Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!purdue!decwrl!pyramid!ctnews!starfish!jdm
From: jdm@starfish.Convergent.COM (John McLean)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: IP Encapsulation on HP 3000/9000 computers
Message-ID: <931@starfish.Convergent.COM>
Date: 3 Feb 89 05:59:49 GMT
References: <6402@blia.BLI.COM>
Organization: Convergent Technologies, San Jose, CA
Lines: 38

From article <6402@blia.BLI.COM>, by ted@blia.BLI.COM (Ted Marshall):
> 
> I have heard that HP's TCP/IP implementation, when sending over Ethernet,
> uses IEEE802.3 data link format (i.e. packet length, SSAP and DSAP)
> instead of Ethernet V2 format (i.e. protocol type) like most Unixes.

This is correct; the encapsulation used by the HP's is IEEE802.3.
They also use PROBE for address resolution (instead of ARP).  In
addition, HP has their own set of user-level programs (instead of
TELNET and FTP).  I guess HP really did want to have it *their* own
way!

We have been able to get our UNIX hosts to communicate with a
HP3000/CLASSIC by doing the following:

	1. Purchasing a gateway server box from cisco.  This box
	   does the conversion from Ethernet 2.0 to IEEE802.3
	   encapsulation.  (The gateway server understands both
	   PROBE and ARP, however, we are currently operating
	   from manually-created IP-to-Ethernet address entries.)
	
	2. Purchasing the WIN/HP product from Wollongong.  This
	   package includes TELNET and FTP.  It runs on the
	   HP3000/CLASSIC model only.  (We also have two
	   HP3000/SPECTRUM systems; the WIN/HP product does not
	   run on these systems.)

All of our HP systems are on the same physical ethernet as the
UNIX hosts.  Of course, this means that all data from the UNIX
systems to the HP systems goes thru the net twice; the additional
overhead has not caused a problem yet.


John McLean			jdm@starfish.Convergent.COM
Systems Engineer
Convergent Technologies

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