TITLE: Updated Network Driver for NVIDIA MCP55 Ethernet for Red Hat Enterprise 
Linux 3

VERSION: Update 8 Rev. A
DESCRIPTION:
This package provides an updated LAN driver for the MCP55 Ethernet 
LAN-on-Motherboard chip in the HP Workstation xw9400. It provides an updated 
forcedeth driver for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 Update 8. 

This package contains the following files:

- i386/initrd-rhel3.8-i386.img
- i386/boot-rhel3.8-i386.iso
- i386/DriverDisk-rhel3.8-athlon.iso
- i386/nvlan-rhel3.8-0.60-1.20.athlon.rpm
- x86_64/initrd-rhel3.8-x86_64.img
- x86_64/boot-rhel3.8-x86_64.iso
- x86_64/DriverDisk-rhel3.8-x86_64.iso
- x86_64/nvlan-rhel3.8-0.60-1.20.x86_64.rpm
- source/forcedeth.c 

PURPOSE: Routine
SOFTPAQ NUMBER: SP33953
SUPERSEDES: None
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 1, 2006
CATEGORY: Software
SSM SUPPORTED: No

PRODUCT TYPE(S):
Workstations

HARDWARE PRODUCT MODEL(S):
HP xw9400 Workstation: All Models

SOFTWARE PRODUCT(S):
None

OPERATING SYSTEM(S): 
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (AMD64/EM64T)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (x86)

LANGUAGE(S): 
Global

ENHANCEMENTS: 
- Provides updated rpms, driver disk, boot.iso, and initrd.img files.

FIXES: 
- Fixes known issues with networking, Wake-on-LAN, and network and preboot 
execution environment (PXE) installations.

PREREQUISITES: 
- A retail Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 box set must be purchased separately and 
must be available when installing this SoftPaq.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS: 
To unpack the files, complete the following steps:
1. Download the .tgz file to your local hard drive.
2. Unpack the .tgz file by using the following command:
'tar -xvzf xw9400_network_update_rhel3.8_SP*.tgz''.

To apply the SoftPaq, follow the instructions provided for one of the lettered 
tasks that follows:

A. FOR PREBOOT EXECUTION ENVIRONMENT (PXE) INSTALLATIONS:
1. Update the initrd.img with the appropiate "initrd.img" provided in the 
SoftPaq package. 

2. After the installation is complete, install the rpm (see task D), because 
your installed kernel will not contain the updated LAN driver until the rpm is 
also installed.

B. FOR BOX SET INSTALLATIONS OR NETWORK INSTALLATIONS THAT USE BOX SET CDS TO 
START INSTALLATION: 
1. Create a CD with the "DriverDisk.iso" provided and place the CD in the 
CD-ROM drive.

2. At the first installation screen, a prompt labeled "boot:" is displayed at 
the bottom of the screen. Append "linux dd" (or "linux dd askmethod" for 
network installation) and then press ENTER.

3. At the "Driver disk" dialog box, press Yes.

4. If the "Driver DIsk Source" dialog box is displayed, select "sd0", press OK, 
and continue with the installation.

After the installation is complete and the system boots up for the first time, 
you may see Kudzu (the hardware probing application) indicating that the LAN 
device has been removed. The message will be similar to the one that follows 
(twice):

"The following network card has been removed from your system: nVidia 
Corporation MCP55 Ethernet"

Select "Keep Configuration" in order to maintain the network setup that was 
created by the installation. If you select "Remove Configuration," your network 
will not be functional and will require that the networking configuration be 
set up again ('setup' is one of many tools that can be used to do this).

In this environment, you will NOT need to install the rpm because the driver 
disk installs an updated LAN driver into your installed kernel as part of the 
installation process.

C. FOR NETWORK INSTALLATIONS THAT USE THE "BOOT.ISO" INSTEAD OF THE FIRST CD OF 
THE RED HAT ENTERPRISE LINUX MEDIA:
1. Create a CD with the appropriate boot.iso provided and continue with the 
installation.

2. After the installation is complete, install the rpm (see task D) because the 
installed kernel will not contain the updated LAN driver until the rpm is also 
installed. completed.

D. FOR POST INSTALLATION UPDATES TO THE NETWORK DRIVER:
1. Select the appropriate rpm from those provided, and
install it using the following command:
# rpm -ivh --force nvlan-rhel.rpm

2. Restart (reboot) the system.

3. To verify that the system loaded the new forcedeth driver, issue the 
following command:
# grep "Version 0.60" /var/log/messages.

4. Examine the string that is returned. If the command returns a string 
containing the following information, the driver has been updated:
"forcedeth.c: Reverse Engineered nForce ethernet driver. Version 0.60-Driver 
Package V1.20"


Copyright (c) 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.