Features; Pci Technology - 3Com EtherLink 3C590 User Manual

Features

The 3C590 PCI adapter supports the following features:
AutoLink auto installation software, which installs and
configures all Novell NetWare DOS ODI client software into
your operating system
Auto Select Media Type capability, which enables drivers to
automatically detect the type of media connector that
connects the adapter to the network
Network management support through Transcend PC Link
SmartAgent software
The Desktop Management Interface (DMI), which increases
the manageability of PCs by standardizing how information
relating to PCs is made available and how it is accessed
LED notification of link integrity and polarity reversal

PCI Technology

The PCI local bus is a high-performance bus that provides a
processor-independent data path between the CPU in a PC
and high-speed peripherals. This interconnect mechanism is
designed specifically to accommodate multiple high-
performance peripheral devices that support networking and
disk subsystems, graphics, full-motion video, and multimedia.
The PCI specification defines two types of PCI devices: a target
and a master. A target is a device that accepts commands and
responds to the requests of a master. The master, or bus
master, is a more intelligent device that can conduct
processing independently of the bus or other devices. A bus
master device shares the bus with the main processor and
targets. Bus mastering allows a peripheral device to take
control of the system bus and not rely on the central
processor. The 3C590 PCI adapter is a bus master device.
Features 1-3