morgan@navajo (Bob Morgan) (08/27/87)
-------------------- This message is forwarded from the PCIP mailing list. The original posting was a question wondering if there were a version of PC/IP that could do FTP transfers to a network drive linked with 3Com's 3Plus software. Any response, 3Com people? We'd sure like to see this capability too. There have been mumbles about a "TCP/IP product" but no more than that. -------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Aug 87 20:59:23 edt From: James Van Bokkelen <ftp!jbvb@harvard.harvard.edu> To: spdcc!pcip@louie.udel.edu Subject: ["F. J. Wendling" <fwendlin@note.nsf.gov>: TCP/IP and 3Com Software] He asks: Is there a version of the PC TCP/IP that works with 3Com 3+ network software resident? .... What he wants is full coexistence between the TSR redirector/LAN program and TCP/IP utilities, sharing the network interface in real time. This requires that a software interface exist between the two packages, such that incoming packets are demultiplexed and handed to the appropriate receive routine, and minimally, an interlock such that they never try to transmit simultaneously. This is quite nice in practice, because it means that the TCP/IP utilities can access the LAN server's disk, and any other services continue without disruption when you use FTP or Telnet. We know how to do this. In fact, it is relatively easy if the demultiplexing can be done by Ethertype (true with 3Com's XNS-derived protocols). We presently support full coexistence with several different PC LAN products: Versions of Microsoft Networks available from BICC Data Networks. Lifenet (from Univation or Lifeboat Systems Designer Team). Ethernet versions of Banyan's Vines (2.1 or later) Versions of Novell's Netware available from Univation, BICC Data Networks (mostly U.K. & Europe) and Schneider & Koch (West German). We are actively working on coexistence with another vendor's version of Novell, but it isn't ready yet, so I won't spill the beans. As far as I know, we are the only PC TCP/IP vendor offering this kind of coexistence on the workstation. BICC used to offer a PC/IP which worked with their MS/Net, but they switched over to our product. Some other vendors presently have similar functionality with their (non-RFC-conforming) TCP/IP NETBIOS support and an add-on LAN program like IBM's or Microsoft's (not like 3Com's). We will do the same later this year when we release our (RFC conforming) TCP/IP NETBIOS. The problem is that the active co-operation of the LAN software vendor is required (to add or document some sort of magic INT interface). I personally have made a number of attempts to get 3Com interested in either documenting a (hypothetical) existing packet-level interface sharing mechanism, or adding something (either to an existing public-domain spec some of our other customers have used, or one they develop). Nothing ever came of it, and I haven't tried in the past 3 months. I don't know if or how 3Com's merger with Bridge might change their level of interest. I suppose I ought to try again. spdcc!ftp!jbvb@harvard.harvard.edu James B. VanBokkelen FTP Software Inc. --------------------------- - RL "Bob" Morgan Networking Systems Stanford University