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  Intel Card May Lure You From Your Desktop | ||||
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By Gregory Yerxa Maintaining the network connection while providing required mobility--it's a potent goal that continues to drive advances in PC Card technology. In fact, ever-increasing mobile CPU speeds and continually decreasing prices have made laptop computers and their peripherals a suitable desktop alternative. At the forefront of these new high-speed peripherals is Intel Corp.'s PRO/100 LAN+ Modem56 CardBus Adapter. I tested a beta version of the card in Network Computing's University of Wisconsin Real-World Lab® and I was sorely tempted to ditch my desktop in favor of a new laptop! By making all the leading technologies--including Fast Ethernet, K56Flex and V.90--available in one card, Intel lets you connect to the network from any office and over any phone line. Because the card provides connectivity for virtually any office network environment, you can connect to both Ethernet and Fast Ethernet links. I had no problem using either topology when I connected to the network during testing. With this 32-bit product, you can expect full 100-Mbps throughput. Traditional 16-bit PC Cards are limited to approximately 25 Mbps and are incapable of delivering the complete 100 Mbps associated with today's high-speed enterprise networks. Taking the Fast Lane The adapter modem component is K56Flex-compatible as well as flash-upgradable to V.90, providing interoperability with all current 56-Kbps technologies. I downloaded the new flash image and flash utility from the Intel support Web site; the upgrade is free, and the modem was V.90-compatible within seconds. Using my newly configured modem, I connected to our corporate dial-in pool at a speedy 56 Kbps. The PRO/100 LAN+ Modem56 CardBus Adapter can also send faxes at up to 14.4 Kbps. Both the modem and NIC use dongle-type connectors that work with standard RJ-11 and RJ-45 cables. Taking You Where You Need to Go The card's drivers include two utilities designed to assist mobile users on the road, including international travel. The Intel Country Identifier provides an easy method for changing modem information based on the nation from which you are calling. The list of international certifications is lengthy, and you can view it at support.intel.com/support/etherexpress/pro100mobile/24246.htm. To assist in the card's initial configuration and serve as a troubleshooting utility, the Intel Modem Test locates the modem and relays configuration information, including revision number. I took advantage of this utility in the lab to verify installation and functionality, as well as to access the modem's terminal. Once the utility located the modem, I simply clicked on the terminal button and received direct access to the modem's terminal interface. After properly installing and configuring the CardBus support for my Toshiba Satellite Pro 470CDT, I had no problems using the V.90 modem and the 10/100-Mbps NIC. The OS drivers support Windows95, Windows98 and NT. Intel doesn't offer driver support for versions of Windows95 predating Windows95 OSR2 (build 950 B). When I installed the card under Windows98, I only encountered one problem that was similar to the Windows95 installation. To accurately allocate system resources, I had to delete the infrared serial adapter prior to installing the Intel adapter. Under Windows95, I manually installed the adapter's driver. This approach deviated from the adapter's apparent plug-and-play compatibility; I was only able to use the driver in the slot in which I had installed it. Moving the adapter to another slot prompted the operating system to reinstall the drivers. I also used Intel's MS32mesr2.exe configuration program--located on the driver's CD-ROM--to reserve system resources that Windows95 would otherwise be unable to detect. A complete list of hardware configuration issues is available on the company's Web site. Send your comments on this article to Gregory Yerxa at gyerxa@nwc.com.
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