I acquired my first network card when I started to attend LAN parties in the mid-90s[1]. By then the OS of choice was Windows 95. Since it shipped with drivers and supported Plug and Play, configuration was never a problem. Networking on DOS was going to be a learning experience.
For sourcing a network card I kept the same line of conduct previously established. I got a complete Linksys with its box, manuals, and drivers.
The card is a beauty. It even features a BOOT ROM to start the machine over a network.
The manual is also of high quality. It explains how the card works in detail. It educates the customer about IRQ and I/O ports in a way documentation doesn't bother anymore.
This is a pretty impressive card. Not only it supports Windows 95 Plug and Play, it also supports DOS. The latter is done with a SETUP.EXE program allowing to flash the EEPROM to pick the IRQs and I/Os addresses.
As the first ISA card to install, there were no IRQ, I/O addresses conflicts. I still started a matrix to help with the other ISA cards that were on the way.
| Card | IRQ | DMA | I/O |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ether16 Network | 5 | - | 240 |
The network card does not have an antenna or a Wifi controller. Instead it has an RJ45 connector which I plugged into a Google Mesh extender.
To allow access to the network card, DOS programs require a packet driver TSR. The driver floppy disk had ETHER.COM as the manual indicated. It was a very satisfying experience to have everything without resorting to crawling the web and hoping to find a compatible packet driver.
With the hardware installed and the packet driver loaded, I only had to figure out the software. This is where mTCP[2], the god-sent to retro-enthusiasts network suite, entered the picture.
Michael Brutman's masterpiece has everything you need to never have to use the floppy drive. Namely an FTP server, and a NetDrive. I was so in awe of this gem that I asked him to send me an autographed self-booting floppy. And he kindly agreed :) !
Since I also had a couple of floppy jewel cases I wasted no time in putting mTPC on display.
Since I spent a lot of time transfering data, I wrote a convenient GO.BAT with a CONF.CFG file. The netlink part of mTCP requires a driver loaded so I tucked that way into a PC-DOS boot menu (see CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT).
| ^ | [1] | I still played DOOM deathmatch before LANs but via Nullmodem cables.. |
| ^ | [2] | mTCP by Bruce Brutman |
