Abstract

Proteon commissioned Tolly, as part of its broader “Network Interface Cards – Beyond Performance” research program, to evaluate the ProNET 1392 Plus adapter, with the main focus on documenting how the card compared with industry norms in practical enterprise deployment areas beyond raw throughput. Rather than concentrating on benchmark speed alone, the report examined four factors that directly affect ownership and support costs: compatibility with existing hardware and software, ease of installation and configuration, technical support, and network management capabilities.  

The December 1994 Technology Spotlight identifies the ProNET 1392 Plus as a 4/16Mbit/s Token Ring adapter for the Industry Standard Architecture bus. On page 1, Tolly explains that this profile is an addendum to a six-month multi-vendor NIC study covering more than 20 adapters across Ethernet, Token Ring, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface topologies, including ISA, EISA, MCA, and PCMCIA form factors. The goal of that broader project was to evaluate cards against real-world deployment criteria that go beyond simple price and performance.  

The features matrix on pages 2 and 3 shows that the Proteon adapter offered broad compatibility with mainstream enterprise environments. It supported NDIS 2 for OS/2, NetWare 4.01 server and client ODI drivers, and NetWare 3.11 server and client ODI drivers. Tolly also notes that Proteon supplied a list of supported software products, although the matrix indicates that it did not provide a list of PC systems in which the card had been tested and did not support NDIS 3. A note on page 3 adds that the vendor shipped the product with NDIS drivers, but these were not tested by Tolly. The report also notes that the adapter did not supply a Network Interface File for IBM’s LAN Support Program, which could make it difficult to implement with some applications.  

Ease-of-use findings were mixed. The ProNET 1392 Plus relied on DIP-switch configuration rather than software-based configuration, and page 3 notes that Proteon did not provide onboard indication of DIP-switch settings, requiring users to determine settings from the manual. However, the card included a diagnostic utility, LED status indicator, and upgradeable ROM. Flash memory could be installed, though it was not standard. Tolly also notes that the install utility did not automatically copy all drivers on the diskette to the correct location in all situations.  

Technical support was relatively strong. The matrix shows weekday phone support, no-charge basic support, weekend support, 24-hour support, on-site support, extended support, and worldwide technical support, though not a toll-free number. Proteon also offered BBS access, current driver versions, update tracking, supplemental documentation and patches, 14Kbit/s-or-better modem support, and CompuServe forum presence. For management, the adapter supported IBM LAN Network Manager and proprietary management, but not DMTF or SNMP. Overall, the report presents the Proteon ProNET 1392 Plus as a solid enterprise Token Ring adapter with broad NetWare and OS/2 compatibility and strong support resources, though with a more traditional, less automated configuration model than some industry-leading competitors.