Subject: REVIEW: I-Card ethernet card for Amiga 600/1200
From: [email-masked] (Brian J. Cerveny)
Date: 14 Feb 1994 01:59:39 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	The I-Card:  PCMCIA Ethernet card for the Amiga 600 and 1200

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  This review was updated on Feb 16, 1994.
	Search for the text "[UPDATE:" to find updated information.
	-Dan]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	The I-Card is an ethernet card which installs in the PCMCIA
expansion port of an Amiga 600 or 1200 computer.  It supports both 10-Base-T
(twisted pair) and 10-Base-2 (thin net) ethernet connections, and comes with a
SANA-II device driver.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		Interworks
	Address:	43191 Camino Casillas Suite B2469
			Temecula, CA 92592
			USA

	Telephone:	(909) 699-8120 (Voice and FAX)

LIST PRICE

	I am not aware of the list price of this product, but I paid $289
(US) at a mail-order house.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		Amiga 600 or 1200 computer.

		No RAM requirement for this product in particular, although
		software utilizing the I-Card may have its own memory
		requirements.

		Some conflicts with RAM cards -- see the "REVIEW" section
		below.

	SOFTWARE

		AmigaDOS Release 2 or higher.

		A networking package which support's Commodore's SANA-II
		networking device driver standard is necessary.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.

	The included SANA-II device driver is hard drive installable.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 1200, 4MB fast RAM, 2MB chip RAM.
	Microbotics MBX-1230XA 50 MHz 68030 accelerator card.
	80MB Seagate internal 2.5" IDE hard drive.
	AmigaDOS 3.0.
	Commodore AS225r2 TCP/IP networking software.  (At the time of this
	 writing, this networking software is available only to registered
	 Commodore developers.)

INSTALLATION

	Installation of the I-Card is as simple as can be.  A tiny script is
included to copy the SANA-II driver to its proper place on the hard drive,
and the card itself plugs effortlessly into the PCMCIA port.  The ethernet
connectors (10BaseT and 10Base2) are enclosed in a small gray box along with
a jack for a power supply which must be used with 10Base2 connections.

	Since the card is PCMCIA, you can safely plug in and remove it
while the power is on with no danger to the computer at all.

REVIEW

	I'll start with the obvious.  This card is SMALL!  The card itself
is exactly the size of a credit card and as thin as a 3.5" floppy disk.  All
of the electronics are contained within this space, which I find
incredible.  A long, 18" cable extends from of the back of the card, leading
to a cool little molded gray box, roughly 2" by 3" and 3/4" tall.  It isn't
a plain-looking box either; it has various raised areas to make it look
nice.  There are three connectors for ethernet:  a standard RJ-45 jack for
10BaseT, a BNC (coax) connector for 10Base2, and a small DC power jack.
There are two tiny LEDs on the top corner of the box:  a green one indicating
a good link, and a yellow one which lights up whenever there is activity on
the net.

	Once you plug in the card and install and configure your networking
software, you are set to go.  My software of choice is Commodore's AS225r2
TCP/IP networking package, which at the time of this writing is available
only to registered Amiga developers.  My Amiga 1200 is now a full-fledged
member of the Internet community, and I *LOVE* it!  I can now use ftp,
telnet, AMosaic, talk, news, IRC, and many other Internet programs from my
own machine, and it's wonderful.

	The performance of the card on the local network while using AS225
is very good.  It has reached throughput of 100kB/sec while transferring a
large file by ftp from a workstation on campus to my hard drive.  I have not
yet tested performance of transfers to another machine in my same building
(on the same subnet), but I expect the results will be higher yet.

	While I use AS225, this card will work with any networking package
which supports the SANA-II device driver standard.  Other SANA-II compliant
packages include the freely distributable AmiTCP TCP/IP package, Interworks'
ENLAN-DFS filesystem, and Commodore's Envoy peer-to-peer networking
software.  Interworks claims support for the OXXI ACS Novell Client software
is on its way, and suggests that users contact OXXI at (310) 427-1227 for
more information about OXXI's I-Card driver.

	[UPDATE:  This review previously claimed (incorrectly) that Envoy
	was available only to developers.  In fact, Intangible Assets
	Manufacturing is now shipping Amiga Envoy.  Thanks to Dale Larson
	for this tip.  - Dan]

	The I-Card's operation is completely transparent, except for the
incessantly blinking activity light.  Since first plugging in the card, I
haven't had even to think about its being there.  However, there is
something which must be said about this.  The Amiga 600 and 1200 have only
one PCMCIA slot, so you can't use the board if you have (say) a PCMCIA RAM
card plugged in already.  On the A600, you are stuck.  On the A1200, I don't
recommend using a PCMCIA RAM anyway, since the RAM will be 16-bit and the
rest of the system 32-bit.  (32-bit RAM means a faster system.)

	But even if you have a RAM board plugged into the 150-pin CPU
expansion bay underneath the A1200, you may have a problem.  When a PCMCIA
card is installed, the lower 4MB of address range normally available to the
CPU slot card is stolen by the PCMCIA card.  So if you have an 8MB RAM board
installed, you will only be able to address 4MB while the I-Card is
installed.  

	Note that the above problem applies only to boards that have RAM
only, or RAM+FPU.  Accelerator boards with built-in RAM, such as my
Microbotics 68030 board, are normally configured starting after the first
8MB of RAM, and are thus not affected by the presence of a PCMCIA card.

DOCUMENTATION

	The documentation consists of four single-sided sheets stapled
together.  It explains the procedures for configuring the I-Card for use
with Interworks' ENLAN-DFS network file system, Envoy, and AS225r2 TCP/IP.
The last two pages contain questions and answers for help with
troubleshooting.

	While the description of the documentation sounds sparse, there is
really very little involved in configuring the card.  Most of the work is in
configuring the networking software once the card is already properly
installed, and your software will come with its own documentation.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	My only complaints with the card involve the PCMCIA aspect.  Since
the card is basically a PC laptop card under OEM from Socket Communications
Inc., it does not quite match the design of the 1200.  There are two
problems here, discussed below.

	First, the card sticks out a few inches from the computer, elevated
about 3/8" (1.5 cm) above the desk.  This makes the card vulnerable to being
bumped.  While it cannot harm the computer if disconnected with the power
on, it may disrupt communications. My solution was to slide a small matchbox
beneath the card, which is the perfect height and shape for the task.  I
have not yet had any trouble with this and don't expect to, but be aware
that it could be a problem in some locations such as a lab.  Since the card
must conform to the PCMCIA 2.0 standard, though, there is very little which
could be done about this.

	The other problem is that the cable which is attached to the back of
the card comes out at an angle which is aimed toward the user on a Amiga 600
or 1200.  I simply looped the cable toward the computer and underneath the
card.

	While neither of these design aspects bother me, they do reflect the
fact that the card was not designed with the Amiga 600/1200 in mind.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	I have used only the Commodore A2065 Ethernet Adapter in addition to
this card.  From what I can tell, the performance of the cards in a large
network situation (college dormitory) is similar, although I have not had a
chance to do any direct performance comparisons.

	Installation of the I-Card is certainly MUCH easier than any
Zorro-II board such as the A2065, as those cards require opening of the
computer case, while the I-Card is simply plug-and-play.

BUGS

	None found.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	Calling Interworks' telephone number will usually connect you right
with the company's president, who happens to be a very friendly guy with a
most interesting acquired accent. :)  When I called several months ago after
I first heard about this card's being developed, I spoke with him for about
20 minutes. I expect that any problem a user might have that requires a
telephone call to Interworks should be quickly resolved.

WARRANTY

	The I-Card is covered from manufacturing defects for two years,
although the exact terms of the warranty are not specified in the
documentation.

CONCLUSIONS

	Simply put, this is the coolest little card you could put on an
Amiga 1200 or 600.  I have had no problems at all with it, and expect to get
my money's worth over the next 8 months while I'm still in school.  I highly
recommend the I-Card to anyone with an Amiga 1200 or 600 computer who needs
a high quality, high speed networking solution.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1994 by Brian J. Cerveny.  All rights reserved.

	This review is freely distributable, but all additions and
corrections should be made through the author.

- Brian J. Cerveny
  [email-masked]

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