From owner-freebsd-hardware  Fri Jul  5 13:15:53 1996
Return-Path: owner-hardware
Received: (from root@localhost)
          by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) id NAA06588
          for hardware-outgoing; Fri, 5 Jul 1996 13:15:53 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from jparnas.cybercom.net (jparnas.cybercom.net [206.28.135.58])
          by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id NAA06578;
          Fri, 5 Jul 1996 13:15:46 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from localhost.cybercom.net (localhost.cybercom.net [127.0.0.1]) by jparnas.cybercom.net (8.6.10/8.6.10) with SMTP id QAA02945; Fri, 5 Jul 1996 16:14:55 -0400
Message-Id: <199607052014.QAA02945@jparnas.cybercom.net>
X-Authentication-Warning: jparnas.cybercom.net: Host localhost.cybercom.net didn't use HELO protocol
To: Henry Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu>
cc: Gary Palmer <gpalmer@freebsd.org>, hardware@freebsd.org,
        bsdi-users@bsdi.com
X-External-Networks: yes
Subject: Re: muliport boards - building a PPP dialup server 
In-reply-to: Your message of Sat, 29 Jun 1996 14:30:28 EDT.
             <Pine.3.89.9606291403.B10167-0100000@zoo.toronto.edu> 
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 1996 16:14:52 -0400
From: "Jacob M. Parnas" <jparnas@jparnas.cybercom.net>
Sender: owner-hardware@freebsd.org
X-Loop: FreeBSD.org
Precedence: bulk


In message <Pine.3.89.9606291403.B10167-0100000@zoo.toronto.edu>you write:
>> I thought the question was on what to expect from UARTS for high speed 
>> applications.  I think Henry suggested using a local ethernet to connect to
>> a ISP ethernet <-> ethernet<->ethernet WAN ISDN connection or high
>> speed modem  <-> home ethernet.
>
>Just to clarify...  My suggestion is that you do not want a high-speed
>application which looks like a UART to the software, at all, ever.  You
>want high-speed applications to come in via Ethernet, so your software
>is dealing with a packet at a time rather than a character at a time.
>It's worth the overhead of having to set up a 0.5m-long Ethernet, which
>is fairly trivial nowadays.
>
>Yes, there are people who build high-speed interfaces that look like
>UARTs, and they can be cheaper than the ones that sit on the other side
>of an Ethernet.  You get what you pay for. 
>
>                                                           Henry Spencer
>                                                       henry@zoo.toronto.edu

You haven't said anything substitive.  If it works perfectly, why not use a
USR Sportster ISDN 128 Terminal Adapter and Unix driver for $400 when the
ethernet connection (from home to other side) costs $1, 000 or so.  You that's
not counting the ethernet stuff.

I just don't see paying so much money for no proven benefit.

Jacob