Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!watdragon!abrodnik
From: abrodnik@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Andrej Brodnik (Andy))
Subject: Re: DecNet Questions
Message-ID: <1990May6.141547.3809@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Organization: University of Waterloo
References: <1990May5.153953.275@uoft02.utoledo.edu> <1990May6.112207.711@urz.unibas.ch>
Date: Sun, 6 May 90 14:15:47 GMT
Lines: 33

In article <1990May6.112207.711@urz.unibas.ch> doelz@urz.unibas.ch writes:
>In article <1990May5.153953.275@uoft02.utoledo.edu>, grx0644@uoft02.utoledo.edu writes:
>
>One of the worldwide DECNETS Switzerland is gatewaying to is HEPNET/SPAN, 
>but this is for special purposes (High energy physics) only. Switzerland 
>runs it own nationwide Network in between universities. There is an 
>organisation called SWITCH which does a damned good job in setting up the
>administration, gatewy boxes, and protocols. SWITCH is financed as 
>'Stiftung' and partiallly paid by federal money as well. If a state 
>is capable of having such a network, great. In CH, SWITCH took care of the 
>administration and adressing issues. (There is no sri-nic.arpa which 
>takes care of worldwide uniqueness). Therefore, DECNET is normally restricted 
>to LANs, and there are *unresolvable* problems in connecting two LANs 
>which developed indpendently (limited address space, see above). 
>

Something similar exist in a country which is, from point of view of network
and computer development, much less developed. This is Yugoslavia. In fact in
one of its republics, in Slovenia, they established a network called SLON and
it connects different machines using DECNET. This was possible only because
the number of machines is not so big.

Later other machines from other Yugoslave republics were connected to. On the
other side there exist a gateway to European academic network and using this
way you can reach other networks as well.

Let me conclude that I agree with that, that DECNET, as it is made now, is
meant to be only a LAN (but it can serve broader as well).

Best regards

Andrej