Xref: utzoo comp.dcom.lans:1298 comp.protocols.tcp-ip:3373
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!sgi!vjs
From: vjs@rhyolite.SGI.COM (Vernon Schryver)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans,comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Many things on ethernet together???
Message-ID: <14505@sgi.SGI.COM>
Date: 2 May 88 19:14:00 GMT
References: <218@turbo.RAY.COM>
Sender: daemon@sgi.SGI.COM
Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc, Mountain View, CA
Lines: 33
Keywords: TCP-IP. XNS. DECNET.
Summary: TCP & XNS?--no problem

In article <218@turbo.RAY.COM>, Robin@turbo.RAY.COM (Robin Alston) writes:
>
> We have a bunch of SGI workstations currently running XNS over ethernet.
> We have just been informed that when we move into a new building at the
> end of May we will have to use a single ethernet cable for the whole
> building which includes many vaxen running VMS many many pc's with some kind
> of future-net link and many pc's with simple vax links.
>
> My question is can this really work?
> Can XNS and TCP-IP share the same coax cable with no possible problems?
> Can we have our own domain (we really have no interest at this time in
> talking to our vaxes), while decnet has its own on the same cable?

We have converted our ever growing network from our XNS to TCP.  Two years
ago, we had ~100 workstations, some VAXes, and other stuff, all on one
cable.  We used XNS almost exclusively, even on the VAXes.  We now have
lots more workstations, more VAXes (VMS, 4.2+XNS+TCP, 4.3+NFS), PC-clones
running TCP, many cables, routers (our own, of course), bridges,
microwaves, an APRANET connection (also, of course, our own box--please
forgive the commercial), using almost exclusively TCP/IP/UDP.  The
conversion was continuous; for most percentages n between 1 and 100, we
have had n% TCP and (100-n)% XNS, without trouble.

We also mix DECnet with TCP & XNS on the same cable, using IRIS's & VAXes
to gateway between TCP & DECnet.

We have been blessed with other, educational troubles.  For example,
consider what groups of IRIS 4D's running the UDP-broadcast version of
'dog' at >30 frames/sec do to 750's, which think anything more than 20
broadcast packets/sec is a catastrophic storm.

Vernon Schryver
Silicon Graphics
vjs@sgi.com    {decwrl,sun,pyramid,research,allegra,ucbvax}!sgi!vjs