Cogent E/MASTER MCA
@01B2h "E/MASTER III MCA 32-bit Ethernet Adapter" 910009-001-0200
@01B3h "E/MASTER III MCA/TP 32-bit Ethernet Adapter" 911009-001-0002
@01B5h "E/MASTER III MCA 32-bit Ethernet Adapter" 910009-001-0203
@01B6h "E/MASTER III MCA/TP 32-bit Ethernet Adapter" 911009-001-0004
"MCA 32-bit Ethernet Adapters" have BNC / AUI [Thin / Thick]
"MCA/TP 32-bit Ethernet Adapters" have UTP / AUI [UTP / AUI]
NOTE: DB15 AUI is the "DIX". So AUI, BNC, DIX, TP, UTP, RJ45... clear?
em3mca.exe EM3MCA Distribution Diskette
MSLAN DOS / OS2
NDIS DOS / OS2
NW286, 386, NWJUMPERS, NWSHELL
ODI DOS
Windows for Workgroups ver 3.1x ?
3mcnds.exe EM3MCA NDIS driver DOS / OS2
3mcodi.exe EM3MCA DOS ODI driver Supports promiscuous mode
82596DX Datasheet
82596CA Datasheet [Pin and Software Compatible to DX]
The 82596DX is capable of "Master Mode", another term for Busmaster.
E/MASTER III MCA/TP [01B3]
Emergence of the E/Master [Baron Von Münchhausen fable!]
Not a whole lot on the E/Master story. In the mists of the AT / PC era, the Busmaster function WAS available, but invoking it was NOT reliable.
Intel was looking to provide the desired DMA functionality, so they designed the 82586, followed by the 82596. For us old-timers, we remember using a LAN adapter -OR- a Hard Drive controller, but NOT both. So the 82596 offered a significant ability.
E/Master II ISA LAN Select Header
This suggests that the E/Master II could support four individual E/Master IIs in an ISA system.
E/Master III MCA Appearance
One would consider the '596 as being unneeded in an MCA system. Perhaps the early paucity of Busmastering chips for MCA had a role, or -MAYBE- the 24-bit DMA of the 8570 / 8580 [and others] provided an opportunity for the '596 to soldier on. In a system with >16MB that had a 24-bit DMA controller, you still needed to put a buffer under 16MB to then shuffle that data to a place above 16MB.
My SWAG, with the prevalence of 32-bit DMA controllers in later PS/2s, the need for the '596 vanished. YMMV.
E/Master III Versions [Early and Late ?]
Opening the EM3MCA Distribution Diskette, you are confronted with FOUR E/Master III MCA adapter ADFs. One SWAG is that Cogent used the same PCB on the 01B2 / 01B3 and a different PCB for 01B5 / 01B6. -OR-... maybe there was a change to the PAL and no change to the PCBs...
01B5h - PAL # 910-503 or higher
01B6h - PAL # 911-506 or higher
The E/Master III [01B3] has U30 [PAL # 911-505] to the lower right of the 82596.
ADF Sections for @01Bx "Cogent E/MASTER III 32-bit Ethernet Adapter"
NumBytes 2
Enable/Disable Adapter
Disable if not using the adapter and enabling it conflicts with another device.
<"Adapter Enabled">, Adapter Disabled
Interrupt Request Level
Interrupt request level used
<"IRQ 10">, 11, 12, 14, 15, 3, 5, 9
Adapter I/O Range
I/O address range used
<"1800-18FF">, 5000-50FF, 5800-58FF, 9000-90FF, 9800-98FF, D000-D0FF, D800-D8FF
Adapter I/O Range U30 PAL # 911-506 [01B5] or PAL #910-503 [01B6]
I/O address range used
<"0400-04FF, 0800-08FF, 0C00-0CFF, 1000-10FF, 1400-14FF, 1800-18FF, 1C00-1CFF
Master Mode Arbitration Level
Arbitration level used during master mode data transfers
<"Level 8">, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15"
Fairness On/Off
Whether the E/Master uses the fairness rules defined for MCA.
<"On">, Off
Media Select
Ethernet (thick) or twisted pair (UTP). [AUI / TP versions]
<"UTP">, Thick
Ethernet (thick) or Cheapernet (thin) connector [AUI / BNC versions]
<"Thin">, Thick
Link Integrity TP versions ONLY
If the E/Master's twisted pair interface uses link integrity.
<"Enable">, Disable