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- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 94 04:30:03 PDT
- From: Advanced Amateur Radio Networking Group <tcp-group@ucsd.edu>
- Errors-To: TCP-Group-Errors@UCSD.Edu
- Reply-To: TCP-Group@UCSD.Edu
- Precedence: Bulk
- Subject: TCP-Group Digest V94 #131
- To: tcp-group-digest
-
-
- TCP-Group Digest Mon, 27 Jun 94 Volume 94 : Issue 131
-
- Today's Topics:
- NOS and the PC (2 msgs)
- Routing Project
-
- Send Replies or notes for publication to: <TCP-Group@UCSD.Edu>.
- Subscription requests to <TCP-Group-REQUEST@UCSD.Edu>.
- Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu.
-
- Archives of past issues of the TCP-Group Digest are available
- (by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives".
-
- We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
- herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
- policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: Sun, 26 Jun 1994 08:05:53 -0500 (CDT)
- From: ssampson@sabea-oc.af.mil (Steve Sampson)
- Subject: NOS and the PC
- To: tcp-group@UCSD.EDU
-
- klarsen@kazak.NMSU.Edu writes:
- > But out there right now is the G8BPQ switch which I have running
- > and has NEVER CRASHED! Unless we need something better than netrom under
- > ax.25 this is the best thing available.
-
- You brought up some interesting points about mountaintop operation. Almost
- all sites probably run everything off a battery. That's where the TNC-2
- fits in, as it runs off of 12 volts. I have a PC in my Buick that runs off
- of 12 volts and is equipped with an inverter. It runs the CRT display which
- simulates the guages. But you're right, you have to factor the cost of an
- Inverter (commonly called UPS in computer lingo) for the PC as well as a
- battery for the radios.
-
- Where I think you stray from modernization is the reliance on serial port I/O.
- This is always worse than DMA. So no, I don't think the answer is to just
- hook up serial devices to the PC. I think if you're not going to use a plug
- in card with DMA, that you're not really modernizing and wasting your time.
- BPQ, Net/Rom, and Rose are all antiquated software technology, designed for
- serial ports. Along with that, they are designed for 1200 baud and small
- packet sizes. Once you forget about 1200 baud as the network speed, then
- you have to forget about serial I/O. If BPQ and Net/Rom are so good, why
- doesn't your company use it to run their computer network? Because they want
- the performance of DMA in the form of an Ethernet card.
- --
- Steve
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 09:12:23 +0200 (BST)
- From: A.Cox@swansea.ac.uk (Alan Cox)
- Subject: NOS and the PC
- To: ssampson@sabea-oc.af.mil (Steve Sampson)
-
- > you have to forget about serial I/O. If BPQ and Net/Rom are so good, why
- > doesn't your company use it to run their computer network? Because they want
- > the performance of DMA in the form of an Ethernet card.
-
- BPQ supports stuff like the Baycom 4 port card (2*1200, 9600 + other high speed
- modem of choice). It needs a PC, and it needs a fast PC to do a lot of fast
- traffic, but it is _not_ just a KISS tnc driver. The fact you can play
- wolfenstein at the same time as having BPQ loaded high and running the node
- says something..
-
- Alan
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 08:57:24 +0200 (BST)
- From: A.Cox@swansea.ac.uk (Alan Cox)
- Subject: Routing Project
- To: ssampson@sabea-oc.af.mil (Steve Sampson)
-
- > Alan Cox reports that his group is nearing completion of a Linux design
- > that could run in 2 Meg and a floppy. I like this idea much better, being
- > an advocate of using better code. For example the TCP/IP is probably no
- > better than Phil's, but the support code is (domain, NFS, etc). Hopefully
- > they will be able to release a floppy image.
-
- You can already put it together yourself barring TCP/IP over AX.25 VC links.
- Thats the one thing KA9Q has as a 'feature' as opposed to an improvement. The
- KA9Q AX.25 also has the added stuff for doing out of order frame reassembly.
- For the basic router only purpose however while a 2MB 386SX will do it beautifully
- and in some style, an XT with a hacked KA9Q will do many of the cases on hardware
- sitting in everyones cupboard looking for a reason to exist. At least in the
- UK second hand 386's are not yet _that_ common.
-
- Obviously by using a Linux or *BSD kernel you immediately get tcp routing,
- ftp, nfs, dns etc. You get handling for SLIP, PPP, AX.25 (not netrom 8) )
- and ethernet TCP/IP.
-
- > That was my intention. To get off the single character at a time logic in
- > NOS, and do bulk transfer. That serial code is terrible, and the performance
- > is terrible (I've been able to NOS up to 4800 baud without overruns). I looked
- > at redesign of that part, but it's a major change.
-
- Linux gets 56Kbit with no losses on a 386DX40 with SCSI disks, 38400 with IDE
- due to certain IDE drives needing you to lock interrupts off during a transfer
- to avoid nasty messes occuring. The code is clean and could as equally be shoved
- into DOS or anything else. Another way to attack this from the NOS/DOS side is
- to use the FOSSIL drivers.
-
- > It doesn't have to be Telnet (just an idea) and maybe a simple AX.25 connection
- > would be good enough. Anyway the remote command mode in NOS is the only area
- > that needs to be modified in order to bring it out as the main console.
-
- You want full reconfigure ability if possible and the ability to trace.
-
- I'll put together an ALPHA disk release next week after Im back from the
- Linux & The Internet conference in Heidelberg.
-
-
- Alan
-
- ------------------------------
-
- End of TCP-Group Digest V94 #131
- ******************************
-