nelson@image.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (11/09/90)
Hi. This is just a note to keep you all up to date on the packet
drivers, and to announce the creation of a mailing list for packet
driver issues. I should also mention that it's the Clarkson
*collection* of packet drivers, but that doesn't fit very well on the
subject line.
The mailing list:
To subscribe to the mailing list, send an automated add request to
listserv@sun.soe.clarkson.edu. Send a one line mail message whose
sole contents are "add drivers". To get off the list, send "delete
drivers". To send mail to a human (in case of trouble), send mail to
drivers-request@sun.soe.clarkson.edu. To post to the list, send mail
to drivers@sun.soe.clarkson.edu.
The 7.x release:
o The -w switch seems to cause problems, although I can't see why.
o The Tiara and NE2000 packet drivers do not work with the -n switch.
The fix is trivial but requires reassembling those drivers.
o 3c523.com and 3c523_5.com are both broken. I have a replacement that
seems to work. Ask me for it.
o The wd8003e driver seems to be unreliable. You may wish to drop back
to the 6.x version, available in sun.soe.clarkson.edu:pub/packet-drivers/
pktd6_0.arc.
o I've seen the ni6510 driver head south. I haven't determined if it's the
transmitter or receiver. It doesn't crash, it just stops sending (or
receiving).
Donations:
Since the 7.x release, we've received donations of Ethernet equipment
from Hewlett-Packard (including an Ethertwist hub), Cabletron, D-Link,
and Digital Equipment Corporation. Thanks to all of them, their
support is appreciated and encouraging. Please remember to tell your
Ethernet equipment vendor that you're using the packet drivers.
Otherwise, they have no way to know that the packet drivers "butter
their side of the bread".
The 8.x release (no date yet):
o If anyone has any bug fixes or new drivers, please tell us about them,
so that they may be included.
o We have several new drivers: 3Com 3c507, D-Link DE-600, and
Ungermann-Bass ubnicps2.
o Everex has a Clarkson-derived packet driver for their SpeedLink-16
that they distribute without source. They promised to send us the
source, but we haven't gotten it yet.
o The new 3c507 driver sometimes goes deaf. This is unacceptable
and must be fixed before the driver is released. Hopefully this
is just a problem with the 3c507, and not a problem with the 82586
generic driver.
o We have two new drivers in the works, an HP Ethertwist, and a DEPCA.
o Someone is working on a Mylex driver.
o I am working on "genericizing" the 8390 drivers, similar to the way the
82586 drivers use a common file. This serves two purposes, one
to include the wd8003e high performance code in all 8390 drivers, and the
other to write the Ethertwist driver.
o I will include Jochen Kornitzky's changes that let a packet be upcalled
to multiple protocol stacks. This is of great use to those running
Novell who wish to run a packet spy, such as Netwatch or FTP's Lanwatch.
Anyone thinking about using it to run two stacks of the same protocol
should get more sleep, he says at midnight. :-)
Useful projects I don't see myself finding the time for:
o A real but small program written in C that uses the packet driver, with
source code for study and modification.
o A program or programs that exercise the packet drivers. For example,
a ping client that loops through all possible packet sizes would be
handy. Perhaps the PC-IP ping client could be modified to do this?
o Genericize the three LANCE-based drivers, the ni6510, the nti16, and
the (unreleased) isolink.
o Write an article on the packet drivers for a PC programmer's magazine
such a Programmer's Journal, or suchlike.
-russcnolan@vax1.tcd.ie (11/12/90)
In article <9011090510.AA09890@image.soe.clarkson.edu>, nelson@image.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes:> Hi. This is just a note to keep you all up to date on the packet stuff deleted ... > Useful projects I don't see myself finding the time for: > > o A real but small program written in C that uses the packet driver, with > source code for study and modification. > o A program or programs that exercise the packet drivers. For example, > a ping client that loops through all possible packet sizes would be > handy. Perhaps the PC-IP ping client could be modified to do this? > o Genericize the three LANCE-based drivers, the ni6510, the nti16, and > the (unreleased) isolink. > o Write an article on the packet drivers for a PC programmer's magazine > such a Programmer's Journal, or suchlike. > > -russ I would be really interested in the latter. Has any one else done similar aticles from both a programming and a explanatory point of view? -- =============================================================================== Conor Nolan Phone: 772941 (X1741) Microelectronics Dept. Fax: 772442 Trinity College Dublin 2 cnolan@mee.tcd.ie IRELAND ampere::cnolan ===============================================================================
eric@egsner.cirr.com (Eric Schnoebelen) (11/13/90)
In article <7245.273de4ef@vax1.tcd.ie> cnolan@vax1.tcd.ie writes: - In article <9011090510.AA09890@image.soe.clarkson.edu>, - nelson@image.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) writes: - > Useful projects I don't see myself finding the time for: - > - > o Write an article on the packet drivers for a PC programmer's magazine - > such a Programmer's Journal, or suchlike. - - I would be really interested in the latter. I too would be very interested in such an article. I would like to make better use of the packet drivers, but I feel that I lack sufficient information as to do so.. A library similar to the Berkeley socket library would be greatly appreciated to go with the article. If such an article is done, I would enjoy seeing it "published" on the net as well, since there is no way that anyone person can subscribe to all the possible magazines that claim to cover our profession.. A mail server or anonymous ftp would be quite appropriate and welcomed.. -- Eric Schnoebelen eric@cirr.com schnoebe@convex.com The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse.