[comp.protocols.appletalk] TOPS and low-speed modems

sunny@astral.UUCP (07/06/88)

> I want to add a small remote Appletalk/Phonenet network to our current
> Appletalk/Phonenet network.  We run TOPS and share several
> LaserWriters, including an NT.  We also have the network divided
> into two sections with a Hayes Interbridge.

> The people at Centram/Sun Microsystems tell me that with the
> Hayes Interbridge at least their TOPS software can time out if the
> modems joining the networks run at less than 9600 bps.  My
> questions are: 

You'd think that TOPS would be interested in making available either
a new version of their software, or some kind of patch which would
allow a longer timeout so that we could successfully run TOPS across
modem bridges and modem remote access links.  But then, who cares what
the $ paying user wants...

				Sunny

john@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (John Hogan) (07/06/88)

I want to add a small remote Appletalk/Phonenet network to our current
Appletalk/Phonenet network.  We run TOPS and share several
LaserWriters, including an NT.  We also have the network divided
into two sections with a Hayes Interbridge.

The people at Centram/Sun Microsystems tell me that with the
Hayes Interbridge at least their TOPS software can time out if the
modems joining the networks run at less than 9600 bps.  My
questions are: 

1) Does anyone know of an "internetwork" product that works with
TOPS at, say 2400 bps?      

2) Any recommendations for 9600 bps modems that work with Hayes
Interbridge?  I would prefer something less expensive than Hayes.

3) Any happy experiences with boxes such as Shiva's to share a
dial-out modem for mainframe connections?

Please respond to john@ecsvax

John Hogan
HSRC
UNC-Chapel Hill
(919) 966 5011

elwell@saqqara.cis.ohio-state.edu (Clayton Elwell) (07/08/88)

sunny@astral.UUCP writes:
    You'd think that TOPS would be interested in making available either
    a new version of their software, or some kind of patch which would
    allow a longer timeout so that we could successfully run TOPS across
    modem bridges and modem remote access links.  But then, who cares what
    the $ paying user wants...
    
    				Sunny

Well, we've gotten some recent beta versions from TOPS, and although I
don't think we're under non-disclosure (we've only got 1700 students
using them :-)), I'll only say this much:  they have improved
performance across bridges in general to quite an impressive extent.
We don't use InterBridges, so I don't know if it will help, but all of
our timeout and performance problems have disappeared.

There are some other nice things (and of course, a few more bugs :-)),
but there is hope.  I have historically had a real bad attitude about
TOPS, but even I feel that they seem to be getting their act together,
which is nice to see.


Clayton M. Elwell <elwell@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Ohio State University CIS Dept. Research Computing Facility

"... there was a *third* possibility that we hadn't even counted
upon ..."		--Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant"