shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) (12/02/90)
As a new reader of comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc, I noticed a few buzzwords fly by that I'm unfamiliar with. Not seeing a FAQ topic, could someone enlighten me to the meaning/sources of the following? packet driver NDIS BWNFS Pointers to documentation would be useful (should be moderately technical, not Business Week no-brainer stuff). I'd prefer stuff accessible through mail servers, as I don't have ftp access. I'm currently administering a cluster of 3 Sun 386i's serving 4 Sun PC-NFS clients, and I'd like to add some OS/2 clients using FTP's InterDrive. Ken (shiva@well.sf.ca.us)
madams@ecst.csuchico.edu (Michael E. Adams) (12/02/90)
In article <21910@well.sf.ca.us> shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) writes: > >As a new reader of comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc, I noticed a few >buzzwords fly by that I'm unfamiliar with. Not seeing a FAQ >topic, could someone enlighten me to the meaning/sources of the >following? > > packet driver > NDIS > BWNFS > >Pointers to documentation would be useful (should be moderately >technical, not Business Week no-brainer stuff). I'd prefer >stuff accessible through mail servers, as I don't have ftp >access. > >I'm currently administering a cluster of 3 Sun 386i's serving 4 >Sun PC-NFS clients, and I'd like to add some OS/2 clients using >FTP's InterDrive. > >Ken (shiva@well.sf.ca.us)
madams@ecst.csuchico.edu (Michael E. Adams) (12/02/90)
In article <21910@well.sf.ca.us> shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) writes: > >As a new reader of comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc, I noticed a few >buzzwords fly by that I'm unfamiliar with. Not seeing a FAQ >topic, could someone enlighten me to the meaning/sources of the >following? > > packet driver > NDIS > BWNFS > Ken is not the only guy drowning in a sea of acronyms. I have been asked to evaluate software that will allow our PCs & MACs to telnet, ftp, mail, finger, & lpr onto the campus TCP/IP Ethernet. My academic training was sparse on networks, so I am trying to get a crash course here on comp.protocols.tcp-ip.*. I would like to meet anyone willing to offer an ear to my novice questions. Example: Most of my books on PC networking refer to a NetBIOS layer; does this have an equivalent layer on our HP900 (Unix)? If not then how do I implement PC applications that are based on NetBIOS? Maybe I'm reading the wrong books!? I have been looking at the NCSA tools & I think they will work fine, any comments? Please drop me a friendly email. Thanks :-) (___) | Michael E. Adams (o o) | /-------\ / | P.O. Box 5027 / | ||O | Chico, California 95927-5025 U.S.A. * ||,---|| | ~~ ~~ | internet: madams@cscihp.ecst.csuchico.edu No BULL bandwidth |
david@WUBIOS.WUSTL.EDU ("David J. Camp") (12/03/90)
In Reply to this Note From: <Michael E. Adams> >In article <21910@well.sf.ca.us> shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) writes: >> >>As a new reader of comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc, I noticed a few >>buzzwords fly by that I'm unfamiliar with. Not seeing a FAQ >>topic, could someone enlighten me to the meaning/sources of the >>following? >> >> packet driver This name refers to the specification developed and published by FTP Inc. for a standard interface to Ethernet cards on IBMPC compatibles. The full text of the standard is available via anonymous ftp from vax.ftp.com. The general idea is that each hardware card will have its own packet driver that is loaded as a TSR. Then further use of the card all goes through the standard interface. Since the driver specifications make all Ethernet boards look identical, the many applications to not need to know anything special about particular hardware. >> NDIS This is a specification developed by Microsoft and others. It is the same general concept as a packet driver, but is incompatible and supports multi-tasking. There is a proprietary packet driver sold by FTP Inc. that runs on top of NDIS/MAC so that programs that expect a packet driver can run when an NDIS/MAC driver is present. >> BWNFS I do not know. >> >>Pointers to documentation would be useful (should be moderately >>technical, not Business Week no-brainer stuff). I'd prefer >>stuff accessible through mail servers, as I don't have ftp >>access. >> >>I'm currently administering a cluster of 3 Sun 386i's serving 4 >>Sun PC-NFS clients, and I'd like to add some OS/2 clients using >>FTP's InterDrive. >> >>Ken (shiva@well.sf.ca.us) > david@wubios.wustl.edu ^ Mr. David J. Camp david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu < * > +1 314 382 0584 ...!uunet!wugate!wubios!david v "God loves material things."
romkey@ASYLUM.SF.CA.US (John Romkey) (12/03/90)
From: "David J. Camp" <david@wubios.wustl.edu> Date: Sun, 2 Dec 90 16:22:34 CST Favorite-Ice-Cream: Chocolate X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL6] >In article <21910@well.sf.ca.us> shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) writes: >> packet driver This name refers to the specification developed and published by FTP Inc. for a standard interface to Ethernet cards on IBMPC compatibles. The full text of the standard is available via anonymous ftp from vax.ftp.com. It's more general than ethernet; the packet driver is intended to allow access to any packet-oriented network interface. Packet drivers are available for token ring and some other non-ethernet media as well. It also allows multiple protocol stacks to share one network interface, something that's tough to do with linked-in drivers. There is an example of how to do this with Netware floating around on the net. It is not designed to allow two different implementations of one protocol stack to share an interface, though (for instance, running two different TCP's over one packet driver isn't likely to work at all). Also, Clarkson University has put together a collection of packet drivers for most of the ethernet cards you can get for a PC. You can find all this stuff on vax.ftp.com or look on sun.soe.clarkson.edu. >> BWNFS Beame & Whiteside NFS, one of the commercial TCP's for the PC. - john romkey Epilogue Technology USENET/UUCP/Internet: romkey@asylum.sf.ca.us FAX: 415 594-1141
fks@FTP.COM (Frances Selkirk) (12/04/90)
>>topic, could someone enlighten me to the meaning/sources of the >>following? >> >> packet driver >This name refers to the specification developed and published by FTP >Inc. for a standard interface to Ethernet cards on IBMPC compatibles. Packet drivers are actually available for many network interface classes, not just Ethernet. Most packet drivers currently available are for Ethernet, but packet drivers also exist for SLIP, Token Ring, X.25 and IEEE 802.3 packets with 802.2 headers (a Netware anomoly). These are packet drivers classes 6, 3, 13 and 11, respectively. When people say they support the packet driver, assume class 1 (Ethernet), and ask if you want something else. >> BWNFS Beame and Whiteside's NFS. You will also see: FTP SW - Us (FTP Software). PCTCP + - PC/TCP Plus (our TCP/IP w/NFS). WIN/TCP - Wollongong's TCP/IP. PC-NFS - Sun's PC-NFS or sometimes (incorrectly) any NFS for PCs. PC-IP - a PD TCP/IP, not currently well maintained. KA9Q - Karn's PD TCP/IP CUTCP - Clarkson University's PD TCP/IP MUTCP - Maryland University's TCP/IP, I think for academic institutes only. "PD" confusingly, is used as an abbreviation for both, "Public Domain," and "Packet Driver." The correct meaning can _usually_ be derived from context. Frances Kirk Selkirk info@ftp.com (617) 246-0900 FTP Software, Inc. 26 Princess Street, Wakefield, MA 01880
geoff@bodleian.East.Sun.COM (Geoff Arnold @ Sun BOS - R.H. coast near the top) (12/04/90)
Quoth fks@FTP.COM (Frances Selkirk) (in <9012031717.AA28586@ftp.com>): #[...] You will also see: #[...] # PC-NFS - Sun's PC-NFS # or sometimes (incorrectly) any NFS for PCs. The latter is more corectly denoted by "(PC)NFS", a form introduced by X/Open in the X/Open Developer's Specification "Protocols for X/Open PC Interworking: (PC)NFS". Geoff -- Geoff Arnold, PC-NFS architect, Sun Microsystems. (geoff@East.Sun.COM) -- *** "Now is no time to speculate or hypothecate, but rather a time *** *** for action, or at least not a time to rule it out, though not *** *** necessarily a time to rule it in, either." - George Bush ***
jbvb@FTP.COM ("James B. Van Bokkelen") (12/04/90)
>> NDIS
This is a specification developed by Microsoft and others. It is the
same general concept as a packet driver, but is incompatible and
supports multi-tasking.
I wouldn't say it that way. Rather, NDIS is designed for use on both DOS and
OS/2, as is the competing Novell/Apple ODI spec. Neither has any concept
of a "process" or "I/O queue element" embedded in it, so it is entirely the
driver's responsibility to ensure that the right process is running and the
right memory mapping established when it issues an upcall...
... There is a proprietary packet driver
sold by FTP Inc. that runs on top of NDIS/MAC so that programs that
expect a packet driver can run when an NDIS/MAC driver is present.
A version of this driver is available as unsupported freeware (anonymous FTP
to vax.ftp.com, look in pub/packet.driver/NDIS). It handles Packet Driver
Class 1 (ethernet). We also sell/support a later version that handles
both Class 1 and Class 3 (802.5).
James B. VanBokkelen 26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA 01880
FTP Software Inc. voice: (617) 246-0900 fax: (617) 246-0901jbvb@FTP.COM ("James B. Van Bokkelen") (12/04/90)
I would like to meet anyone willing to offer an ear to my novice
questions...
You probably should have gone to the InterOp show if you actually wanted to
'meet' them. However, you've found a relatively informative forum here...
Example: Most of my books on PC networking refer to a NetBIOS layer;
does this have an equivalent layer on our HP900 (Unix)? If not
then how do I implement PC applications based on NetBIOS?
NetBIOS is too broad a term. It has two main meanings, which conflict.
The first is "a session-layer Applications Programming Interface for DOS
PCs based on passing Network Control Blocks back and forth across INT 5Ch.
You can't do this on your HP, because it isn't an Intel processor...
The second is "API as above combined with low-level network driver and
transport layer to constitute a complete LAN-oriented protocol stack",
where the transport layer varies according to the vendor (IBM tends to
use LLC2, 3Com XNS, others use OSI or TCP/IP). You can't do exactly this
on the HP either. What you can do is build, on top of 4bsd sockets or
another TCP/IP API, code that handles the RFC 1001/1002 session layer
protocol and write applications that use this to act as SMB fileservers
or whatever you had in mind. If the lower-layer protocol is non-standard
or proprietary, you may need to add that to your O/S as well...
James B. VanBokkelen 26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA 01880
FTP Software Inc. voice: (617) 246-0900 fax: (617) 246-0901shiva@well.sf.ca.us (Kenneth Porter) (12/06/90)
Thanks everybody for the enlightenment! Now the next question: Given that I want to add OS/2 (1.2, 2.0, and shortly 1.3) NFS clients to my net, what do I need? FTP's InterDrive sounds closest to realization. What underlying hardware/software do I need to make it work? I currently have 3COM 3C503's (for ISA) and 3C523's (for PS/2's with MCA) that I acquired for use with Sun's PC-NFS. If I need a packet driver or NDIS, can I get this from a mail server, through snail mail, or commercially? In the future, what Ethernet cards should I acquire? Ken (shiva@well.sf.ca.us)