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From: david@indetech.com (David Kuder x2003)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,news.groups,comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: PPP: Let's create comp.protocols.ppp
Message-ID: <1991Apr29.220018.7647@indetech.com>
Date: 29 Apr 91 22:00:18 GMT
References: <1991Apr19.054904.23533@telebit.com> <1991Apr21.052511.22841@onion.rain.com> <3884@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP>
Reply-To: david@indetech.COM (David Kuder)
Organization: Independence Technologies, Inc. Fremont, CA
Lines: 37

In article <3884@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> carroll@ssc-vax.UUCP (Jeff Carroll) writes:
>	Another problem with this name is the insinuation that lines that 
>don't use multipin D connectors are somehow not serial. How is Ethernet
>inherently less serial than EIA-232D?

I've left my references at home, but please try to find a Tanenbaum.
He goes into great detail why ethernet isn't just serial.  It is a
packet medium on a broadcast wire with collision detection.  You can
drag in the heirarchical model of your choice and work out which bits
fit where, but the serial bit ordering of ethernet is a small part
compared to EIA-@#@D.

The serialness you seem to see in these protocols can be found in
every protocol.  The arrow of time is a work in them all.  A "parallel"
printer port is actually byte serial.  Disk buses are byte or word
serial during transfers.  As long as we're moving something from one
place to another one will follow the other at some level.

>	I'd suggest comp.protocols.internet.eia, to be used for discussion
>of protocols for internetworking machines using EIA-XXX interfaces and
>voiceband/leased-line analog modems.

But EIA means nothing at all to me.  Couldn't whoever EIA are do
something other than RS-232 type standards (like BNC)?  I don't think
EIA is any improvement over PPP.

>	This would clear the way for the future creation of comp.protocols.
>internet.isdn, comp.protocols.internet.sonet, and the ilk.

To the best of my knowledge PPP could run over ISDN, SONET and frame
relay.  Maybe not well.  But PPP is designed to provide Point to Point
connections over low speed asynchronous serial links as well as medium
(56Kb) to high speed synchronous serial links (T1).  Feel free to prove
me wrong in comp.protocols.ppp.
-- 
David A. Kuder              Looking for enough time to get past patchlevel 1
415 438-2003  david@indetech.com  {uunet,sun,sharkey,pacbell}!indetech!david