[comp.dcom.lans] suspected problem w/Cabletron 10Base2 cards and Mac/TCP

jrosen@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Jay Rosenbloom) (01/08/91)

Someone here has noticed what we think is a problem with Macintoshes using
Mac/TCP and Cabletron 10Base2 cards.  When ftp'ing files to a Mac running  NCSA
Telnet 2.3 with Mac/TCP from a VMS Vax running Wollongong TCP transfers of all
but short files tend to fail -- no error message, just a file with 0 bytes on
the Mac.  NCSA with the Cabletron card but without Mac/TCP and vice versa
(with an Apple ethernet adapter and with Mac/TCP) work fine.  We've 
also noticed that when you dump a large file to the screen some of it 
gets lost.

This behavior is consistent on different segments of cable. 
All tests were done on adapters connected to thin wire segments that 
were connected to TP with CPT-100s.

The Vax and its Wollongong software also have some role in this since 
the problem occurs in transfers from the Wollongong equiped Vax and not other
(e.g. Ultrix) machines.

Has anyone had similar experience with Cabletron 10Base2 cards and Mac/TCP?
Can any one shed any light on this problem?

Thanks,
-Jay
.............................................................................
Jay Rosenbloom               Phone: 608-262-9421         jrosen@macc.wisc.edu
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison   Fax:   608-262-4679         jrosen@wiscmac3
Madison Academic Computing Center,  1210 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI  53706

bschmidt@bnr.ca (Ben Schmidt) (01/12/91)

In article <1991Jan7.234628.2136@macc.wisc.edu> jrosen@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Jay
Rosenbloom) writes:
>Someone here has noticed what we think is a problem with Macintoshes using
>Mac/TCP and Cabletron 10Base2 cards.  When ftp'ing files to a Mac running 
NCSA
>Telnet 2.3 with Mac/TCP from a VMS Vax running Wollongong TCP transfers of all
>but short files tend to fail -- no error message, just a file with 0 bytes on
>the Mac.  NCSA with the Cabletron card but without Mac/TCP and vice versa
>(with an Apple ethernet adapter and with Mac/TCP) work fine.  We've 
>also noticed that when you dump a large file to the screen some of it 
>gets lost.
>
>This behavior is consistent on different segments of cable. 
>All tests were done on adapters connected to thin wire segments that 
>were connected to TP with CPT-100s.
>
>The Vax and its Wollongong software also have some role in this since 
>the problem occurs in transfers from the Wollongong equiped Vax and not other
>(e.g. Ultrix) machines.
>
>Has anyone had similar experience with Cabletron 10Base2 cards and Mac/TCP?
>Can any one shed any light on this problem?
>
>Thanks,
>-Jay
>............................................................................
>Jay Rosenbloom               Phone: 608-262-9421         jrosen@macc.wisc.edu
>Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison   Fax:   608-262-4679         jrosen@wiscmac3
>Madison Academic Computing Center,  1210 W. Dayton St., Madison, WI  53706
>

Sorry I can't find a copy but I remember a similar discussion in either
comp.protocols.appletalk or comp.sys.mac.comm at the end of last year.  We
don't use Cabletron Mac Ethernet cards here so I can't comment on them, but I
seem to recall from the usenet discussion that the concensus seemed to be
(fairly or otherwise, I don't know) that Cabletron was the culprit. So at least
you know other people were having the same problem,   ben schmidt