[comp.dcom.lans] Ethernet packet type 0

bland@enel.uucp (Henry Bland) (04/10/89)

Where I work, we have a number of PDP-11/23's and a Vax 11/750 on
and ethernet cable as part of a nuclear medicine data acquisition/processing
system.  The systems are running a wierd communications protocol developed 
by the manufacturer of the system, ADAC laboratories (CA, USA).  I would
like to share the same cable with some Vaxes running DECnet ethernet.
I am trying to determine if there will be any protocol conflicts.

To investigate the ADAC protocol (may actually belong to someone else), I
looked at the source code for the Vax file server daemon.  It appears
that the packets are 802.X type (ie dest addr, source addr, length, type etc).

One problem I see is that the software developers failed to fill-in the
packet type field.  As a result, the packet type is 0.  

I would like to know if this packet type is likely to cause trouble with
the DECnet (or other common) protocols.  Is the type reserved for anything 
special?

Of interest would be a list of registered packet types.  If someone has
a list that could be mailed to me, I'd be grateful (Maybe someone in Canada
so I don't get billions sent from persons abroad).

	Thanks for any help.

Henry Bland	<bland@enel.UCalgary.CA>