Abstract

Madge Networks commissioned The Tolly Group to evaluate the performance of the Madge Smart 16/4 PCMCIA Ringnode, 3Com TokenLink III PCMCIA, IBM Auto 16/4 Credit Card Adapter, and the Olicom GoCard 144 token ring adapters. Performance was measured using PERFORM3, a de facto standard benchmarking utility, in a NetWare 4.1 environment, using three different client configurations. The clients were tested using standard 16-bit DOS ODI drivers, “memory saving” DOS ODI drivers (e.g., Novell Client32), and 32-bit Windows 95 NDIS drivers. Testing was performed in February and March of 1997. 

Results show that the Madge Smart PCMCIA Ringnode delivers consistently high performance in all tested environments. The Madge adapter displayed its best performance when handling large frames or packet bursting (typical in file transfer applications), where the adapter proved to be up to 89% faster than some competing products. Additionally, the Smart PCMCIA Ringnode provided the widest selection of driver support of the products tested.