Abstract

3Com commissioned Tolly to evaluate features that go "beyond performance" for their network interface card. 

This Tolly Group Technology Spotlight evaluates the 3Com EtherLink III as part of its broader 1994 Network Interface Cards – Beyond Performance research program, which examined adapter-card attributes extending beyond simple throughput and price. In addition to raw performance, the study focused on four practical evaluation areas that affect long-term deployment cost and day-to-day operations: compatibility with existing hardware and software, ease of installation and configuration, technical support quality, and network management capabilities. The EtherLink III tested here is an ISA-bus Ethernet adapter. 

The report explains that Tolly’s six-month project covered more than 20 cards across Ethernet, token ring, and FDDI environments, with products spanning ISA, EISA, MCA, and PCMCIA form factors. This profile isolates the 3Com EtherLink III and compares its feature set against what Tolly considered the prevailing industry norm. In the compatibility category, the EtherLink III is credited with providing software product and operating system support information, along with a list of PC systems in which the card had been tested. It supports a broad range of driver environments including NDIS 2 for OS/2, NDIS 2 for DOS, NetWare 3.11 and 4.01 server and client ODI drivers for both DOS and OS/2, though the report notes that NDIS 3 support was not listed in the same way. 

In ease of use, the EtherLink III is shown as supporting software-based configuration, automatic driver installation from the utility, and diagnostic utilities, avoiding older DIP-switch-based setup methods common to ISA adapters. However, the card did not place its configuration utility in flash memory and did not include an upgradeable ROM. The notes also state that some models omitted LED indicators because they instead integrated support for three onboard media types: AUI, BNC, and 10Base-T. 

The technical-support matrix shows strong basic and extended support, including toll-free phone support, weekday phone assistance, no-charge basic support, worldwide technical support, and robust bulletin board system resources with current driver versions, update visibility, documentation, and 14.4Kbit/s-or-faster modem access. In management, however, the card did not implement DMTF, SNMP, LAN Network Manager, or proprietary management functions. Overall, the report presents the 3Com EtherLink III as a well-supported, software-configurable ISA Ethernet adapter whose strengths lie in compatibility, usability, and support infrastructure rather than advanced management features.