Connecting To A Network; Network Cable Requirements; Configuring The Nic; Client Drivers For Novell Netware Environments - Dell OptiPlex GXi Reference And Installation Manual

C
onnecting to a Network
To connect your system to and configure it for use on an
Ethernet network, you must complete the following
steps:
1. Connect the network cable to the back of your
computer.
See the following subsection, "Network Cable
Requirements," for detailed instructions.
2. Verify that the NIC is enabled in the System
Setup program.
See "NIC" in Chapter 2 for instructions.
3. Configure the NIC, and install the network driv-
ers by running the 3Com Install program.
See "Configuring the NIC" found later in this chap-
ter for detailed instructions.
4. Run the Network Interface Test Group in the
diskette-based diagnostics to verify that the NIC
is operating properly.
See the chapter titled "Running the Diskette-Based
Diagnostics" in your Diagnostics and Troubleshoot-
ing Guide for detailed instructions.

Network Cable Requirements

Your computer's NIC connector (an RJ45 connector
located on the back panel; see Figure 4-1) is designed for
attaching an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet
cable. Press one end of the UTP cable into the NIC con-
nector until the cable snaps securely into place.
Connect the other end of the cable to an RJ45 jack wall
plate or to an RJ45 port on a UTP concentrator or hub,
depending on your network configuration. Observe the
following cabling restrictions for 10Base-T and 100Base-
TX networks:
•
For 10-megabit (Mb) operation, use Category 3 or
greater wiring and connectors. For 100-Mb opera-
tion, use Category 5 wiring and connections. Voice
and data lines should be in separate sheaths.
•
The maximum cable run length (from a workstation
to a concentrator) is 328 feet (ft) (100 meters [m]).
•
The maximum number of workstations (not counting
concentrators) on a network is 1024.
•
The maximum number of daisy-chained concentra-
tors on one network segment is four.
C
onfiguring the NIC
To configure the NIC, you must first use the Dell Disk-
Maker to make a NIC driver diskette from the diskette
image installed on your hard-disk drive. The Dell Disk-
Maker is located in the Dell Accessories program group
or folder. For instructions on using Dell DiskMaker, see
the online help provided in the program. After you have
made a NIC driver diskette, see the appropriate sub-
section found later in this chapter for your particular
network environment.
Client Drivers for Novell NetWare
Environments
You can configure your system as a client computer
under Novell NetWare running any of the following oper-
ating systems:
•
Microsoft Windows 95
•
Microsoft Windows NT 3.5x
•
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups
•
Microsoft Windows 3.x
•
MS-DOS
•
IBM OS/2
NOTE: The drivers for Windows NT 4.0 are provided on
the Windows NT CD in the \drvlib\netcard\x86\3c90x
and \i386\drvlib.nic\3c90x directories.

Microsoft Windows 95 Client Driver

Install the Microsoft Windows 95 client driver as
follows:
1. Connect the integrated NIC to its network
according to the instructions in "Connecting to a
Network" found earlier in this chapter.
2. Start Windows 95.
3. If you are prompted to insert a diskette contain-
ing the network drivers, skip to step 11.
Otherwise, continue to step 4.
Using Integrated Devices 4-3