Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!CISCO.COM!cire
From: cire@CISCO.COM (cire|eric)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Router interoperability
Message-ID: <8910211641.AA21351@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 20 Oct 89 08:38:24 GMT
References: <89Oct17.165048edt.57354@ugw.utcs.utoronto.ca>
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Bob,

This is not at all a naive question.  Both routers have to currently
be from the same manufacturer.  That is because they are on the end
of a serial line and there currently isn't an agreed upon standard
for how to talk across these lines in general.  You could use X.25
and in some cases that would work for different vendor's equipment but
that is shall we say a less than optimal solution.

There is currently an effort under IETF auspices to standardize a decent
way of communicating and interoperating across serial lines.  It is called
the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) and should see light of day sometime
later this year or in 1990.  Cisco plans on supporting it and from what
I understand others will as well.

-c
cisco engineering