Set Up Intel® Adapters

Before you install Intel® Packet Protect, install the network adapters on your servers and clients that will use Intel Packet Protect. Intel Packet Protect only operates with adapters that are configured to use Intel drivers. You must also configure PROSet II to enable IPSec before you begin to install Intel Packet Protect.

Install Intel Adapters

Intel Packet Protect works with Intel network adapters that are designed to offload CPU-intensive tasks to the adapter. This helps reduce the impact to network performance and CPU utilization. 

The following Intel network adapters support offload capabilities:

Note: Intel Packet Protect also works with the following network adapters, but because encryption and authentication tasks will not offload to the adapter, system processor usage will be higher and actual transmission throughput may be lower:

Install Intel adapters for the servers and clients that use Intel Packet Protect.

To Install Intel adapters

  1. Refer to the Installation Guide that came with the adapters for information about installation.

  2. After installation, verify network access for each system that will use Intel Packet Protect by checking the Link and Activity LEDs on the adapter. You can also double-click Network Neighborhood on a system's desktop to verify that other areas of the network are visible.

Install Multiple Adapters

NOTE: This procedure is necessary only when running Windows NT. 

  1. Close all running applications.

  2. Open the control panel and select "Services".

  3. Stop "Intel Policy Agent".

  4. Open Network Properties and select the Adapters tab.

  5. Click the Add button. Enter the path to the new Intel network driver software, and click "Continue".

  6. Close the Network Properties window.

  7. Configure the new adapter's network settings.

  8. Close the Network Properties window and select reboot when the option is given.

NOTE: If communication fails after installing an additional network adapter, see the instructions in the Troubleshooting section. 

Configure Intel Adapters

After you install adapters in the systems that will use Intel Packet Protect, configure them, as necessary, before you install Intel Packet Protect. For example, you might install multiple adapters on a server. Then you might team those adapters together to take advantage of adapter fault tolerance or adaptive load balancing.

Multiple Adapters

If you install multiple Intel network adapters in one system, note the following:

If you uninstall Intel Packet Protect, you lose all of your customized information, including rules and security actions. When you reinstall Intel Packet Protect, you will only have the single Default Rule in your System Policy.

Adapter Teaming

Adapter Teaming and Intel Packet Protect work together only for systems running Windows NT, and only with Intel PRO/100 Server Adapters. You may have combinations of teamed and non-teamed adapters running Intel Packet Protect. 

Note: If you team a PRO/100 S adapter (capable of hardware offloading) with an adapter that does not have this capability, the resulting team will not offload. 

Enable IP Security

Before you can install Intel Packet Protect, you must configure PROSet II to enable IPSec. This option also allows Intel Packet Protect to operate on the adapter. If you have more than one adapter, you must enable IPSec on each adapter which is going to use Intel Packet Protect. 

Follow these steps to enable IP Security:

  1. Open PROSet II. You can open PROSet II from the Control Panel 
    or by double-clicking the Intel PROSet II icon in your system tray. 

  2. In the left-side window, locate the Network Components folder.

  3. Right-click on the name of the adapter that you wish to use.

  4. Select Enable IPSec in the popup window.

  5. Click OK. You must reboot your system when prompted.

If you decide to turn off the IPSec option for an adapter, Intel Packet Protect will be disabled on that adapter. 

PROSet II Control Panel icon.
PROSet II icon, highlighted in the System Tray.

Set IPSec Server Mode

If you are using an Intel PRO/100 S network adapter as a server with Intel Packet Protect, you must also perform these steps:
  1. Open the PROSet II control panel utility

  2. Click the Advanced tab.

  3. Click on the IPSec Server Mode option. Set it to Enabled

  4. Click OK.

More information on IPSec Server Mode is available in PROSet online help. 


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