This guide describes the two versions of the Gigabit Ethernet board, shows you how to connect the boards to an Ethernet network, and explains how to operate the boards.
You can use the Gigabit Ethernet board to replace the built-in Ethernet network adapter in your system, or use it in addition to your current adapter. The fiber-optic Gigabit Ethernet board operates under IRIX 6.4 or later. The copper Gigabit Ethernet board operates under IRIX 6.5.7 or later.
This guide is written for users of the Gigabit Ethernet board. It is assumed that you have general knowledge of Ethernet networks and the system in which the board is installed.
 | Warning: Never look into the end of a fiber optic cable to confirm that light is being emitted (or for any other reason). Most fiber optic laser wavelengths (1300 nmand 1550nm) are invisible to the eye and cause permanent eye damage. Shorter wavelength lasers (for example, 780 nm) are visible and can cause significant eye damage. Use only an optical power meter to verify light output. |
| Warning: Never look into the end of a fiber optic cable on a powered device with any type of magnifying device, such as a microscope, eye loupe, or magnifying glass. Such activity causes cause a permanent burn on the retina of the eye. Optical signal cannot be determined by looking into the fiber end. |
This guide contains the following chapters:
Chapter 1, “Gigabit Ethernet Board Features and Capabilities”, summarizes board features, lists the protocols and interfaces with which the board is compatible, and gives board configuration limits for various systems.
Chapter 2, “Connecting the Gigabit Ethernet Board to a Network”, shows you how to connect the Gigabit Ethernet board to your network.
Chapter 3, “Gigabit Ethernet Board Operation”, explains how to verify installation of the board and software, how to reset the board, how to set parameters to improve performance, and how to set configuration parameters.
Appendix A, “Specifications”, summarizes the physical and performance characteristics, environmental information, and operating ranges of the board.
A glossary and an index complete this guide.
This guide is part of a document set that fully supports the installation, operation, and service of the Gigabit Ethernet board. For more information about installing and servicing the Gigabit Ethernet board, see the user's guide for the system in which the board is installed.
You can obtain SGI documentation, release notes, or man pages in the following ways:
See the SGI Technical Publications Library at http://docs.sgi.com . Various formats are available. This library contains the most recent and most comprehensive set of online books, release notes, man pages, and other information.
If it is installed on your SGI system, you can use InfoSearch, an online tool that provides a more limited set of online books, release notes, and man pages. With an IRIX system, select Help from the Toolchest, and then select InfoSearch. Or you can type infosearch on a command line.
You can also view release notes by typing either grelnotes or relnotes on a command line.
You can also view man pages by typing man <title> on a command line.
SGI systems include a set of IRIX man pages, formatted in the standard UNIX “man page” style. These are found online on the internal system disk (or CD-ROM) and are displayed using the man command. For example, to display the man page for the Add_disk command, type the following on a command line:
man Add_disk |
Important system configuration files and commands are documented on man pages. References in the documentation to these pages include the name of the command and the section number in which the command is found. For example, “Add_disk(1)” refers to the Add_disk command and indicates that it is found in section 1 of the IRIX reference.
For additional information about displaying reference pages using the man command, see man(1).
In addition, the apropos command locates man pages based on keywords. For example, to display a list of man pages that describe disks, type the following on a command line:
apropos disk |
For information about setting up and using apropos, see apropos(1) and makewhatis(1M).
The following conventions are used throughout this document:
Convention | Meaning |
Command | This fixed-space font denotes literal items such as commands, files, routines, path names, signals, messages, and programming language structures. |
variable | The italic typeface denotes variable entries and words or concepts being defined. Italic typeface also is used for book titles. |
user input | This fixed-space font denotes literal items that the user enters in interactive sessions. Output is shown in nonbold, fixed-space font. |
[ ] | Brackets enclose optional portions of a command or directive line. |
... | Ellipses indicate that a preceding element can be repeated. |
man page(x) | Man page section identifiers appear in parentheses after man page names. |
GUI element | This font denotes the names of graphical user interface (GUI) elements such as windows, screens, dialog boxes, menus, toolbars, icons, buttons, boxes, fields, and lists. |
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If you are in North America, contact the Technical Assistance Center at
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