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From: rees@pisa.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Ethernet
Message-ID: <4fd48950.1bc5b@pisa.ifs.umich.edu>
Date: 15 Feb 91 15:12:42 GMT
References: <1991Feb14.235430.11635@unicorn.cc.wwu.edu>
Sender: usenet@terminator.cc.umich.edu (usenet news)
Reply-To: rees@citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees)
Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project
Lines: 30

In article <1991Feb14.235430.11635@unicorn.cc.wwu.edu>, n8844062@unicorn.cc.wwu.edu (mizoguchi scott d) writes:

  I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about an ethernet card for 
  an Apollo DN3000. I'm looking for a 802.3 type / thin ethernet.
  How about third party vendors???

I've added this to the Apollo Q-and-A file, available by ftp from
dabo.ifs.umich.edu:

Question:  Are there third-party vendors of ethernet boards?

Answer:

The ethernet board used in the Otter (dn3000 series) is a 3Com 505.  You can
buy your own and perhaps save some money.  If you buy the board from Apollo,
it comes with a special PROM, which you won't have if you buy direct from
3Com.  That means you won't be able to boot diskless over the ethernet, or
make remote dumps over the ether.  But you'll still be able to boot from
disk, or over the ring if you have one.  And once the node is booted,
everything else will work fine.

The 505 is more expensive than some boards, because it has quite a bit of
on-board smarts and buffering.  No other ethernet board will work in the
Otter, unless you want to write your own driver, and even then you will lose
the ability to run domain protocols and TCP over the ether, which makes it
pretty useless.

Switch settings for the 505 are given in the file ether-switches.

 -- Jim Rees