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From: winans@clone.mcs.anl.gov (John Winans)
Subject: Re: Slip
Message-ID: <1991Mar30.172126.1688@mcs.anl.gov>
Keywords: slip
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Organization: Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago, Illinois
References: <7497@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM>
Date: Sat, 30 Mar 91 17:21:26 GMT

In article <7497@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM> doughe@bamboo.cax.tek.com writes:
>---------
>	I've just heard about using a Western Digital card
>	for an IBM PC in a slip server mode for something
>	on the order of 9600 baud, effectively establishing
>	a "real" networking connection.  My apologies for a
>	likely repeat on this.  Could someone fill me in or
>	refer me to some previously posted articles?
>
>	Apparently, there is something about a DSU modem
>	involved.  Details, here or email, would be appreciated.

Well, I have recently been messing around with the notion of using Vance 
Morrison's pcbridge/pcroute package on a PC to link two ethernets by way of 
slip.

I have not started it up yet, but it looks like all you need is an ethernet
card and a modem or something to connect the serial port to a something
that speaks slip on 'the other side.'

The price is right & the hardware is mondo-cheap.  It looks like the source 
to this thing is sitting on accuvax.nwu.edu in pub/pcroute.  In fact, the 
version even went up a tick since I last looked.

Let's see...
... rummage, rummage...  AH! it was ported to assembly language last month 
(or so the filenames would indicate.)  And it looks like there are pre-made 
versions in the tar file that are config'd for an ethernet -to- slip 
configuration.

Z'at what yer lookin' for?

Here's a some snipits from a readme file...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   PCbridge: a inexpensive Ethernet Bridge
                             Vance Morrison
                        morrison@accuvax.nwu.edu

[...]

What is PCbridge?

    PCbridge is a simple program written for an IBM-PC that will turn
    a PC with appropriate interface cards into a ethernet bridge.   It
    has the capability to act as a standard 2 way ethernet-ethernet
        or ethernet-starlan bridge as well as a remote bridge
        (ethernet-serial-ethernet) or a n-way bridge.   With this software
        it is possible to assemble a bridge for under $1000, that will
        outperform bridges costing $2000 or more.

What does PCbridge Support?

    PCbridge supports

        Ethernet interfaces with the Western Digital WD8003E, WD8003EBT
            WD8013EBT cards.

        Starlan cards with the WD8003S and WD8003SH cards.

        Serial Interfaces with the standard 8250 IBM COM ports at
            baud rates up to 56.7K baud, as well as support for the
            newer 16550AF chips with built in FIFO buffers (these
            newer COM boards are HIGHLY recommended since they can
            reduce the interrupt overhead by a factor of 10).  COM
            boards with the 16550AF chips are now widely available
            from PC vendors.

--
! John Winans                     Advanced Computing Research Facility  !
! winans@mcs.anl.gov              Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois !
!                                                                       !
!"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away"-- Tom Waits  !
