trw@hrc63.co.uk (Trevor Wright Marconi Baddow) (12/21/87)
We are looking at options to connect our Ethernet network to an Amdahl 5860 operated by a sister company. We know of the Spartacus K200 running with Wollongong WIN/UTS under UTS. Is there however a cheaper, lower-but-acceptable performance alternative - say a PC/AT with channel one side and Ether the other. If so - what Amdahl s/w would be required if we were NOT working with UTS. Resident systems on the Amdahl are VM/CMS and MVS. Surely there must be a better way of talking to IBM's than serial RJE's, but at a reasonable cost... Thanks Trevor Wright, GEC Research, Chelmsford UK ArpaNet address: yc23%a.gec-mrc.co.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk
LDW@MVSA.USC.EDU (Leonard D Woren) (12/24/87)
> Is there however a cheaper, lower-but-acceptable performance alternative - > say a PC/AT with channel one side and Ether the other. The IBM 8232 LAN Channel Station is an industrial PC/AT with a channel on one side and LAN connections (Ethernet or/and Token Ring) on the other. I believe the performance is close to the K200, at least in the same ballpark. The problem is, the 8232 may cost as much as the K200. (As an IBM & PCM bigot, I hate to say this, but you pay $$$ for those 3 letters.) And there's another big problem that caused us to go for the ACS 9310 from ACC: IBM has no (announced) software for MVS for the 8232. Their response: "we recognize the requirement." Our requirement was "get something now". I understand the 8232 is being marketed only to Universities, and is only being sold in the U.S. It is marketed through a special IBM group known as ACIS, for ACademic Information Systems. > If so - what Amdahl s/w would be required if we were NOT working with > UTS. Resident systems on the Amdahl are VM/CMS and MVS. The IBM software for the 8232 runs under VM. The ACC software for the 9310 runs under MVS. ACC also sells VM software; I know nothing about it. (But they listen to this list, so ...) > Surely there must be a better way of talking to IBM's than serial RJE's, > but at a reasonable cost... Sigh. Two conflicting terms... IBM and reasonable cost. If you don't already have a copy, you might want to check out the DDN Protocol Implementations and Vendors Guide. It's available via anonymous FTP at SRI-NIC.ARPA as NETINFO:VENDORS-GUIDE.DOC , or you can buy a printed copy from them. The following paragraph is extracted from the file: Additional copies of this document may be obtained from the DDN Network Information Center, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Room EJ291, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Price is $30.00 domestic, $35.00 overseas. Copies may also be obtained from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22314. The table of contents lists a number of products for IBM systems, around a half dozen of which appear to be for mainframes. /Leonard <LDW@USCMVSA.BITNET>, <LDW@MVSA.USC.EDU>
PAP4@AI.AI.MIT.EDU ("Philip A. Prindeville") (12/31/87)
Besides DACUs (now defunct) and 8232s (not all that quick?) what about using an RT? If anyone has any experience/performace figures to share, please speak up... I purposely omitted 9370s because that is a little expensive (plus power requirements plus maintenance plus floor space...). (Post to both lists please) -Philip