Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!ucbvax!hplabs!pyramid!infmx!aland
From: aland@informix.com (Colonel Panic)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: Ethernet vendors
Summary: Wollongong also sells their own version
Message-ID: <1991Jan15.224024.17530@informix.com>
Date: 15 Jan 91 22:40:24 GMT
References: <1991Jan7.222015.2417@nimbus3.uucp> <14163@ulysses.att.com>
Sender: news@informix.com (Usenet News)
Organization: INFORMIX MCS   ("I've fallen, and I can't get up!")
Lines: 47

In article <14163@ulysses.att.com> lee@ulysses.att.com (Lee Begeja[cwc]) writes:
>In article <1991Jan7.222015.2417@nimbus3.uucp>, djs@nimbus3.uucp (Doug) writes:
>> We currently use Micom-Interlan NP600A thin Ethernet cards and software with
>> an AT&T 6386 running System V release 3.2.2.  Sometimes the network hangs,
>> sometimes the machine and network hang.  In either case the machine requires
>> rebooting.  If you can recommend any vendors of Ethernet hardware and
>> software I would appreciate it.  Thanks.
>> Doug Scofea   Email: nimbus3!djs@cis.ohio-state.edu    Phone:+1 614 459-1889
>We were having the same types of problems with our MICOM stuff
>particularly when we tried to use the socket libraries.
>We got burned and frustrated enough that we switched to the
>AT&T NAU boards and the tcp/ip WIN software.
>Not only does it work faster and better
>but they are a lot cheaper than the MICOM set up and
>the support is superior (it exists).
>
>We use AT&T 6386's and thin ethernet and it has worked well for us.
>Lee Begeja att!ulysses!lee 201/582-5777

The AT&T version of WIN/TCP for 386 STREAMS appears to be the
following:
      1) they take the now-old 3.0 version of WIN/TCP as their base
      2) they add drivers for their StarLAN cards
      3) they strip out the drivers for the 3rd-party cards    (grrrrrr...)

If you'd rather use a 3rd party card, you can get Wollongong's direct
version.  Their current version is 3.1.0, and it runs with the major
ethernet cards (3Com, WD, Intel, etc.).  In my case, I really wanted to
be able to run PC-NFS under DOS and TCP/IP under UNIX on the same
hardware, and the only easy way to do this was to use Wollongong's own
version with WD8003E cards.  (As an alternative, I guess there may be
a way to work PC-NFS on top of Clarkson packet drivers on top of the
StarLAN boards, but I was behind enough as it was.  Also, the only
interrupt I had left was interrupt 2/9; WIN/TCP 3.0 gags badly if
interrupt 2/9 is used.)

The WIN/TCP - WD8003E solution was also substantially cheaper, though
I'd expect that the 10BaseT StarLAN boards run lots faster...

--
Alan Denney  #  aland@informix.com  #  {pyramid|uunet}!infmx!aland

 "Now they'll have this "Chunnel" thing, parallel tunnels running 
  between England and France.  Let's see.  The English drive on the
  left side, and the French drive on the right side.   Hmmmmm.
  That's going to be one wild lane!"
                                     - John Mendoza