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From: nestor@hls.com ("Nestor A. Fesas")
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: broadband adapters
Message-ID: <9105170139.AA09630@lanslide.hls.com>
Date: 17 May 91 01:39:40 GMT
References: <9105141837.aa00823@louie.udel.edu>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 70


>> 
>> IBM used to sell a broadband "PCNet" card. You might have to experiment
>> to find out what you could run over it, though. I heard, once, that
>> someone had managed to run PC/TCP over it, with some IBM driver, but
>> we've never tried it. Maybe IBM can tell you more.
>> 
> -----------------------------------------
> 
> Our oldest network still uses those hideous cards.

Thanks. Its nice to know that our first attempt at PC networking is still
in use after all of these years.

> Sytek which is now called Hughes manufactured them for IBM.

Actually, Hughes LAN Systems designed and manufactured the card as
well as portions of its corresponding adapter ROM interface: NetBIOS.
I'm not really sure to what extent IBM was technically involved in the
effort.  This happened a long time ago, and few of the folks
originally involved in that effort are still around.

> Hughes has a TCP/IP product called PROLINC that runs on
> some of those cards but not on all versions.  It only supports
> a model called IBM PC NET II (it has more memory than
> the regular PC NET cards). PC NET II is actually shorter than
> the regular cards.

The original IBM PC Network adapter card (i.e. the Sytek 6110) is in
fact fully supported by ProLINC v1.0. ProLINC v2.0 no longer supports
the 6110, but it fully supports subsequent versions of the card,
specifically the Sytek 6120 and its latest incarnation the HLS 6130.
Additionally, The new IBM adapters - PCN II for the PC and PCN II/A
for the PS/2 - are also fully supported by ProLINC.

> Since the LAN operating system here is Novell, I have been
> able to run the WIN/TCP (from Wollongong) on those cards
> and it works fine. Although, I must say that since this
> approach uses the IPX transport layer, the IP packets are
> encapsulated in IPX packets and I have had to dedicate a
> machine that runs another program from Wollongong that
> unwraps the IPX packets and extracts the IP ones out before
> they are sent to the IP router.

ProLINC uses a different approach to providing concurrent Novell and TCP
connections. Along with the TCP, NFS, and LAT protocols provided in the
package, we also include an IPX stack with code that interfaces it
directly to our Multiple Protocol Driver (MPD). As such, Netware and TCP
(and LAT, and Banyan and LAN Man for that matter) can concurrently share the
MPD interface without encapsulations.

> 
> By the way, IBM directs all inquiries about PC NET cards to
> Hughes.
> 
> 
> I am very interested in any other drivers that would allow
> running PC/TCP on PC NET cards.
> 

The original PC Net cards are still supported by the IBM LAN Support
Program.  Conceptually, LAN Support could be used to run the ASI
versions of both the PC/TCP stack and the Novell IPX. However, I
can't make a specific recommendation in this regard since I haven't
tested this combination myself.

Nestor A. Fesas, Jr.					Hughes LAN Systems
voice: (415) 966-7473					1225 Charleston Road
fax:   (415) 960-3738					Mountain View, CA 94043
inet:  nestor@hls.com					Mailstop 7