Xref: utzoo comp.protocols.tcp-ip:2918 comp.protocols.iso:63
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!mtunx!whuts!homxb!hou2d!n2dsy
From: n2dsy@hou2d.UUCP (G.BEATTIE)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip,comp.protocols.iso
Subject: Re: SLIP working group?
Message-ID: <1966@hou2d.UUCP>
Date: 29 Mar 88 00:33:30 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel
Lines: 58

Summary: Alternatives to ASLIP, SLIP, KISS, et al...
	 let add in some reliability and universality to solving the problem.
References: <625@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>


 I remember seeing some articles here on the net regarding the
use of these somewhat homegrown solutions to the problem of
packet data transmission (your choice of protocol suite) over
an asynchronous link.  As part of the work that our non-profit
Amateur Radio group (the Radio Amateur Telecommunications Society)
is doing on OSI protocols we have developed a package for 
transmitting generic HDLC frames over an asynchronous interface.

This package is based on the Asynchronous Framing Technique
that was published by Toby Nixon from D. C. Hayes.  This
proposal has been well received in various ISO workgroups and
basically offers a couple of reasonable variations.

The first is basic framing, transparency, and error checking.
This mode uses two characters for special purposes.  The
framing character (7EH) and the escape character (7DH) are
all that require special handling.  In the normal data flow
you prefix a 5EH (corresponding to a 7EH) or a 5DH
(corresponding to a 7DH) with a 7DH.  The appearance of a 7EH
uniquely signals a frame start or end.  This mode also
contains a feature not found in SLIP (and I believe ASLIP):
ERROR CHECKING.  There is a check calculation (I forget what
type) on every frame.  

The second mode adds the X-ON and X-OFF characters to the list
of characters transmitted transparently.

The third adds in most control characters.

There are several other options like 7-bit character
transparency and packet forwarding characters which can be
added AFTER the flag to force the packet to be forwarded.

In any case, our software was written by John Howell, N2FVN
and includes source code, source for some MS-DOS drivers and
test programmes, binaries for everything for MS-DOS and a lot
of GOOD documentation.

I will post this code to the net in a few days.  It will be
posted in the same sequence as the RATS Open Systems
Environment (ROSE, formerly COSI) software to the
comp.sources.misc and comp.sources.ibmpc newsgroups.

I will also post an announcement here for those who need to
be signalled to the availability of the software.



Thanks,
            J. Gordon Beattie, Jr.
E-mail:    ihnp4!hou2d!n2dsy (Unix)  n2dsy@kd6th.a3100201.ampr
Telephone: 201-615-4168 (Office)     201-615-4669 (Office FAX)
Telephone: 201-387-8896 (Home)