Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!linac!att!ucbvax!FTP.COM!fks
From: fks@FTP.COM (Frances Selkirk)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re:  Question about packet, NDIS, Clarkson, BYU, etc
Message-ID: <9105031427.AA24858@ftp.com>
Date: 3 May 91 14:27:09 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 70

Our WHAT product? Our current methods for Novell compatibility on
Ethernet (Token Ring is easy, of course) use the packet drivers for
demuxing, and a Netware IPX packet driver shell (BYU for PD, or one of
the OEM shells). Did someone actually call this a "Novell Workstation"
product? (sigh) For your questions:


NDIS is the Network Driver Interface Specification, written by 3Com
and Microsoft. The Packet Driver Specification is an earlier
specification written by John Romkey at FTP Software, and currently
maintained, here, by James Van Bokkelen. Both of these specifications,
provide a means to develop drivers with a standard interface. These
drivers are then usable by all software written to use that interface.
From the viewpoint of the developers of the upper layer software
packages, adherence to one of these specifications provides instant
compatibility with large numbers of network boards.  Both
specifications also provide the capability to sort incoming packets
between two stacks of different protocol types, sending, in the case
of Netware and PC/TCP, IPX packets to the Netware stack, and IP
packets to the PC/TCP stack. This is also useful. (A similar
specification, ODI, is available from Novell, but it is a commercial,
rather than free, specification.  This has limited its support
considerably.)

Whereas support for the packet drivers is largely freeware, or by
smaller companies, many large, mainstream board manufacturers have
NDIS drivers. Corporations and organisations that require all their
software to be supported will often prefer an NDIS solution to a
packet driver one. FTP Software provides a module that converts 
between a program that expects a packet driver, and an NDIS driver. 
A version of this has been released into the public domain, and is
available by anonymous ftp from vax.ftp.com.

The Clarkson collection of packet drivers is the largest collection
available. They are all freeware, and available by anonymous ftp to
omnigate.clarkson.edu (I think that's the current site...). The
Clarkson drivers are frequently updated and well maintained. Although
the software is not, technically, supported, the collection's
maintainer, Russ Nelson is responsive to bug reports. In addition to
the Clarkson drivers, FTP Software distributes a large number of
packet drivers written by card manufacturers.

The BYU shell is a packet driver compatible Netware shell. You would
use this if you didn't have another (for instance, Western Digital's)
available from your board manufacturer, to run Netware over a packet
driver. Brigham Young University sold the rights to their shell to a
company (CoCoNet?) over a year ago, but older versions, such as we
include, remain publicly distributable.

Our software is usually sold for a specific network interface card,
but we have a few distributions which are for specific driver
specifications, such as the packet driver specification, and the Token
Ring ASI specification.  Most people who get our "generic" package,
have bought it for one of two reasons: either they want to be able to
switch among cards, or they want to use the demuxing capabilities of
the packet driver or NDIS drivers.  With this package, therefore, we
try to include most of the additional free software (most of which, I
should point out, is freeware, not public domain) that they might
want. It's far less hassle to the customer, and it's actually less
hassle to us than constantly reciting the ftp sites where these things
are available, and sending copies to the (many) users who do not have
Internet access. It also encourages familiarity with, and use of,
these drivers, which leads to greater demand for them, and thus more
driver development, and greater software interoperability. We see this
as a Good Thing for the Internet community.


Frances Kirk Selkirk		 info@ftp.com	           (617) 246-0900
FTP Software, Inc.		 26 Princess Street, Wakefield, MA  01880
(Happy May!)