3 C o m Te c h n i c a l P a p e r s

10 Mbps Ethernet Network Interface Cards

The Shift from ISA to PCI

10 Mbps Ethernet Network Interface Cards

The Shift from ISA to PCI

The 10 Mbps Ethernet market has traditionally been served by Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) network interface cards (NICs). Microsoft and PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will cause a major shift in this trend this year with the PC 98 specification, which requires networking to be done in the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot. In addition, PCI offers distinct advantages over ISA, further fueling this transition. Desktop applications are growing in size and complexity, and multitasking operating systems such as Windows NT, Windows 95, and soon Windows 98 are becoming de facto standards for desktops. In addition, network administrators are configuring users desktops with Pentium-based systems, for which the PCI bus is a standard. The PCI bus offers superior throughput for NICs and other peripheral devices in desktop systems and more efficient central processing unit (CPU) utilization for dramatically improved multitasking performance. Given this evolution in applications, operating systems, and desktop systems, network administrators are recognizing the need to use the PCI bus for their NIC not only at the high end but for standard Ethernet as well. This paper examines how and why PCI NICs, used for Ethernet connections, are becoming the NICs of choice in corporate desktops. It discusses how the PCI bus offers performance advantages over legacy bus architectures as well as greater ease of use. A discussion of how these benefits result in lower costs of PC ownership and greater reliability is also included.
The Rise of PCI NICs

bility of PCI Ethernet NICs makes their widespread adoption in standard Ethernet networks virtually inevitable. The widespread adoption of PCI NICs is supported by the PC industry. Microsoft and Intel, for example, offer Tips for Selecting High-Performance Adapters in their PC 98 Design Guidelines. These guidelines, directed to PC manufacturers, offer recommendations to maximize the functionality of multitasking operating systems. They include the following: NICs should support bus mastering, a feature of all PCI devices, particularly for use with Pentium Proclass processors. NICs should support higher-level PCI commands for intelligent data transfers. Drivers should be tuned for 32-bit performance to match PCI bus architecture. Microsoft further endorses PCI NIC selection to the exclusion of the ISA bus in their instructions to PC manufacturers integrating NICs into network-ready PCs. They instruct the PC OEMs to integrate networking only in the PCI busnot in ISA. Many major PC manufacturers like Dell, Gateway, and Compaq are conforming to this specification. As more PCI peripheral devices become available, PC manufacturers are increasing the numbers of PCI slots in their machines and phasing out slots for ISA, Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), and other aging legacy buses. Dell, for instance, will introduce PCI-only platforms in 1998.
PCI Delivers Superior Performance

Acronyms and Abbreviations

CPU central processing unit EISA Extended Industry Standard Architecture ISA Industry Standard Architecture MCA Micro-Channel Architecture NIC network interface card OEM original equipment manufacturer PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect SCSI Small Computer System Interface

Since 1994, the PCI bus architecture has increasingly become the bus of choice for NICs. PCI NICs are already firmly established in servers and high-end desktops. The real change on the horizon is the deployment of these NICs in all Ethernet desktops. The high performance, ease of use, and enhanced relia-

There is good reason for the rapid migration of the PC manufacturing and software industries to the PCI architecture. It is a vastly superior bus for the performance requirements of software applications and the powerful capabilities that the Pentium-series processors offer. A desktops bus architecture determines how quickly data is exchanged between the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices. Therefore, buses should match the capabilities of their microprocessors in order to obtain optimal system performance. ISA and EISA buses, once the standards for desktops, were designed

for earlier generations of microprocessors and applications. The EISA bus debuted with 386 CPUs, and ISA dates back to the 8086 and 80826 systems of the mid-1980s. These buses were adequate for their processors, and since the dominant desktop applications were textbased DOS programs, the buses rarely caused data bottlenecks. Today, however, much faster processors like the Intel Pentium series are commonplace, and bandwidth-intensive applications such as Windows-based programs, multimedia, and imaging applications are proliferating. Moreover, buses now must support multitasking operating systems as well as SCSI devices, LAN NICs, and powerful video cards. As a result, yesterdays legacy ISA buses are inadequate for todays computing needs. The new class of Pentium processors, for example, accepts 32-bit data paths and processes up to 500 megabytes per second (Mbytes/sec). With its maximum throughput of 528 Mbytes/sec, the PCI bus is designed to keep up with Pentium-based machines. The ISA bus, on the other hand, offers data paths no wider than 16 bits and a maximum transmission rate of only 16.5 Mbytes/sec. Designed for either 32- or 64-bit data paths, the PCI bus was developed to provide the faster throughput that todays technologies demand. PCI can provide clock speeds up to 66 MHz, while ISA, EISA, and Micro-Channel Architecture (MCA) run no faster than 8.25 MHz (Table 1). In addition, the next level of PCI specifications, which calls for 64-

bit data paths, will even better match the performance of Pentium-grade microprocessors. The PCI bus is now most widely available as a 32-bit, 5 volt design that supports 33 MHz speeds and a burst-mode transfer rate of 132 Mbpsmore than eight times faster than the ISA bus. Future enhancements to the PCI specification will offer 3.3 volt options and enhanced power management capabilities.
Bus Mastering Optimized for Multitasking Systems

A key factor in any systems overall performance is the CPU utilization required by the various tasks being performed. Here PCI enjoys a clear advantage over older technologies because all PCI components are designed as bus master devices. With bus mastering, a PCI device can request control of the bus to initiate data transfers into system memory with no system CPU intervention. As a result, the CPU is free to focus on other computing tasks during network transfers, providing faster and more responsive system performance. Since most ISA-based devices are not bus master devices, they require the host CPU to perform data transfers. This is a disadvantage in multitasking operating environments, which require more CPU cycles due to the number of application tasks being performed in parallel. Figure 1 illustrates the faster data transfer of a bus master PCI client in a multitasking environment. LANQuest Labs, a leading network product-testing laboratory, compared the effect on

Table 1. Data Transfer Rates by Bus Architecture

Bus ISA ISA EISA MCA PCI PCI PCI Width (bits) 8 16 32 32 32 64 64 Speed (MHz) 8.25 8.25 8.25 8.25 33 33 66 Capacity (Mbytes/sec) 8 16.5 33 33 132 264 528

Time to finish 200 MB file transfer (lower is better)

580 560 540 520 500 480 460 440 420 400 PCI client Client NIC 480

577

Time to copy 200 MB from client to server

ISA client

Figure 1. Bus Master PCI Client Excels in Multitasking Environment

clientPC CPU utilization of PCI and ISA NICs from 3Com. The tests showed that PCs with PCI NICs have a significant performance advantage over PCs with ISA NICs in a multitasking environment. In the test, data transfers were timed while a video playback was being performed. Results showed lower CPU utilization with the PCI NIC configuration than with the ISA NIC configuration, yielding a 24 percent overall performance advantage. Figure 2 illustrates the performance advantage of PCI NICs (a higher number is better in this test). In another suite of tests, LANQuest Labs used Windows NTs Performance Monitor utility to measure each NICs effect on CPU utilization at two levels of load. In the first test, average CPU utilization was measured while the system played a video that resided on a server. On the average, the PCI NIC utilized the CPU at a rate 48 percent lower than did the ISA NIC. While the ISA NIC consumes processor cycles for data transfers, the

PCI NIC controls the transfer, freeing the CPU to execute other tasks. The superior performance of PCI NICs translates into system responsiveness that users can notice. During a data transfer with a non bus-master NIC, for example, an additional application activated in the foreground is slow to respond. With a PCI NIC, the additional application runs more smoothly, allowing for more productive PC usage. The background data transfer is also much quicker.
PCIs True Plug-and-Play Lowers Cost of Ownership

PCI is a fully established standard designed from its inception with auto-configuration as a specific goal. PCI ensures that a machines BIOS or operating system performs the configurations, and configuration registers are specified for PCI components, eliminating conflicts with other devices. Based on welldefined and widely accepted standards, PCI

CPU efficiency as measured by WinBench 96 (higher is better)

135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100

131 126 WinBench 96, 16 bit CPU score 112 106 PCI client ISA client WinBench 96, 32 bit CPU score

Type of client NIC

Figure 2. PCI vs. ISA NIC WinBench 96 CPUmark32 Score

machines behave identically when recognizing add-on devices, leaving less to the interpretation of manufacturers of add-on peripherals and systems. As a result, a PCI system automatically configures PCI add-on devices at power-on, delivering true plug-and-play capabilities and saving MIS departments hours when they install PCI devices in desktop PCs.
Additional Reliability and Features of PCI

PCIs advantages go well beyond performance gains and simplified installation. One key advantage over earlier technologies lies in PCIs compact design. Made with fewer components, PCI enhances reliability by integrating functions into just a few chips that once required entire boards. PCI optimizes power supplies for expected usage by monitoring add-on components so none exceed the maximum power available. The PCI specification also allows 5 volt and 3.3 volt implementations so future PCI devices can make the transition to low-consumption, 3.3 volt green machines.
3Com PCI NICs Offer Industry-Leading Performance

focusing their PCI development efforts exclusively on Fast Ethernet, offering little product differentiation other than price, 3Com is committed to providing the broad base of Ethernet users with the advantages of PCI performance and ease of use. Incorporating 3Com Parallel Tasking technology, the 3Com EtherLink XL PCI cards offer superior system performance. In a comparison of PCI NICs offered by major manufacturers, the 3Com EtherLink XL PCI NIC achieved a 65 percent higher NetWare performance efficiency rating than any competing NIC. The 3Com PCI NIC had a 2.33 percent CPU utilization, the lowest of any NIC.
The Future Is PCI

3Com, the NIC market leader, has moved aggressively to offer leading-edge NIC products for the PCI bus. Although Fast Ethernet NICs have advantages in advanced network installations, there will continue to be a strong demand for a high-performance, reliable 10 Mbps PCI NIC for standard 10 Mbps Ethernet connections. While other vendors are

Although originally designed to complement high-performance systems, PCI NICs are no longer just for high-end workstations. Ethernet desktop users are multitasking and accustomed to accessing the Internet and using multimedia. These users also stand to make significant productivity gains from enhanced buses and network interfaces. PCI NICs offer reliability and ease of installation, which together can provide significant savings for MIS departments. Moreover, with the drive by Microsoft and PC OEMs away from ISA legacy slots moving forward, PCI will eventually supplement ISA on all types of user desktops, including those of value-priced Ethernet users.

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