Michael Piepers homepage
BeOS Programs

3C509 - an Ethernet card driver for the BeOS

+
When I first installed BeOS on an Intel-based computer I saw that there was no driver for this card, so I wrote one. It was very easy because I bound together the wrapper from Be and the 3C509 source code from Linux. The network add-on is the Etherlink II add-on, which works perfectly with my driver.

I was able to quickly release a driver for this card. However, I haven't found the time for writing a network add-on, so the installation is a little bit tricky, but when you follow the instructions below, it will work.

I've written an install script, install.sh, which makes installation even easier. Try using the install.sh script first!

BeOS Version Download Version
BeOS R5

It looks like, that the Open Source from Linux isn't really open, as everyone told me. To prevent me from problems, I have to stop developing this driver with the 3c509.c-File. So I have to remove the link to the file "3c509.r5.zip" from my page!
BeOS R5 0.5 beta
BeOS R5 0.5 beta

The program is divided into two parts:

1. The kernel driver

The driver is used to communicate with the ethernet card. To install the driver in BeOS R5, follow these steps:
  1. Copy the file 3C509 into the folder /boot/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/bin.
  2. Make a link to the file: /boot/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/dev/net/3c509
After this the BeOS starts the driver automatically. To see if the driver started correctly, check that the file /dev/net/3c509 appears. If so, it is installed correctly.

2. The network add-on

The network add-on is used to configure the driver.

At the moment there is no network add-on and you have to use the 3com 503 add-on for configuring the driver.

For configuring the driver follow these steps:

  1. Start Preferences -> Network.
  2. Select the 3COM Etherlink II/16 (ISA) add-on.
  3. Enter all required TCPIP information, then save the network.
  4. Edit the file /boot/home/config/settings/network and change the values for DEVICEPORT, DEVICEIRQ, DEVICELINK, and DEVICEMEM to the correct values. In the archive there is a "network" file included which works for me; you can see which values should be there. If necessary, turn off the Plug and Play feature of your 3C509.
  5. Restart the networking and then save the network configuration.
    Michael Piepers homepage
    BeOS Programs

    Many thanks to David Corn for correcting my English
    last change: Oct 3 1999 by Michael Pieper