Re: rtl8319

["C.M. Connelly" <c@eskimo.com>]

"PT" == Paul Talacko <talacko@yarn.demon.co.uk> writes:

   PT> OK I give up on the rtl8139.  I can probably get it working
   PT> if I learn how to write device drivers and I haven't got
   PT> the time at the moment :-).  And as you say, for the price
   PT> these things are, it is just not worth the hassle.

The `standard' rtl8139 driver in the Linux kernel seems to be x86
specific, but Jeff Garzik has forked a new rtl8139 driver,
8139too, which may be more portable (because it uses MMIO rather
than PIO).  This new driver was originally written for the 2.4
series kernels, but has been backported to 2.2 recently and is
scheduled for inclusion in Linux 2.2.18.

Unfortunately, Alan Cox's current 2.2.18 pre-release (2.2.18pre15)
reportedly doesn't build on PowerPC right now, but when it does,
the new driver may be better than the old driver (although Donald
Becker, the author of the original rtl8139 driver, isn't very
impressed with this fork -- see
<http://www.scyld.com/network/rtl8139.html>).  (Note that the
PowerPC kernel in CVS may be more up-to-date for PowerPC-specific
code than the current mainstream prerelease -- check the list for
pointers on finding it.)

If you're not in a huge rush, wait a bit and see if the newer
kernel and driver work for you.


   PT> Anyway, before I go and spend money on these things, does
   PT> anyone have any experience with either a:

   PT> D-LINK DFE-530TX (apparently it should work with de4x5)

We have one of these (the ``+'' model, which supposedly does
10/100), and it works great with the rtl8139 driver on our PC
(acting as a gateway).  They're also dirt cheap (~CN$25, with
tax).  But we've never tried it on one of our PowerPC machines.

   CMC

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
 Behind the counter a boy with a shaven head stared vacantly into space, 
 a dozen spikes of microsoft protruding from the socket behind his ear.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
   C.M. Connelly               c@eskimo.com                   SHC, DS
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+