@andrew.cmu.EDU:evan@ssyx.UCSC.EDU (Evan Schaffer) (09/07/87)
Here is an excerpt of what I've found on this subject. I think I will give these guys a call. I got this from DA-ASYNCH-APPLETALK.HQX at sumex, in <info-mac>. Technical Notes on Asynchronous AppleTalk and the Sand Hill network reactor. Asynchronous AppleTalk was first developed at Dartmouth College by Rich Brown and Steve Liggett of the Kiewitt Computing Center. It was developed in order to provide AppleTalk service to campus offices which could not be directly connected to an AppleTalk bus or just required the mobility of dial-in service. The technique is simple really, just remove the normal AppleTalk Link Access Protocol drivers and replace them with a clever piece of code which imposes some very simple handshaking and address verification, then transmits AppleTalk packets asynchronously to what it believes is a bridge. The bridge then routes the packets according to the destination ID (or broadcasts the packet). Although the Dartmouth system ultimately joins with normal 230Kbps AppleTalk buses, in no way is this necessary to enjoy the benefits of such a well-supported LAN system. The Sand Hill reactor operates somewhat like an AppleTalk bridge ... Although the reactor was designed originally without knowledge of the Printer Access Protocol (PAP) described in Inside AppleTalk , its implementation is very similar and few changes will be necessary to provide complete connectivity between async AppleTalk devices and those which have no such capacity. Such a system will allow Macs to share LaserWriters using the 9600 baud Postscript mode with PC's running standard Postscript printer drivers ... If all of this seems confusing or you want more information, please call either myself or Rich Brown at the following addresses: Michael Ferguson Rich Brown Sand Hill Engineering Inc. Kiewitt Computation Center Box 517 Cockran Road Dartmouth College Geneva, FL 32732 Hanover, NH 03755 305-349-5960 603-646-2643 AALAP.technotes TEXTMACA