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From: tslee@oracle.uucp (Terry Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.misc
Subject: SLIP: Why are people so reluctant to use it?
Message-ID: <1990Oct16.225610.3505@oracle.com>
Date: 16 Oct 90 22:56:10 GMT
Reply-To: tslee@oracle.uucp (Terry Lee)
Distribution: na
Organization: Oracle Corporation, Belmont, CA
Lines: 23


I need to configure a TCP network, where sizzling performance is not
necessary.  In fact, the primary user of the net will be UUCP.  I'm trying
to minimize routers, bridges, etc. where not necessary, so things like SLIP
look very promising.

However, it seems that everyone I ask about SLIP seems to speak ill of it,
and curiously mostly "heard that it's bad" not "used it and it was bad."
I hear comments about it being slow, but is it SLIP, or merely the serial
line?  E.g., what does one expect off a 9.6k line?  I did hear one concrete
complaint; that SLIP does not do error correcting efficiently (or at all?)-
is this true?

I have used SLIP, but from a user standpoint a couple of years ago.  It wasn't
the fastest when running RFS over it, but it was cheaper than buying an ether-
net board.

So in summary, is SLIP all that bad?  Are there other relatively standard
methods of running TCP without sizable investments in hardware?

Thanks in advance-
Terry Lee
tslee@oracle.com