*BSD News Article 37407


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From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
Subject: Re: 16550 detection
Reply-To: pe1chl@rabo.nl
Organization: PE1CHL
Message-ID: <Cynu1H.Is@pe1chl.ampr.org>
References: <CMETZ.94Oct30051603@itchy.inner.net> 	<SRA.94Oct30162124@rurha-pente.epilogue.com> 	<CMETZ.94Oct30192816@itchy.inner.net> <CyIzxz.97A@cuug.ab.ca> 	<TYTSO.94Oct31162517@dcl.mit.edu> 	<MICHAELV.94Oct31211019@MindBender.HeadCandy.com> 	<TYTSO.94Nov1182557@dcl.mit.edu> <MICHAELV.94Nov1215132@MindBender.HeadCandy.com>
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 1994 21:51:16 GMT
Lines: 27

In <MICHAELV.94Nov1215132@MindBender.HeadCandy.com> michaelv@MindBender.HeadCandy.com (Michael L. VanLoon) writes:

>At 115200 bps (which is where the high-end modems are going these
>days, with some capable of even 230400 bps), it takes only one
>thousandth of a second to fill a 16 character FIFO. 

I have extreme doubts about using an RS-232 interface at 230400 bps...
Even 115200 is already way above spec, and can be unreliable with
standard cables.

Why don't MODEM manufacturers fit their producs with an Ethernet interface,
instead of or in addition to the RS-232 interface?  Drivers for Ethernet
are widely available, and a modem could use a simple DLC protocol that
is very easily built on top of a packet driver, ODI MLID, or whatever.
Cards are cheap, and many workstations come with it anyway.  It is also
much easier to connect some modems to a single machine (no troublesome
multi-port cards that always have to few ports).
This seems like a much better way to go than to provide "enhanced serial
cards" for only a single machine architecture and limited number of
ports....

Rob
-- 
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| Rob Janssen                | AMPRnet:   rob@pe1chl.ampr.org           |
| e-mail: pe1chl@rabo.nl     | AX.25 BBS: PE1CHL@PI8UTR.#UTR.NLD.EU     |
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