Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!usc!rutgers!att!pacbell.com!tandem!netcom!jbreeden
From: jbreeden@netcom.UUCP (John Breeden)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: Lan's that support operating systems
Message-ID: <18421@netcom.UUCP>
Date: 9 Dec 90 23:39:11 GMT
References: <9012081820.aa02464@louie.udel.edu>
Organization: Netcom- The Bay Area's Public Access Unix System {408 241-9760 guest}
Lines: 38

In article <9012081820.aa02464@louie.udel.edu> SCEF0003@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu ("James N. Petersen") writes:
>In a recent article, Russ Nelson suggests:
>
>  o Switch to another LAN operating system that supports the packet drivers,
>    you know, ???????.  Hmmm...  That would seem to be a problem.  Perhaps
>    we could convince Artisoft or whomever to include packet driver support?
>
>I thought that the current version of AT&T's StarGroup software did just
>that.  Please correct me if I am wrong.

AT&T's StarGroup (3.3&4) is Lan Manager/Unix (LM/X), which supports the NDIS 
interface on DOS and OS2 workstations. Packet driver software (well, most of 
it now) can run on the same NDIS interface as StarGroup-LM/X via James' 
dis_pkt.dos (packet driver to ndis driver adapter). Unfortunatly, the BYU
code is one of those that DOSN'T run on dis_pkt.

The concept of StarGroup-LM/X running on a packet driver is a good idea, except
that StarGroup (3.4) can use a number of different transport layers (ISO, 
tcp-ip, netbeui) and therefore you would need a packet driver port for each
transport.

It seems a NDIS-to-packet would be a better idea - that would open up packet
driver support for ALL Lan Managers - not just AT&Ts (they ALL use NDIS as an 
interface - sorta' like a "standard" (ya, ya - I know)). It would allow the 
BYU code to co-exist with Lan Man.

There ARE a few commercial products around that provide Netware support on
NDIS (remember - ODI is a DOG (ask Garfield :-)) and without thw "abort" bug. 
Both Hughes Lan Systems' and Walker, Richer and Quinn have Netware NDIS 
drivers - at far less than the +$1000 I've heard quoted for the V3 of the 
BYU code, or CoCoNet.
-- 
 John Robert Breeden, 
 netcom!jbreeden@apple.com, apple!netcom!jbreeden, ATTMAIL:!jbreeden
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 "The nice thing about standards is that you have so many to choose 
  from. If you don't like any of them, you just wait for next year's 
  model."