Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!samsung!usc!apple!agate!ucbvax!van-bc!tacitus!clh
From: clh@tacitus.tfic.bc.ca (Chris Hermansen)
Newsgroups: comp.terminals
Subject: Ethernet terminal servers
Message-ID: <124@tacitus.tfic.bc.ca>
Date: 10 Nov 89 23:34:06 GMT
Reply-To: clh@tfic.bc.ca (Chris Hermansen)
Organization: Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants, Vancouver BC
Lines: 38

Having watched this newsgroup for awhile, I now feel brave enough to
solicit opinions on Ethernet terminal servers.  We have half a dozen
Sun 3/[56]0s in our Vancouver office, and I would like to provide some
ports for about four to six terminals.  I would also dearly love to be
able to attach our two laser printers (a Xerox 2700 and NEC 890) to the
server.  These printers can run either serial or parallel.  Also, we
have a Telebit Trailblazer attached to one machine, which I wouldn't
mind moving to the server.  It has to handle both incoming and outgoing
calls on the same line.

We have a four-port CMC Transerver, as remarketed by Artecon, attached
to our three Suns in our Prince George office.  This seems to work well
as a vanilla terminal server, but we haven't tried printers, plotters, or
modems on it.

We also have a Bridge something-or-other at a project overseas; my
recollection of it is that it worked well for terminal service but needed
additional software support for printers, modems, etc.

It seems that most of these devices end up getting connected through a
master/slave pseudo-tty and Internet socket, in order that they can
function nicely with daemons and related stuff that expect to talk to
serial/parallel ports.  Is this true?

Any and all opinions on the above much appreciated.  I will summarize
any responses I get.  One of our forwarders is, uh, somewhat unreliable,
so I have enclosed several addresses below.

Thanks in advance,

Chris Hermansen                         Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants
Voice: 1 604 733 0731                   302 - 958 West 8th Avenue
FAX:   1 604 733 0634                   Vancouver B.C. CANADA
uunet!ubc-cs!van-bc!tacitus!clh         V5Z 1E5
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clh@tfic.bc.ca
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