umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) (03/24/90)
Here is a summery of all the replies I got on my question of whether or not I can use LANTASTIC will any old network board. I think I got everybody's response, if I didn't, you can shoot me later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >1) Are Ethernet cards basically generic in form? Ie, if I buy LANtastic > now, and I need to upgrade to Novell later, will the same Ethernet > boards work? Or does each network require its own specialized > Ethernet board? I think you'll be safe going from LANtastic to Novell. I use the Western Digital WD8003E cards and am very pleased with them. There's lots of free packet drivers available (follow comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc) that'll allow tcp/ip to run along w/ Novell for ftp or telnet. > >2) Do these boards come with the low level drivers required to interface > to any netbios/lanbios with? The WD8003 has disks with it for Novell. The board sells for about $US225 around here. > >3) Are there performance differences in these boards? I hear the WD8003E wins in this area. They also have a 16 bit version. > >4) Anything I missed that others can tell me? Also follow comp.dcom.lans. Read LAN Technology mag. alan -- Alan Strassberg alan@oetl.scf.lockheed.com (408) 425-6139 ...!uunet!lstc!oetl!alan ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: <pentch@milton.u.washington.edu> Subject: Re: LANTASTIC I just went through a long song and dance regarding 3Com ethernet boards for use under Lantastic. (In the end we've decided to go with a PC-NFS based system for other reasons.) The upshot is that a Netbios driver has to be written for each potential ethernet board. There wasn't one for the 3Com board we might have bought. 3Com wasn't particularly knowledgeable about who might have written a Netbios for their boards, and the pointer I got from the Lantastic people was equally unhelpful. If you can find a cheap board that does have Netbios support, it seems to be the way to go. But good luck! -Dean ---------------------------------------------------------------- > I've also been told that you can use your regular Computer Shopper > el-cheapo ($150) Ethernet cards with Lantastic's redirector and server > software by using Novell's NETBIOS, which may work out to be a cheaper > solution yet, depending upon how much Western Digital or compatable boards can > be found. Anyone know anything about that??? Yup, call Business World and price the Novell NE1000 cards. I bought two at Xmas for $149 (Can.!), but I think the price is now $219. These work just fine for all the s/w I've tried. Business World wants $319 for the WD cards. The Novell cards have a socket for a boot ROM that the WD's lack, so I think the NE1000's are a much better deal. -- Bruce Walker ...uunet!utai!lsuc!isgtec!bmw bmw@isgtec.uucp "What is the mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind." -- Homer Simpson ISG Technologies Inc. 3030 Orlando Dr. Mississauga. Ont. Can. L4V 1S8 ------------------------------------------------------------------ From: <rose@cs.wisc.edu> >The regular version of Lantastic ONLY works with genuine Lantastic boards >which will work out to around $400 Canadian a node <ouch!!!>. But they make They *retail* for $249US. Isn't that quite a bit less than $400CA? Can't you get them for less than retail? (I'm talking the 2Mb boards here...) >something called AILANBIOS <Adapter Independant LANBIOS> which is just >the software, which works out to be more per node than their regular >software, but it allows you to use the somewhat less expensive Western >Digital Ethernet cards. So, can anyone tell me if there are clones >of Western Digital LAN boards? If so, where do I get them and an >approximate price?? Lantastic makes one. It retails for $349. Maybe that's what you were talking about above? >I've also been told that you can use your regular Computer Shopper >el-cheapo ($150) Ethernet cards with Lantastic's redirector and server >software by using Novell's NETBIOS, which may work out to be a cheaper >solution yet, depending upon how much Western Digital or compatable boards can >be found. Anyone know anything about that??? You will use MUCH more memory if you go that route. The Lantastic NetBIOS only uses about 7K; my estimate of the Novell NetBIOS, which runs on top of IPX, is more like ten times that memory budget. And this is also licensed software, and not cheap. >Please reply via E-mail and not the News!!! Our news feed is VERY >flakey, its here one day, gone for six, but mail seems to be OK. >I'll summerize if I get any replies. And I'll winterize, if you don't! I'm a Lantastic dealer, so you can expect me to beat their drum a bit louder than the average bear... -- Scott Rose rose@cs.wisc.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Stuart R. Kemp" <kemp@cs.umn.edu> Subject: Re: LANTASTIC Re your prices per node... They sell a starter pack (for connecting 2 machines only) for approx US$400. In order to add more machines, you need different software, which are a one-time expense of US$300. (The starter kit software is good for only 2 machines). Then, for the LanTastic cards, approx US$199 per node. -Stuart Kemp --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to all those who replied! I still haven't found out exactly what I need to know, but thanks to Bruce Walker for the Business World tip, I'm going to call them and ask some questions! Charles