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From: jweldon@renegade.sgi.com (Jack Weldon)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: Can you use thin wire ethernet to 4D-series machines?
Message-ID: <2222@odin.SGI.COM>
Date: 22 Dec 89 23:17:33 GMT
References: <06A067F6DFDF203282@ALCANKTN.BITNET>
Sender: news@odin.SGI.COM
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 25

In article <06A067F6DFDF203282@ALCANKTN.BITNET> ACCESS@ALCANKTN.BITNET (Shawn Allin - Alcan KRDC Computer Services) writes:
>
>     We have a couple of Personal Irises and one 4D-120 GTX at the moment.
>     All of them are hooked into ethernet by thick wire transceiver cables into
>     DEC Delni boxes.  Is there any way instead to use thin wire ethernet, say
>     with a DESTA?  One of our labs tried this with an Iris 3130 a couple of
>     years ago without success.  Any comments would be appreciated.
>
>     Shawn Allin
>     Alcan International Ltd.,

There should be no reason why you can't use thinnet coax for your 3000 or your
4D.  The only difference is in the thickness of the coax, and therefore the
overall length of the cable, end-to-end.  Since SGI sells the Cabletron ST-500
Transceiver as either a thin or thick connection, so there should be no problem
using your DESTA xcvr.  I have assisted customers with this many times in 
the past, so I can't really see what the problem might be.  Verify that SQE
is set off (for the 3000s and the PI), and check termination from one end
of the coax--should read ~50 ohms. Try swapping a "known-good" thinnet xcvr
into its place, or maybe moving the IRIS and attaching it to a "known-good"
thinnet.  Best of luck.

Jack Weldon
System Engineer--Communications Group
SGI Product Support