pcmcia - Guidelines for adding PCMCIA cards
This reference page provides detailed instructions on
adding PCMCIA card support to certain processors.
Supported Configurations [Toc] [Back]
PCMCIA (PC Card) support is limited to the following capabilities:
Support of selected ISA to PCMCIA bridge
adapters Support on the following platforms: AlphaStation
255 AlphaStation 200 AlphaStation 400 AlphaStation 600
AlphaServer 1000 One modem card, specifically Megahertz
XJ2288 (28.8kpbs) Hot swap capability of PC Cards.
Configuring a PCMCIA Adapter Board from the Console [Toc] [Back]
Before inserting the PCMCIA adapter board into your system,
make sure to read the manual that came with the
adapter from the adapter vendor and follow the instructions
on how to connect the cables and install the board.
Check your system documentation to find out what kind of
bus is available in your system and use the appropriate
ISA or EISA instructions.
Configuring a PCMCIA on an ISA Bus System [Toc] [Back]
If your system has an ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)
bus, use the following procedure to configure a card: If
the system is an ISA bus system, the isacfg utility from
the console must be used to configure the PCMCIA adapter.
Insert the PCMCIA adapter board in an ISA slot in the system
and turn on the system. To add a PCMCIA option to the
platforms with an ISA bus, issue the following ISA option
card configuration command at the console. The following
example uses an AlphaStation 200 platform, but the commands
should be the same in all three ISA bus platforms.
>>> isacfg -slot 1 -etyp 1 -dev 0 -mk -iobase0 3e0
/ -irq0 14 -enadev 1 -handle PCIC-PCMCIA
If the system is already using slot 1, select an
unused slot number. The IRQ (interrupt) number
must not conflict with interrupt numbers assigned
to other default devices on the system. The system
hardware manual usually indicates which IRQ numbers
are already assigned. The recommended IRQ number
for the PCMCIA adapter is 14 (decimal). If IRQ 14
is already used, the next best choice is IRQ 10 (if
10 is not already used by other devices). When you
issue the above isacfg command, the console should
print out the following line or something similar:
type >>>init to use these changes
After reinitializing the console, you can verify
that you configured the PCMCIA adapter correctly by
issuing the following command:
>>>isacfg -slot 1 You should see the following
screen display:
=============================================================
handle: PCIC-PCMCIA etyp: 1 slot: 1 dev: 0 enadev:
1 totdev: 1 iobase0: 3e0 membase0:
8000000000000000 iobase1: 8000000000000000
memlen0: 8000000000000000 iobase2: 8000000000000000
membase1: 8000000000000000 iobase3:
8000000000000000 memlen1: 8000000000000000
iobase4: 8000000000000000 membase2:
8000000000000000 iobase5: 8000000000000000
memlen2: 8000000000000000 rombase: 8000000000000000
romlen: 8000000000000000 dmamode0/chan0: 80000000
irq0: 14 dmamode1/chan1: 80000000 irq1: 80000000
dmamode2/chan2: 80000000 irq2: 80000000
dmamode3/chan3: 80000000 irq3: 80000000
=============================================================
>>>
Configuring a PCMCIA on an EISA Bus System [Toc] [Back]
If you are installing the PCMCIA adapter on a computer
with an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture)
bus, use the EISA Configuration Utility (ECU) to configure
it. Invoke the EISA Configuration Utility (ECU), and specify
that the PCMCIA adapter is present. Next, provide a
pointer to the aisa3000.cfg configuration file.
Refer to your system hardware documentation for complete
instructions on how to run the ECU program.
Setting up a PCMCIA Modem PC Card for Use [Toc] [Back]
A PCMCIA Card is a dynamic device, not a static device
that is present all the time in the system hardware). The
serial-line device driver is a static device driver.
Therefore, there will not be a corresponding acex entry
created automatically when the first custom kernel is configured.
This is because the system has no knowledge of
the PCMCIA device at this time.
To automatically create the acex entry for your PCMCIA
fax/modem card: Ensure that you have the PCMCIA adapter
configured in the console. Insert the PCMCIA fax/modem
card into the slot. For example, if you insert a
fax/modem card in the slot 0 before automatically building
the initial target kernel, the resulting kernel configuration
file will contain the following line item:
controller ace2 at pcmcia0 slot 0 vector aceintr
The installation will also create the device special file
for this fax/modem card in the directory named /dev.
Using the ls command, you can display the file as follows:
# ls -gl /dev/tty02 crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35,
2 Oct 16 13:22 tty02
If you did not have the PCMCIA fax/modem card inserted in
the slot during System installation, add the following
line to your system kernel configuration file
(/sys/conf/HOSTNAME where HOSTNAME is the name of your
system):
controller ace2 at * slot ? vector
aceintr
If you plan to use two modem cards simultaneously, add the
following lines to your system configuration file:
controller ace2 at * slot ? vector
aceintr controller ace3 at * slot ?
vector aceintr
After modifying the system configuration file, use the
following command to rebuild the new kernel and reboot the
system:
# doconfig -c
Creating a Device Special File for the Modem Card [Toc] [Back]
Normally the system installation creates the following
default tty0x device special files in the directory /dev:
crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35, 0 Oct 16 13:22
tty00 crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35, 1 Oct 16
13:22 tty01
Two lines are present because most systems have two embedded
serial lines. A system with a single embedded serial
line creates only one tty00 entry in the /dev directory.
To create additional device special files for the PCMCIA
modem cards, use the MAKEDEV utility in the /dev directory.
For example:
# ./MAKEDEV ace2 MAKEDEV: special file(s) for ace2: tty02
The generated special file should look as follows:
crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35, 2 Oct 27 14:02
tty02
If you intend to have two PCMCIA modem cards working
simultaneously, create device special files for each card.
For example:
# ./MAKEDEV ace2 ace3 MAKEDEV: special file(s) for ace2:
tty02 MAKEDEV: special file(s) for ace3: tty03
The generated special files should look as follows:
crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35, 2 Oct 27 14:02
tty02 crw-rw-rw- 1 root system 35, 3 Oct 27
14:02 tty03
Updating the /etc/remote File
You must edit the /etc/remote file to add new access line
definitions for the PCMCIA modem cards. If you have a
28.8kpb modem card and will be using the full speed, set
the baud rate (br) to 38400 in the /etc/remote file as
follows:
line2:dv=/dev/tty02:br#38400:pa=none
Note that line2 can be any name you determine to be used
with the tip command to establish a connection.
Once you insert a PCMCIA modem card and the system configures
the card, the card can be used as for any other modem
devices.
Inserting a PCMCIA Modem Card [Toc] [Back]
To use a PCMCIA modem card, insert the card to one of the
PC Card slots in the PCMCIA adapter. Depending on the
adapter type, there may be two front access card slots or
one front access and one rear access card slot. When you
insert the card into the slot 0, you should see the following
message on the console terminal (or the Console Log
window if using X11):
# PCMCIA socket 0: card manufacturer: MEGAHERTZ product
name: XJ2288 Configured: serial unit 2, type=16550A ace2
at pcmcia0
This example used the MEGAHERTZ XJ2288 fax/modem card.
When you insert a modem card, an error message such as the
following may appear on the Console Log window:
socket 0: card manufacturer: MEGAHERTZ, unknown modem card
inserted
Using generic modem driver for this PC Card.
PCMCIA socket 0: card manufacturer: MEGAHERTZ
product name: XJ1144
socket 0: Couldn't find usable config. for this card.
Please eject this PC Card.
This error occurs if the card requires I/O resources that
are already in use by other components in the system. If
you see this error message, eject the card because it is
not configured correctly. A possible solution is to remove
some other ISA/EISA devices in the system and reboot the
system, freeing I/O resources that may be required.
Removing a PCMCIA Modem Card [Toc] [Back]
Once you are finished using the modem card, push the button
next to the card slot to eject it. You should see the
following message on the console terminal or console Log
window:
# stray interrupt on unit=2, intr_id=0 PCMCIA socket 0: PC
Card removed
This message is not always displayed when you eject the
card. It only happens if the serial line driver generates
an interrupt when the card ejected.
The following restrictions apply in this release: No support
is provided for loadable device drivers for PC Cards.
If the system does not have any available IRQ (interrupt)
numbers to assign to the PCMCIA devices, you cannot configure
PCMCIA devices. To support one PCMCIA adapter the
system must have at least three unused IRQ numbers available.
One IRQ is for the adapter and the other two are for
each PCMCIA socket. Tru64 UNIX can support two PCMCIA
adapters in a system provided that the necessary resources
are available. In some systems, availability of interrupt
lines will prohibit the use of multiple adapters. If you
have sufficient resources and are going to support two
adapters, configure the second adapter should to use the
I/O address 3E2. To use fax functions in a fax/modem PC
card, a commercial UNIX fax application software program
is required. The Megahertz XJ2288 is the only modem card
fully qualified on Tru64 UNIX. However, other modem cards
of similar type (both 14.4kpbs and 28.8kpbs) may work. The
following is the list of modem cards that are known to
work: Model XJ2288, from MEGAHERTZ Model XJ1144, from
MEGAHERTZ KeepInTouch Cardcard from ATT Paradyne PCMCIA
V.32bis 14,400 Fax The selected ISA to PCMCIA bridge
adapters are from SCM Microsystems. The SWAPBOX CLASSIC
X2 Model MMCD-D2, which has the following features: 3.5
inch front access Two slots (type II + type III) PC card
socket Standard PC-AT 16-bit ISA bus interface PCMCIA
Revision 2.X and ExCA compliant The SWAPBOX PREMIUM COMBO
Model MMCD-FC2 has the following features: 3.5 inch, 1.44
Mbyte Floppy Drive Support. One Type I, II, or III frontaccess
PC card socket One Type I, II, or III rear-access
PC card socket Standard PC-AT 16-bit ISA bus interface
PCMCIA Revision 2.X and ExCA compliant
Other ISA to PCMCIA bridge adapters using the Intel
i82365SL or a compatible device may also work.
The kernel configuration file, in which the adapter is
defined. The device special file for the PCMCIA card.
The line definitions file for the modem device.
Commands: MAKEDEV(8)
pcmcia(7)
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