Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!SUN.COM!melohn
From: melohn@SUN.COM (Bill Melohn)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: maximum Ethernet throughput
Message-ID: <8803110621.AA06544@sluggo.sun.com>
Date: 11 Mar 88 06:21:49 GMT
References: <8803091444.AA24112@sccgate.scc.com>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: melohn@Sun.COM (Bill Melohn)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 15

In article <8803091444.AA24112@sccgate.scc.com> oconnor@SCCGATE.SCC.COM (Michael J. O'Connor) writes:
>...  At least one reporter claimed that this helped to
>demonstrate that Sun violates the Ethernet spec, allowing packets to be put
>on the wire too close together, effectively denying access to other hosts.

We hear these stories at Sun all the time, usually from customers who
have been told by other computer vendors that the Sun somehow "cheats"
on the Ethernet spec by "putting too many packets on the wire", or
"sending too many packets too fast for Ethernet". These are complete
falsehoods. Sun uses standard chips supplied by both Intel and AMD for
our ethernet interfaces, and while they may be the fastest
implementations available on the market, they are completely within
Ethernet specifications. Next time you hear one of these stories from
a sales person for another computer vendor, ask them to back their
claim with facts, and seriously consider the source.