Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 18:41:21 GMT From: Dan Odom <daniel@jimi.danodom.com> To: "Daniel O'Callaghan" <danny@panda.hilink.com.au> Cc: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Multiple serial ports Message-ID: <199709301841.SAA03454@jimi.danodom.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.91.970930120649.262h@panda.hilink.com.au> References: <199709300128.BAA02166@jimi.danodom.com> <Pine.BSF.3.91.970930120649.262h@panda.hilink.com.au>
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Well, I've checked the handbook, if that's what you mean. Most of what it lists is out of production or non-intelligent and very expensive (for example, the Digi 570/i cards that it lists cost a LOT compared to more modern cards -- $528 for a 2-port, or about $265 per modem, while the Xem 32-port only costs about $1,300, or about $40.00 per modem). The Boca cards all say "does not support modems," my supplier has never heard of ARNET, AST, SDL, or Cyclades (and neither have I -- isn't ARNET a large ISP and AST a manufacturer of cheap PC clones?). When I search the archives for information about using Digiboards, all I find are comments about what a pain it is and how nobody can figure it out. Most generic multi-port serial cards out there are plug and play, ruling them out for FreeBSD. Speaking of plug and play, I am having an impossible time finding hardware for my FreeBSD and BSDI boxes. Nothing out there has jumpers any more, not even network cards. Where the heck does everyone find supplies in this era of Windows NT? Daniel O'Callaghan writes: > > On Tue, 30 Sep 1997, Dan Odom wrote: > > > I am interested in using a FreeBSD box as a PPP/PAP server. I can't > > find any information about supported multiport serial cards. We are > > currently using Digiboard products (PC/Xem) under BSDI 2.1. > > Hmm, strange. You can't be looking in the right places. I'm sure there > is info on the web site, and in HARDWARE.TXT in the distributions (see > section 3 - LINT - other configurations). > > Supported cards are: Digi, Cyclades, Boca, Stallion, AST. RocketPort > drivers have been committed to -current recently. > I have used Cyclades, AST and a Boca-8 type called the TC-800. FreeBSD > does not make use of the special port register of the TC-800, and I found > that when running mpd (multilink ppp daemon) on a TC-800 the second > channel was starved of interrupt servicing, presumably because mpd > synchronises the data it transmits on each channel, and channel 1 was > always serviced by the shared interrupt, and channel 2 not. TC-800 is > fine for light use customers. > > AST/4 clones I have work fine with mpd under high load. > Cyclades is pretty good; I use ISA version myself; the ISA driver is more > reliable than the PCI, I have heard. > > Danny
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