beck@TRIFID.DEC (01/27/86)
There has been some confusion expressed in INFO-VAX regarding a statement in the DECnet-VAX documentation about asynchronous datalinks and area routers. I hope this will help clarify things. Keep in mind that INFO-VAX should not be considered a substitute for normal reporting of software or documentation problems to DEC. The use of an asynchronous datalink to connect two area routers is a supported configuration. The intent of the comment in the Guide to Networking was to indicate that should you have trouble getting nodes connected by an asynchronous line to communicate, one possible problem was that they were in different areas and that one or both was not an area router or did not have the full function license installed. This last part was supposed to be implied, but should have been made more explicit; as printed, the statement is misleading, and will be clarified. There are several factors which can cause problems getting adjacent nodes to initialize; these include compatible line speeds, correct settings of initialization passwords and circuit verification settings, line quality, etc. If a dynamic connection is being established (as opposed to a static connection), additional constraints apply as documented. But there is nothing to constrain properly configured area routers in different areas from being connected via an asynchronous datalink. - Paul Beck Digital Equipment Corp.