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From: hlh@awsum.UUCP (Henry L. Hall)
Newsgroups: net.dcom,net.lan
Subject: Re: Ethernet - RS-232 or modem multiplexers?
Message-ID: <223@awsum.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 28-Aug-86 21:43:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: awsum.223
Posted: Thu Aug 28 21:43:55 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 2-Sep-86 21:08:51 EDT
References: <189@ima.UUCP> <12739@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: hlh@awsum.UUCP (Henry L. Hall)
Distribution: na
Organization: Communication Machinery Corp., Eastern Region
Lines: 33
Keywords: Ethernet modem multiplexer
Xref: mnetor net.dcom:1236 net.lan:956

In article <12739@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>The major "innovation" in
>the DEC server 200 is that it has reverse LAT, which means you can
>implement milking machines with it. For example, you could put some
>modems on a DEC server 200 and connect to them over Ethernet from
>another DEC server (100 or 200). Or you could probably do a SET/HOST
>from a VMS machine. But you can't do what you want, which is connect
>to the modems from a PC on Ethernet.
>
>Would you like DEC to support TCP/IP? Call your salesman and let him
>know. (please!)

I have heard about a DEC offering called PC/DECNET that I believe does
allow some limited DECNET functionality to be accessed by a PC (I don't
know what ethernet hardware is supported).  There have been enough comments
about proprietary format(er)s (RD-53, RX-50), protocols (LAT, MSCP), and
bus structures (CI, BI) that I won't add anything more than my 1.5 cents
worth (I'm not naming names, after all, just products :-).

To DEC's credit, they already sort of support/sell TCP/IP for VMS (via
Wollongon) and Ultrix (via native Berkeley code).  Of course that's why third
party vendors such as my company are around, though; to fill in the gaps in
DEC's product line and react quicker to new technology (how long after 256k
DRAMS were available did DEC keep selling 16k arrays, and my company's
intelligent ethernet cards vs. the DEUNA and even the DELUA).  Like I said,
that's why third parties are still in business.
-- 

Henry L. Hall			 			    +01	(617) 879-0953
Communication Machinery Corp., Eastern Region
945 Concord St. Framingham, MA 01701

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