[comp.unix.aix] Token ring to Ethernet?

JJDAVIS@cc.utah.edu (09/05/90)

How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
communication?

There is some interest in connecting several RISC/6000s together in a LAN
with token ring, but the LAN will also need to connect to the campus Ethernet
broadband.  The RISC/6000s will use the Internet protocol suite.

IBM's "TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview" has diagrams (pp. 4-4,5-3)
showing a token ring LAN and an Ethernet LAN communicating through a 8232,
with IP routing taking place via a VM host attached to the 8232.  Seems
rather indirect, not to mention expensive!
   
DEC's "Networks and Communications Buyer's Guide" has a reference to
"802.3/Ethernet Adapters for IBM Shielded Twisted-pair Cabling", (p. 251 in
the 1989 July-December issue), but the entry isn't very clear.

Any other possibilites?

Jim Davis
Utah Supercomputing Institute
davis@math.utah.edu (preferred)
jjdavis@cc.utah.edu

n160ao@tamuts.tamu.edu (Mark Lehmann) (09/06/90)

In article <90473@cc.utah.edu> JJDAVIS@cc.utah.edu writes:
>How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
>communication?

All you need is to have both the Ethernet card and the Token ring card
in one machine.  Then give the ethernet card and the token ring card
different network addresses.  Alsom put in routing statements to forward
messages from one network to the other.  You may want to do this with 
nameserveing (but if this is the only sub-network that you have you
may just want to do static routing, since setting up a nameserver can
sometimes involve a lot of work).

Mark Lehmann

drake@drake.almaden.ibm.com (09/06/90)

In article <90473@cc.utah.edu> JJDAVIS@cc.utah.edu writes:
>How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
>communication?
>
>There is some interest in connecting several RISC/6000s together in a LAN
>with token ring, but the LAN will also need to connect to the campus Ethernet
>broadband.  The RISC/6000s will use the Internet protocol suite.

Simplest is to put an Ethernet card and a Token Ring card in one of the
RISC System/6000s.  The 6000 will automagically act as an IP router.  
Have all the machines on one net point to that 6000 as their route to
the other net, and vice versa.  So, through the magic of TCP/IP, everyone
will be completely unaware of what machines are on which network.


Sam Drake / IBM Almaden Research Center 
Internet:  drake@ibm.com            BITNET:  DRAKE at ALMADEN
Usenet:    ...!uunet!ibmarc!drake   Phone:   (408) 927-1861

kevin@msa3b.UUCP (Kevin P. Kleinfelter) (09/06/90)

JJDAVIS@cc.utah.edu writes:

>How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
>communication?

>There is some interest in connecting several RISC/6000s together in a LAN
>with token ring, but the LAN will also need to connect to the campus Ethernet
>broadband.  The RISC/6000s will use the Internet protocol suite.

Am I missing something???  Why not just put an Ethernet card and a
token-ring card in one of your 6000s?  In fact, even an RT can handle this,
as I attended an IBM training class where 1/2 the lab was on Ethernet and
1/2 the lab was on TR, and there was an RT as a gateway between the two
halves.  We have a 6000 with both TR and ethernet (but I haven't gotten
around to using the ethernet board yet!)

-- 
Kevin Kleinfelter @ Dun and Bradstreet Software, Inc (404) 239-2347
{emory,gatech}!nanovx!msa3b!kevin

"Don't hold your finger on the button if the motor ain't goin' roundy-roundy."

RAH@IBM.COM ("Russell A. Heise") (12/15/90)

 JJDAVIS@cc.utah.edu writes:

 > How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
 > communication?
 >
 > ...
 >
 > IBM's "TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview" has diagrams (pp. 4-4,5-3)
 > showing a token ring LAN and an Ethernet LAN communicating through a 8232,
 > with IP routing taking place via a VM host attached to the 8232.  Seems
 > rather indirect, not to mention expensive!
 >
 > ...
 >
 > Any other possibilites?

 Sure:  try an 8209 LAN Bridge.  This device looks like a PC/AT and can attach
 to both Token-Ring and Ethernet networks.  On the Ethernet side, the bridge
 is transparent.  On the TRN side, devices see it as a bridge to another

Russ Heise, AIX Technical Support, IBM

sen@cs.columbia.edu (Soumitra Sengupta) (12/15/90)

Other possibilities for TCP/IP interconnection between Ethernet and TR:

Put both Ethernet and TR cards in a S/6000 and configure it as a router; or

Use a PC to do the same; Commercial (FTP, Wollongong, etc.) or free
software are available; or

We use a cisco router between Ethernet and the Token-Ring which works
perfectly fine. IP routing (you can do other protocol routing also
such as Novell IPX, AppleTalk, etc.) at Network layer is preferable to 
8209 LAN bridging at the Link layer (unless I am wrong). Check the
cisco out, we are a happy customer.

sen

lindner@cs.umn.edu (Paul Lindner) (12/15/90)

In <121490.152426.heise1@ibm.com> RAH@IBM.COM ("Russell A. Heise") writes:


> > How can an IBM token ring LAN connect to an Ethernet broadband for TCP/IP
> > communication?
> >
> Sure:  try an 8209 LAN Bridge.  This device looks like a PC/AT and can attach
> to both Token-Ring and Ethernet networks.  On the Ethernet side, the bridge
> is transparent.  On the TRN side, devices see it as a bridge to another


Or just slap an ethernet card and a token ring card in your RS/6000.  That's
what I've done here and it works for our needs, which are just telnet and
ftp from PCs using NCSA telnet.  I had to tell the network gurus that
my RS/6000 was a gateway between the two nets and I had to set up static
routes on the RS/6000 and on the PCs.  Not too hard once you figure it
out.  Warning do not run routed or gated if you can avoid it.  It caused
me no end of headaches.  Anyways static routes are faster and simpler!


-- 
Paul Lindner, Univ. of MN   \ Microcomputer /  Pauls Law: You can't
IT Sun dude, & UofM ACM pres \ Workstation / fall off the floor.
lindner@boombox.micro.umn.edu \ Networks  / {...!rutgers!umn-cs!lindner}
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