R1ECGF@AKRONVM.BITNET (Doug Greenwald) (08/02/88)
Hi, A few weeks ago, i saw something mentioned concerning problems with HP systems with TCP/IP. Something about problems getting HP's to work with various gateways. I would appreciate seeing this info again. We are currently looking at various vendors for networkable workstations, an HP is one of the contenders, if you or they can show us that thier workstations support TCP/IP and/or Ethernet networking with minimal 'adjustments'. Please respond directly to me and I will sumarize to the net if there is sufficient interest. Doug Greenwald Engineering Computer Graphics Facility University of Akron Bitnet: R1ECGF@AKRONVM
wunder@SDE.HP.COM (Walter Underwood) (08/04/88)
A few weeks ago, i saw something mentioned concerning problems with HP systems with TCP/IP. ... We are currently looking at various vendors for networkable workstations, an HP is one of the contenders, if you or they can show us that their workstations support TCP/IP and/or Ethernet networking with minimal 'adjustments'. I think this is worth answering to the whole list. HP's Unix machines do implement a full TCP/IP, and do work with other systems. The networking is based on 4.2 BSD, and will be upgraded to use the Van Jacobson algorithms at the earliest possible time. [The Unix boxes are the HP9000 Series 300 (68000-based) and HP9000 Series 800 (RISC-based). HP's name for their Unix OS is HP-UX.] The HP3000 minicomputers (runnning MPE) use a limited version of the TCP/IP protocols. They do not support UDP, use real 802.3 instead of Ethernet, and use HP Probe instead of ARP. HP is working on Ethernet and ARP for the HP3000. The HP3000 uses proprietary login and file transfer protocols. Regular ARPA services (Telnet, FTP, and SMTP) are available from The Wollongong Group. The HP1000 runs a TCP/IP which is similar to the HP3000, but the 1000 already support Ethernet, I believe. If you have MPE systems, you need a gateway that talks 802.3 and Probe. The only gateways that do that are the HP9000 series 300 and series 800 machines (HP-UX), and boxes from cisco Systems, Inc. Walter Underwood HP Software Engineering Systems Palo Alto, CA PS: HP-UX can set Precedence and Security on TCP connections. Anybody wanna try it?
chris@GYRE.UMD.EDU (Chris Torek) (08/04/88)
From: Walter Underwood <wunder@sde.hp.com> I think this is worth answering to the whole list. HP's Unix machines do implement a full TCP/IP, and do work with other systems. The networking is based on 4.2 BSD, and will be upgraded to use the Van Jacobson algorithms at the earliest possible time. ... I am not sure that anything based on 4.2BSD is `full TCP/IP' (unless it has had all the 4.3BSD fixes added), but in any case, 4.3BSD is available for the HP9000 Series 300, from the University of Utah. Chris
wunder@SDE.HP.COM (Walter Underwood) (08/04/88)
I am not sure that anything based on 4.2BSD is `full TCP/IP' (unless it has had all the 4.3BSD fixes added), ... I agree, and the people that work on our TCP agree. We have fixed the behavior, but it is still a 4.2 programming interface. That is why I pointed out the 4.2 heritage. Geez, I'd almost forgotten how bad 4.2 was ... wunder
dcrocker@TWG.COM (Dave Crocker) (08/08/88)
One minor correction to Walter Underwood's note about gatewaying of packets between the 802.3-based TCP for the HP3000 MPE/V and normal Ethernet TCP/IP: In addition to the other solutions available for relaying, Wollongong offers a product called WIN/ROUTE2 for DOS. It runs as a dedication DOS application turning the PC into an IP router between HP3000s and ethernet devices. It does not talk PROBE, so that routes betweeen it and the 3000s need to be manually configured. Performance of the device scales with the speed of the PC box. Dave