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From: haas@utah-cs.UUCP (Walt Haas)
Newsgroups: net.dcom
Subject: Tymnet X.25 interface exists
Message-ID: <2704@utah-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Apr-84 14:19:53 EST
Article-I.D.: utah-cs.2704
Posted: Sat Apr 14 14:19:53 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Apr-84 09:20:56 EST
Lines: 24

Tymnet does indeed offer an X.25 interface.  It is basically not
correct to talk about any public data network "being" an X.25
network in any sense except that they do or do not provide an
X.25 interface.  Telenet is X.75 internally, whereas Tymnet uses
a protocol of their own design which repackets data within the
network.  None of the large public data networks in the US uses
X.25 internally, since it is not really well suited to that
purpose.  X.25 does however work fine as the internal protocol of
a relatively small regional network, and indeed ComWest, which
is a small public data network serving the State of Utah, is
built with Dynapac switches interconnected by the X.25 protocol.

The new AT&T offering, ACCUNET* Packet Services, is being planned
at present around X.25 as the internal protocol, and it will be
real interesting to see how it works out.  Currently ACCUNET is
not really a network, since they only have two nodes, New York
and Chicago, which are not even connected to each other.  Of course
their reason for existing is to support Net/1000, and they are
doing that on a trial basis at present.  ACCUNET is supposed to
turn into a real network about next January, so by the middle of
1985 we shall see how their idea of using X.25 internally works out
in the real world.

Regards  -- Walt Haas