3Com EtherLink 10 Mbps Desktop NICs Features and Benefits per old 3Com website
| Feature | Benefit |
| Compatibility and Reliability | |
| IEEE 802.3 compliance | Provides full compliance with global Ethernet standards. |
| Guaranteed compatibility | Guaranteed compatible with respective PCI, ISA, EISA, and MCA bus-compliant systems or your money back. Also compatible with leading network operating systems and applications in a wide range of LAN environments. |
| Lifetime limited warranty* | Backed by 3Com's industry-leading lifetime warranty. |
| Highly integrated design | Combines the Ethernet controller, twisted-pair receiver, encoder/decoder, bus interface, and packet buffer memory on a single ASIC chip to deliver reliable, trouble-free operation and lower cost. |
| Performance | |
| Parallel Tasking® technology | Pipelines data for highest throughput at 10 Mbps. |
| Parallel Tasking II technology (ISA and PCI models only) |
Lowers CPU utilization and increases application performance due to more efficient data transfer across the PCI bus. |
| 32-bit bus mastering DMA (ISA and PCI and EISA models only) |
Offers a wide data path and fast transfers with low CPU utilization to provide optimum system performance. |
| Flow Control 802.3x | Delivers higher performance due to more efficient data transfers. Optimizes data transfers by reducing lost packets and retransmissions when the NIC communicates with the switch |
| TCP/IP Checksum | Offloads the CPU by performing checksum on ASIC to significantly reduce CPU utilization (OS dependent—functional with Windows NT 5.0). |
| Traffic prioritization (ISA and PCI models only) |
Uses the IEEE 802.1p standard to prioritize time-sensitive data and improve the performance of multimedia and business-critical applications. |
| Performance monitoring (ISA and PCI models only) |
Enables comprehensive, low-cost network management in switched and high-speed networks using RMON-1/RMON-2 for application response time and system-level monitoring. |
| Efficient Multicast Control (ISA and PCI models only) | Uses the IEEE 802.1p GMRP standard to improve network performance by controlling multicast flooding in switched LANs |
| Remote Wake Up (RWU) [3C900B-FL(ST) only] |
Lowers your cost of ownership with remote and after-hours maintenance of PCs with a 3-pin RWU connector and a desktop management application that generates a Magic Packet™ RWU signal. |
| ACPI compliance [3C900B-FL(ST) only] |
Reduces power consumption and enables Remote Wake Up. |
| Desktop Management Interface (DMI ) [3C900B-FL(ST) only] | Lets you remotely gain PC resource and inventory information without costly desktop visits. |
| Optional Managed PC Boot Agent | Enables Pre-OS installations, upgrades, and recovery. Also enables remote visits—even when the PC can't boot—to lower the cost of ownership. |
| Meets Wired for Management (WfM) specifications | Supports WfM industry standards for remote management. |
| Easy Installation and Configuration | |
| EtherCD™ CD-ROM (PCI model only) |
Includes an easy-to-use graphic user interface, point-and-click driver installation, driver utilities, enhanced post installation diagnostics, electronic user guide, and diagnostic and diskette creation utilities for easy installation and configuration. |
| Installation Wizard (ISA models only) |
Enables simpler troubleshooting and administration with Windows-based configuration and diagnostics utility. |
| Plug-and-Play for Windows 95 and 98 | Provides quick and easy installation in popular operating systems. |
| Auto-installation software | In NetWare, a single menu choice configures the NIC and installs drivers on non-plug-and-play PCs. |