Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!bellcore!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!obelix.twg.com!ljm
From: ljm@obelix.twg.com
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re:  Re: Packet Drvrs & Windows 3.0
Message-ID: <9006151834.ag17616@Obelix.TWG.COM>
Date: 16 Jun 90 02:14:26 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 37


>>You can make either NDIS or Packet Driver Spec run under these
>>circumstances, but the driver has to do a lot more to cope with
>>different process contexts (assuming that it is a requirement that
>>user processes can call it directly).  You also need to get (e.g.
>>pay/trade/beg for) internals information from Microsoft.  We're
>>talking serious programmer hours, and maybe serious dollars too.

> I don't doubt the complexity (and grief) of creating a Windows 3.0
>compatible driver which would allow users to run TCP/IP fully
>within Windows.  Nonetheless, from my perspective such a product
>will become a critical need as we all struggle with memory limits
>running networks using Windows.  If I load PC LAN software
>and the PC/TCP kernel before loading Windows 3.0, I am
>left with less than 400K of free memory in DOS windows on 386
>machines.  LAN users of your product will need more memory than
>that.  I can only hope that your company will recognize and act
>to meet that need.

It just doesn't seem worth the effort of redesigning the packet
driver interface to deal with Windows 3.0 when simply loading
a TCP/IP kernel first works.  In any case, if you are using
PC LAN software you need to keep the TCP/IP resident anyway.

Furthermore, I don't see networking software memory size being
that painful of an issue for too much longer.  First, the size of
the software itself is shrinking (Wollongong's NetBIOS+TCP/IP
is about 45K, Beame and Whiteside's software is pretty small, and I
would be very suprised if FTP software doesn't ship a low memory usage
kernel shortly).  Second, but there are many, many memory management
utilities which allow you to 'hide' software in various places
given a '286 or '386 processor.

enjoy,
leo j mclaughlin iii
The Wollongong Group
ljm@twg.com