Alacritech Release 10.0.0.3006 Release Notes for NDIS 5.2 driver for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and XP x64 Platforms Date: Wednesday, 28 January, 2009 ================================= Contents - Introduction - Content List + File Versions - Caveats - Features + Supported Hardware + Supported Platforms + Existing Features + New Features + Discontinued Features - Windows Logo - Known Issues + Open Bugs + Integration Issues - Resolved Issues - Users Guide - Support and Feedback Mechanism - Incident Reports Introduction ============ This is the official release of the 10.0.0.3006 driver package for Alacritech Accelerators on Windows Server platforms using the Microsoft Scalable Networking Pack. This is a features release for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP x64. This driver introduces support for Alacritech SEN3000 series 10 gigabit Network Accelerators, adds additional teaming functionality, and increases the funtionality of existing Alacritech SEN1800 products and all SES (iSCSI Accelerator) products supported by this driver This driver also contains bugfixes resolved since the 9.2.0.2044 driver. This release supports the following Alacritech product families: SEN3000 10 Gigabit Network Accelerator SEN1800 Volume Server Network Accelerator SEN2000 Enterprise Server Network Accelerator SEN2100 Enterprise Server Network Accelerator SES1800 Volume Server iSCSI Accelerator SES2000 Enterprise Server iSCSI Accelerator SES2100 Enterprise Server iSCSI Accelerator 1000x1 and SES1001 products continue to be supported through the 7.x.x.x drivers. 100 Mbit products continue to be supported through the 6.x.x.x drivers. This file provides details on known outstanding bugs, support issues and feedback mechanisms for this release. Content List ============ This release contains the following file and directories: autorun.inf Launches the installation process on a Windows system if it is located on CD media. install.html Front end introduction to the drivers included on the CD. doc Files and documentation associated to Alacritech's hardware and software products. The snp directory contains documentation specific to this software release. This includes the Alacritech Accelerator Users Guide. doc\images Folder containing files referenced by html documentation doc\include Folder containing files referenced by html documentation doc\snp The snp directory contains documentation specific to this software release. This includes the Alacritech Accelerator Users Guide. readme.html Front end introduction to the driver RelNotes.txt This file. FlashImage Flash image files to provide a PXE UNDI interface to Alacritech Accelerators based on the STA2000 ASIC. tools\snp Configuration and diagnostic tools for this release. slictat.exe performance diagnostic tool slicutil.exe command line configuration tool snp Directories for x86 and x64 versions of the NDIS 5.2 driver software. [Server 2003 and XP x64] snp\x86 The install programs, software drivers, libraries, and utilities for Windows Server 2003 with Scalable Networking Pack installed. snp\x64 The install programs, software drivers, libraries, and utilities for Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions with Scalable Networking Pack installed. x86 File Versions: ------------------ File Version Build Date Description --------------------------------------------------------------------------- sxg.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:04 AM Network Miniport Driver for 10 gigabit slic.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:04 AM Network Miniport Driver for 1 gigabit slicteam.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:04 AM Intermediate driver for Teaming/VLAN x64 File Versions: ------------------ File Version Build Date Description --------------------------------------------------------------------------- sxg.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:00 AM Network Miniport Driver for 10 gigabit slic.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:00 AM Network Miniport Driver for 1 gigabit slicteam.sys 10.0.0.3006 01/06/2009 11:00 AM Intermediate driver for Teaming/VLAN PXE/UNDI File Versions: ----------------------- File Version* Build Date Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------- oasis0.bin 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware oasis1.bin 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware oasis2.bin 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware stub_m.nic 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware stub_mb.nic 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware stub_mc.nic 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware stub_mf.nic 1.0.1.3 07/10/2007 1:50 PM iSCSI boot firmware *At this time there is no version stamp in the PXI/UNDI files. version can be determined with 'findstr "Alacritech" *.nic' Caveats ======= Windows Scalable Networking Pack (SNP) must be installed. SNP is included in Service Pack 2 for Server 2003 and XP x64. Features ======== Supported Hardware ------------------ This release supports the following products: Part Number Product Description ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SEN3000 10 Gigabit Network Accelerators SEN3001EF-SR PCI-Express 10 Gigabit Fiber 1-port Network Accelerator with SFP+ SR transceiver SEN3001EF PCI-Express 10 Gigabit Fiber 1-port Network Accelerator without SFP+ SR transceiver SEN2000 Enterprise Server Scalable Network Accelerators SEN2001XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 1-port Network Accelerator SEN2001XF PCI-X Gigabit Fiber 1-port Network Accelerator SEN2002XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 2-port Network Accelerator SEN2002XF PCI-X Gigabit Fiber 2-port Network Accelerator SES2000 Enterprise Server Scalable iSCSI Accelerators SES2001XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 1-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2001XF PCI-X Gigabit Fiber 1-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2002XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 2-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2002XF PCI-X Gigabit Fiber 2-port iSCSI Accelerator SEN2100 Enterprise Server Scalable Network Accelerators SEN2102ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 2-port Network Accelerator SEN2102EF PCI-Express Gigabit Fiber 2-port Network Accelerator SEN2104ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 4-port Network Accelerator SEN2104EF PCI-Express Gigabit Fiber 4-port Network Accelerator SES2100 Enterprise Server Scalable iSCSI Accelerators SES2102ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 2-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2102EF PCI-Express Gigabit Fiber 2-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2104ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 4-port iSCSI Accelerator SES2104EF PCI-Express Gigabit Fiber 4-port iSCSI Accelerator SEN1800 Volume Server Scalable Network Accelerators SEN1811XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 1-port Network Accelerator SEN1812XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 2-port Network Accelerator SEN1822ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 2-port Network Accelerator SES1800 Volume Server Scalable iSCSI Accelerators SES1811XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 1-port iSCSI Accelerator SES1812XT PCI-X Gigabit Copper 2-port iSCSI Accelerator SES1822ET PCI-Express Gigabit Copper 2-port iSCSI Accelerator Supported Platforms ------------------- This release is supported only for IA32 x86 and x64 compatible architecture running selected Microsoft Windows operating system versions: Supported Windows Versions -------------------------- Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 x64 Windows Server 2003 R2 Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Windows XP Professional x64 Existing Features ----------------- - Basic NIC Functionality - TCP Offload - TCP Checksum Offload (Only when TCP Offload is enabled) - Large Memory Support (/PAE) - Checksum offload in dumb NIC mode. - PXE UNDI flash ROM support (To enable iSCSI boot) - Link Aggregation (Teaming) + 802.3ad/(Fast/Gigabit) EtherChannel compatible mode + Hot Standby Failover mode - Jumbo Frames - Membership in multiple tagged VLANs Added Features: --------------- - Support for SEN3000 Series 10 gigabit Network Accelerator - TCP Offload for IPv6 (SEN3000 only) - Full 802.3x flow control (SEN3000 only) - Interrupt Moderation (SEN3000 only) - Mixed speed (one gig with 10 gig) Hot Standby Failover teaming. - Command line configuration for teaming and VLANs. - Upgrades all SEN1800 and all SES products to their SEN2100 or SEN2000 equivalent functionality (See product_id_map.htm in the doc directory). Discontinued Features: ---------------------- No features are removed by this release. Windows Logo (Designed for Microsoft Windows) ============================================= The slic.sys network miniport drivers is digitally signed by Microsoft. The slicteam.sys intermediate driver is digitally signed by Microsoft. The sxg.sys miniport driver has not undergone WHQL testing, and is digitally signed by Alacritech. Known Issues ============ This section contains a list of currently understood issues. Both open bugs and known integration issues are documented based on this specific release. Please review the current open bugs and known issues before filing a bug report. See the Support and Feedback section below for details on reporting bugs. Open Bugs --------- Bug 01813 [All] Unable to Add VLAN VLAN support just flat doesn't work Workaround: Contact Alacritech support for a bugfix driver. Integration Issues ------------------ No teaming on Windows Virtual Server 2005 SP1 Problem - The Alacritech teaming driver is not compatible with Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 SP1 Workaround - None. Alacritech teaming cannot be used with Virtual Server 2005. No Offload on Windows Virtual Server 2005 SP1 Problem - While TCP Offload is not available on the network interfaces presented to the child (virtual) hosts under Virtual Server 2005, it is available for interfaces that are reserved for the host OS. This includes interfaces that are used to connect to iSCSI targets. Unfortunately with the introduction of SP1 for Virtual Server 2005, Microsoft automatically binds "Virtual Machine Network Service" to all interfaces on the parent node. This breaks the ability for TCP offload to occur on the parent node. Workaround - On all interfaces reserved for exclusive parent node use, such as those used for iSCSI connections, unbind "Virtual Machine Network Service". Child (virtual) hosts shouldn't be using these interfaces anyway, as all iSCSI LUNs should be presented to them as local disk by the parent node. No offload on Windows XP x64 No offload after installing Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Problem - Windows XP Professional x64 Edition does not offload any connections by default with SNP driver installed. Windows Server 2003 does not offload any connections after installing Service Pack 2. Workaround - This is typically a result of networking functions enabled by default that are mutually exclusive with TCP offload, such as a Windows Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Ensure the firewall is disabled in Windows XP. In Windows 2003, installation of SP2 may re-enable Windows Firewall. See Section 3.4 of the User's Guide for Scalable Networking Pack located on the Alacritech Driver Installation CD in the \docs\snp directory. Resolved Issues =============== Resolved since 9.2.0.2044 -------------------------- Resolved since 9.1.0.1092 -------------------------- Bug 01498 [All] SACK advertised but not implemented Selective ACK is advertised by Microsoft front end but not supported by Alacritech Offload layer. Bug 01536 [All] BSOD on systems with more than 8 processors. Crash @ slic!SlicRssDpc+9d due to RSS support being limited to 8 processors. Bug 01595 [All] RSS does not work for Teams or VLANs In NDIS 5.2 RSS is never enabled for teams or VLANs. No queries or Sets are ever sent for this attribute. Resolved since 9.0.1.322 -------------------------- Resolved since 9.0.0.129 -------------------------- Bug 01286 [All] Receive Window can overflow if Window Scaling enabled If Window Scaling (Tcp1323Opts 0x1) is enabled, the receive window can overflow causing data corruption. Bug 01289 [All] Iometer Small Frame Performance Broken Iometer performance using small frames is horrible. Bug 01291 [All] Crash in slic.sys BugCheck D1, {c, 2, 0, b934238e} Bug 01294 [All] Dropped connections on idled connections TCP keepalive processing not working properly, causing valid connections to be terminated. Bug 01298 [All] FTP connection does not close after receiving data. If the TCP FIN is sent in the last recv data packet, the connection will not complete, causing ftp to hang. Bug 01305 [All] Crash in slic.sys @ SlicProcessTcbEvent+1ab This crash typically occurs when trying to send out lots of small packets very quickly Readme ====== The readme.html contained with distribution should be used as the starting point for learning about this driver. Users Guide =========== There is a Users Guide contained in the doc directory provided to customers for use with Alacritech Accelerators. For details on installation, management, teaming, and interoperability issues, please review the Users Guide, as full details have been provided there. The users guide is also available online at http://www.alacritech.com/Support/Documents/General.aspx Support and Feedback Mechanism ============================== Before Contacting Customer Support, please browse the troubleshooting section of the Users Guide, as well as the resources available though online support: http://www.alacritech.com/Support/Overview.aspx Should you need to contact customer support, please gather all of the information requested in the Incident Reports section (below) before initiating contact. To contact Alacritech customer support you may use one of the following options: Web Site (preferred): The URL is http://www.alacritech.com/Support/Overview.aspx. Click the Customer Care Center button to register and file a support request. Phone: Phone number for the United States is 408-287-9997. Select option 2. E-mail: The address is support@alacritech.com. Incident Reports =========== Please include the following information when sending in an incident request: Hardware: CPUs Amount of memory PCI busses Number of Alacritech accelerators Other network interfaces Software: Windows Version (2000, XP, 2003) Windows Service Pack version Version of Alacritech drivers Log information Event Viewer details related to Alacritech Windows dump files (if there is a crash) Testing environment What software is being tested What types of tests reproduce the problem Where is the failure occurring What has been done to try and solve the problem Patents ======= One or more U.S. and international patents apply to Alacritech products, including without limitation: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,226,680, 6,247,060, 6,334,153, 6,389,479, 6,393,487, 6,427,171, 6,427,173, 6,434,620, 6,470,415, 6,591,302, 6,658,480, 6,687,758, 6,697,868, 6,751,665, 6,757,746, 6,807,581, 6,938,092, 6,941,386, 6,965,941, 6,996,070, 7,042,898, 7,076,568, 7,089,326, 7,093,099, 7,124,205, 7,133,940, 7,167,926, 7,167,927, 7,174,393, 7,185,266, 7,191,241, 7,191,318. Portions of the technology in Alacritech’s acceleration products are used under license from Broadcom Corporation [and may be covered by one or more Broadcom U.S. Patents.] Alacritech does not have a license under the Broadcom Licensed Patents to implement certain claimed functionality with hardware and software not provided by Alacritech. No license is granted under Broadcom’s patents expressly, by implication, by exhaustion or otherwise, to use or sell the acceleration technology in combination with any non-licensed hardware or software that is specifically designed to practice the Broadcom Licensed Patents. 900164 Rev 5