Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!image.soe.clarkson.edu!news From: nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans Subject: Re: NCSA 2.2TN/3c503/packet drivers questions Message-ID: Date: 29 Nov 89 16:36:14 GMT References: <4400@dell.dell.com> Sender: news@sun.soe.clarkson.edu Reply-To: nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu Organization: Clarkson University, Potsdam NY Lines: 32 In-reply-to: mjhammel@Kepler.dell.com's message of 22 Nov 89 17:32:24 GMT In article <4400@dell.dell.com> mjhammel@Kepler.dell.com (Michael J. Hammel) writes: 1. Is there a driver for the 3C503 card available for the NCSA Telnet package from Clarkson? Yes, a packet driver. 2. If so, where can I get it (by e-mail, as I don't have FTP access anywhere but locally). See below. 3. Just what is a packet driver and how does it relate to other NIC drivers? A packet driver is a small TSR that hides the difference between Ethernet cards and also allows multiple protocol stacks to use the same Ethernet card (typically Novell && TCP/IP). At Clarkson we boot from TCP/IP via BOOTP && TFTP. A boot prom on the Ethernet card downloads a pretend floppy disk to RAM then continues the boot by reading this disk. This boot disk starts a packet driver and starts up Novell. The user can then run NCSA Telnet (among other things). 4. Anyone have any suggestions for texts on how to write device drivers? I've never written one and want to know how they work. Packet drivers or DOS device drivers? -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) Live up to the light thou hast, and more will be granted thee. A recession now appears more than 2 years away -- John D. Mathon, 4 Oct 1989. I think killing is value-neutral in and of itself. -- Gary Strand, 8 Nov 1989. Liberals run this country, by and large. -- Clayton Cramer, 20 Nov 1989. Shut up and mind your Canadian business, you meddlesome foreigner. -- TK, 23 N.