robelr@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (Allen Robel) (07/20/90)
I've had *so* many requests for information about NQA The Prophet, a product that I mentioned in one of my responses to "RE: strange behavior involving repeaters" that I thought it would save a bit of time by posting to the list some information about this product. I've seen a demo of the product (on our live network) but have not had hands-on experience with it and have no incentive from any company or individual to promote it. The literature claims that the product can tell you about the following (this is a direct quote from the documentation): - Network Bias - bias of the coax cable due to the summation of transceiver bias currents - Jitter - random distortion of packet timing caused by network defects - DC Signal Component - the average DC value of a transmitted packet - AC Signal component - the AC range of a transmitted packet - Fall Time - a parameter related to e.m. noise radiation of the coax - Bit rate - the frequency of the transmitted packet. The dealer that I went through to get product info was: Innovative Computer Products 6284 Rucker Road Suite E Indianapolis, IN 46220 (317)257-3278 (800)228-LINK (317)259-6698 however I'm sure there must be others somewhere. Its expensive, starting at around 30K for a basic unit. regards, Allen Robel robelr@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu University Computing Services ROBELR@IUJADE.BITNET Network Research & Planning voice: (812)855-7171 Indiana University FAX: (812)855-8299
dave@ecrc.de (Dave Morton) (08/02/90)
I've had a demo of the NQA as well. In fact we discovered during the demo a large number (12) of Sun 3/60s whose bit-rate was way outside the spec. What was fascinating about the NQA was that one could plainly see the twists and bends in the cable as well. Nice pice of equipment but expensive. I think it's the sort of thing you might need once in a blue moon, then you can rent it for a day or two. Dave Morton, European Computer Industry Research Centre Tel. + (49) 89-92699-139 Arabellastr 17, 8000 Munich 81. West Germany. Fax. + (49) 89-92699-170 E-mail USA: dave%ecrc.de@pyramid.com EUROPE: dave@ecrc.de