pcmcia(7) Miscellaneous Information Manual pcmcia(7)
NAME
pcmcia - Guidelines for adding PCMCIA cards
DESCRIPTION
This reference page provides detailed instructions on adding PCMCIA card support to certain processors.
Supported Configurations
PCMCIA (PC Card) support is limited to the following capabilities: Support of selected ISA to PCMCIA bridge adapters Support on the follow-
ing 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
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
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
If you are installing the PCMCIA adapter on a computer with an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, use the EISA Configura-
tion Utility (ECU) to configure it. Invoke the EISA Configuration Utility (ECU), and specify that the PCMCIA adapter is present. Next, pro-
vide 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
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
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
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 cor-
rectly. 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
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.
RESTRICTIONS
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 front-
access 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.
FILES
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.
RELATED INFORMATION
Commands: MAKEDEV(8)
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pcmcia(7)