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- Path: sparky!uunet!pipex!warwick!uknet!strath-cs!cen.ex.ac.uk!CDLatham
- From: CDLatham@cen.ex.ac.uk (C.D.Latham)
- Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn.tech
- Subject: Re: TCP/IP
- Message-ID: <BzGryI.74s@cen.ex.ac.uk>
- Date: 18 Dec 92 16:47:05 GMT
- References: <ARM200-921214130212-4DA1D7C*@MHS>
- Sender: CDLatham@cen.ex.ac.uk
- Organization: Computer Unit. - University of Exeter. UK
- Lines: 46
- In-Reply-To: /G=Owen/S=Smith/O=SJ-Research/ADMD=INTERSPAN/C=GB/@mhs-relay.ac.uk's message of 14 Dec 92 13:02:12 GMT
-
- In article <ARM200-921214130212-4DA1D7C*@MHS> /G=Owen/S=Smith/O=SJ-Research/ADMD=INTERSPAN/C=GB/@mhs-relay.ac.uk writes:
-
- [ ... about TCP/IP software problems ... ]
-
- Yes, you are partly right there Owen in that there are several patched
- versions on the internet module and the original unpatched one all
- with the same number 1.01! Finding the right one to go with a given
- combination of ethernet board, nfs and vt220 is a time consuming
- business as I found out the other day helping a colleague. Added to
- that the Acorn ethernet III boards are almost, but not quite identical
- to the Atomwide ones.
-
- We got it going in the end by trying every possible permutation but
- were not helped by a very nasty interaction with RISC OS 3.1 and
- !Protracker which I wrote about the other day. Everything fails with
- internal errors and its impossible to mark the ethernet interface `up'
- afterwards. Only a delete-power-on reset will fix it - anything less
- severe results in more internal errors.
-
- There are still quite a few TCP/IP bugs and bits of bad design which I
- have moaned [directly] to Acorn about for the last year. Here's one
- for starters:-
-
- Run !VT220 and !NFSFiler. Open a telnet connection with !VT220 and
- login somewhere. Now mount a directory with !NFSFiler and notice that
- the cursor vanishes in the vt220 window with no obvious way of getting
- it back. Clicking on the window gives it the input focus but no
- cursor. Now if you think that is odd, select something in the window,
- click menu and observe that option Select->Type is greyed out and
- inoperative! Click select to clear the selection and the cursor
- magically returns. Now everything works as it should.
-
- The TCP/IP manuals are rather weak in some places; for example setting
- up the NFS printer doesn't have the vital instruction that you must
- export directory /var/spool/pcnfs to your Acorn machines. Ftp is
- implemented very poorly - a filer style interface would be best or at
- least the option of command line operation instead of those messy
- menus. The menu doesn't stay up with click adjust sometimes when it
- ought to which makes it even worse.
-
- I could go on but won't bore you with the other niggles. The TCP/IP
- software is nearly very good but just misses the mark somehow. It
- certainly isn't one of Acorn's best efforts which are usually
- excellent in my opinion.
-
- --Christopher.
-