 252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, as
    applicable.


Thank you for purchasing a Digital Fast EtherWORKS PCI 10/100 
Network Interface Card (DE500).  

Digital's Network Product Business is committed to providing you 
with updated device drivers to insure that these cards will install 
easily, perform exceptionally well, and operate in all the latest 
network operating systems (NOS).

Contents:
        1. GENERAL README INFORMATION 
        2. GENERAL DE500 INFORMATION 
        3. DRIVER DISKETTE ORGANIZATION 
        4. HOW TO GET THE LATEST SOFTWARE RELEASES 

The SCO drivers and NDIS3 Windows for Workgroups 3.11 enhanced mode 
drivers on this diskette will install and operate for the DE425, 
DE434, DE435, DE450, and DE500 adapters.  See the README.TXT files 
in the WFW and SCO directories for more information.  Other drivers 
on this diskette function only on the DE500 adapter.

******************************
* GENERAL README INFORMATION *
******************************

This README.TXT file describes the contents of this Driver Diskette.
The RELEASE.NOT file, also included in the root directory of this 
diskette, contains detailed technical information regarding known 
anomalies.

Some of the README.TXT files are long.  You can print a copy of the
appropriate README.TXT before beginning any of the installations.  
To view the README.TXT file, you can use a text editor installed on 
your system, or use the following procedure:

At the MS-DOS prompt, enter the following,

           MORE <README.TXT

The text output pauses at the end of each full screen.  The text 
output resumes when you press ENTER. To stop viewing the README.TXT 
file, press CTRL-C.


*****************************
* GENERAL DE500 INFORMATION *
*****************************

DE500-XA adapters use the Digital DC21140 Ethernet controller chip.  
DE500-AA adapters use the Digital DC21140A Ethernet controller chip.  
Throughout this diskette, DC21x4 is used as a synonym for the DE500.

DE500 adapters support full duplex Ethernet communication when 
connected to a full duplex-compatible device.  Ensure that the 
connected device supports full duplex mode before enabling this 
feature, or serious network problems can result.

DE500 adapters have a single twisted-pair connector which operates 
in either 10 Mbit or 100 Mbit mode.  

For the DE500-XA, the DE500 drivers implement an autosensing 
algorithm which detects at initialization whether the card is 
attached to a 10Mbps or 100Mbps repeater, and sets the data rate of 
the DE500 adapter appropriately. In addition, some of the drivers 
implement features to detect point-to-point data rates, or 
dynamically detect changes in data rate.  See individual driver 
readme's for specific implementation information.  

For the DE500-AA, the drivers implement industry standard auto-
negotiation.  If the adapter is in an environment where it cannot 
auto-negotiate, the auto-sensing algorithm described for the 
DE500-XA is used.

The DE500-AA adapter is a replacement product for the DE500-XA
adapter.  In cases where system vendors have not yet scheduled
qualification of the DE500-AA adapter in their systems, they may
recommend that you use a DE500-XA.  At some point in the future,
the DE500-XA will no longer be manufactured by Digital, but will
continue to be supported in DE500 drivers. In addition to including
the functionality of a DE500-XA, the DE500-AA adapter has the 
following functional enhancements:

        * industry standard auto-negotiation for 10 or 100 Mbps
        * support for optional flash boot rom
          (boot rom not available at the time this file is written)


********************************
* DRIVER DISKETTE ORGANIZATION *
********************************

The root directory of the Driver Diskette contains the following 
files:

README.TXT   - This file
RELEASE.NOT  - Driver release notes
INSTALL.BAT  - Used to run the installation utility
SETUP.BAT    - Used to run the installation utility
OEMSETUP.INF - Used by Windows for Workgroups to install the DOS 
               NDIS2, NDIS3, or ODI driver
DE500.INF    - Used by Windows 95 to install the NDIS3 driver
OEMSETNT.INF - Used by Windows NT to install the Windows NT drivers
DISK1        - Used by Windows NT to install the Windows NT drivers

The root directory of the Driver Diskette contains several sub-
directories.  The subdirectories and their contents are summarized 
below. Each subdirectory contains a README.TXT file that provides 
detailed operating and installation instructions for its associated 
drivers.

\INSTALL
   Contains the system installation utility and diagnostics for
   the controller.  Run the diagnostics to verify the proper 
   installation of the controller, or if you suspect that there is 
   a controller hardware failure.

\MSLANMAN.DOS
   Contains the DOS NDIS2 driver for the controller for Microsoft
   Lanman installation.

   This directory structure is required for automatic installation
   by Microsoft Lan Manager.  The driver contained in this 
   subdirectory tree is identical to the driver in the \NDIS2
   subdirectory tree.

\NDIS2
   Contains the DOS and OS/2 NDIS2 drivers for the controller.

\NOVELL
   Contains the drivers for Novell NetWare client and server 
   operations and for using your controller under NetWare SFT III.

\PATHWRKS
   Contains the native Pathworks DLL driver for the controller.

\SCO
   Contains the SCO LLI and MDI drivers for the controller.

\WFW
   Contains the WFW NDIS3 driver for the controller.

\WIN95
   Contains the Windows 95 driver for the controller.

\WINNT
   Contains the Microsoft Windows NT drivers for the controller.


*******************************************
* HOW TO GET THE LATEST SOFTWARE RELEASES *
*******************************************

  The latest software releases are available via anonymous FTP over 
  the Internet.  Connect to ftp.digital.com and set your default 
  directory to /pub/DEC/adapters/ethernet.

  The software releases are also available on the World Wide Web,
  at www.networks.digital.com/dr/nics/drivers.

  Our easy-to-use, menu-driven Networks Bulletin Board Service 
  gives you on-line access to the latest product information, 
  device drivers, and utilities!  Simply dial (508)486-5777, 
  24 hours a day!  

  Check the DECPCI Forum on CompuServe for the latest versions of 
  drivers.

  For the latest in supported platforms and product information
  regarding your Digital EtherWORKS product, call your local 
  authorized Digital reseller, or dial 1-800-DIGITAL in the U.S.

*******************************************************************

                        ***TRADEMARKS***

  CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Incorporated.
  
  EtherWORKS, DEC, Digital, and DECpc are trademarks of Digital 
  Equipment Corporation. 

  Microsoft, MS, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows,
  Windows NT and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

  Novell, NetWare, and LAN WorkPlace are registered trademarks and 
  NetWare Loadable Module, NLM, and NetWare SFT are trademarks 
  of Novell, Incorporated.
  
  OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
  Corporation.

  SCO is a registered trademark of Santa Cruz Operations, 
  Incorporated.
