[net.periphs] experiences with Emulex STATCON/Micom Port Selector?

phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (01/18/85)

I was wondering if anyone has used Emulex's STATCON series.
It is a Unibus interface board that talks a protocol to a
remote concentrator and allows you to drop 16 lines on the
other side of a building (for example) with only one 4 conductor
wire. It seems like a good deal but I wonder if there are
any gotchas. Also how cost effective is this system?

And even more weird, I was told by some salesman and see signs
in both vendor's literature that the remote concentrator
box is a Micom data concentrator. I suspect Emulex rewrote their
microcode to speak the Micom protocol over selected ports.
Anyway, you can buy a data concentrator plug in module for their
port selectors (M600 series) which will talk to a remote concentrator.
What I would like is to directly connect the data concentrator plug in
module to the Emulex Unibus interface board, meaning the 16
lines are never physically broken out before getting into
the port selector.

Does this seem reasonable? Has anyone tried it? Does it work?
Is it more or less expensive than buying CS21s and running lots
of cables to my port selector?

I guess the new DEC DMZ (I saw one last week!) speaks the CPI
T1 protocol. Any data pbxes which can talk CPI?
-- 
 "Don't be stupid..."

 Phil Ngai (408) 749-5790
 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
 ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA