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- Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!syscon!gator!dlpinc00!dlparker
- From: dlparker@dlpinc00.rn.com (David L. Parker)
- Subject: Re: Anyone heard of the BocaBoard?
- Message-ID: <1992Aug22.184845.1913@dlpinc00.rn.com>
- Organization: Automated Data Management Services
- References: <2A95BEE8.5424@telly.on.ca>
- Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 18:48:45 GMT
- Lines: 47
-
- In article <2A95BEE8.5424@telly.on.ca> evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch) writes:
- >A company that has so far made its reputation on clone VGA and memory
- >cards has quietly announced what seems a step backwards; new-design
- >non-intelligent serial port cards.
- >
- >Boca Resaerch (of Boca Raton, FL -- surprise) has something called at
- >BocaBoard, which has eight RJ-12 jacks on the back of the board.
- >
- >Its UARTs -- two of them -- are ST16C554s. The brochure says "each
- >ST16C554 chip is equivalent to four NS16C550s with FIFO buffering".
- >
- >Other stuff from the glossy:
- >
- >I/O addresses are assigned in blocks of 0x40 10-bit addresses based
- >at the following start addresses:
- >
- >000 040 080 0C0 100 140 180 1C0
- >200 240 280 2C0 300 340 380 3C0
- >
- >The interrupt switchable to 3,4,5,7,10,11,12,15
- >
- >The board is claimed to come with drivers for SCO Xenix and SCO UNIX.
- >I wouldn't give the thing a second glance if it wasn't for the
- >possibility of FAS or SAS working with it. I also wonder of the
- >"initasy" script supplied with ESIX would be able to support it
- >properly.
- >
- >Would SAS or FAS be possible on all eight ports of this thing? The
- >8-port card sells for a dealer price of under $130US. A four-port
- >version is under $90.
- >
- >Worth it?
- >--
- > Evan Leibovitch, Sound Software Ltd., located in beautiful Brampton, Ontario
- > evan@telly.on.ca / uunet!utzoo!telly!evan / (416) 452-0504
- > Was "Trouble" (from the Broadway Show, Music Man) the first rap song?
-
- I've wondered about this one, too. If it's got shareable interrupts,
- and the buffering on the UARTs actually works under FAS, I'd think it
- would indeed be worth it. I don't think getting it to work under FAS
- would be a problem. I'd just want to make sure that the UARTs would
- be the functional equivalents, under FAS, of 16550AFNs. Also, it
- would be nice if it's a half card, then I could fit one in my luggable.
- --
- Dave Parker
- Automated Data Management Services, Pleasant Hill, MO 64080-1331
- (816) 987-5167/5218 voice/fax
-