Date: Thu, 14 Nov 1996 16:28:24 +0000 (GMT) From: Jim Dixon <jdd@vbc.net> To: dennis <dennis@etinc.com> Cc: isp@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Decision in Router Purchase Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.91.961114161508.15407J-100000@avon-gw.uk1.vbc.net> In-Reply-To: <199611141614.LAA25414@etinc.com>
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On Thu, 14 Nov 1996, dennis wrote: > The reasons we dont deal with J. Dixon are rather obvious here..... Yes. He is given to thinking. > >> Hmmm, ET takes up two ISA slots? What are the problems with the > >> ET? > > > >The boards that we have -- I think that the date on the PCB is 1992 -- I was trying to suggest that perhaps the boards that we had were an old design, and the problems might have been corrected. I guess they haven't been. > the riscomm design is about the same age.....so whats your point? We RISCOM/N2 REV D -- February 1996. > didnt have problems with our design, so we haven't change the copyright. > Perhaps you'd rather deal with a company that needs 5 revs of a board to > get it right...but thats your choice. No. We manufacture boards on occasion. We are aware that there have been many advances in the last four years. Perhaps you aren't. > >have one connector on the backplate. The second port is on a very short > >ribbon cable that just barely makes it to the next ISA slot. > > We have longer cables for chassis mount. Clearly this is an issue with > 6 ports, but not with four or less. the age of the design...well the boards > work and give 100% throughput..not much to change..... The three boards supplied to VBCnet all had extremely short ribbon connectors, making them difficult to use. They occupy two ISA slots; the N2d occupies one. > >Other problems: the logic for each port is on a small daughterboard. > >This is held in only by friction. There is a device below one of the > >daughterboards -- the one for port 0, unfortunately -- that is too > >high (because it is socketed), so you can't get the daughterboard all > >the way in without causing it to bow. Then over time it gradually works > >its way out. > > The "logic" is NOT on the daughtercard,only the electrical interface (ie V.35 > or RS-422) . the socket / bowing problem was addressed well over a year > ago.......the ICs are no longer socketed and the "Friction" is quite substatial. That is good. I did indicate that we had 1992 products. However, positive retention, as is in fact used on the current revision of the N2d, is preferable. > >We also had support problems with ET (we bought three boards and ET > >adamantly refused to supply three sets of documentation) but YMMV. > > you had support problems because you refused to do what I asked you to > do when you had problems, and it was fairly evident that you were more > concerned with finding problems than solutions. We told you that the boards were being used in widely distributed locations (6000 miles apart). We asked for three manuals. You supplied one out of date manual. We had support problems because the cards did not work when used as specified in the manual, because compression didn't compress, because use of the cards caused system panics, and because calls to your company for support resulted in just the sort of bad-tempered response we are seeing right now. > We supply 1 manual per order..you are free to copy them as you please. If > you pay list price for all of the boards, you can get 3 manuals. Its a fairly > simply policy. Not explained to us when we placed the order. Nor does it really explain why one out of date manual was supplied. > >> Hmmm okay, but is the ET still better than a Cisco? and does the > >> SDL cost less or more than the ET? > > > >The Cisco 2501 would be my last choice. If you are using PPP or Cisco > >HDLC to talk to your provider, I would recommend the SDL card plus John > >Hays' FreeBSD driver. If you are using frame relay the ET card is the > >only choice with FreeBSD. > > You get what you pay for. We provide full-featured and well-supported > drivers.... > integrated debugger, bandwidth management and filtering.. and if you're using > frame there really is no competition to our product. My recommendations stand. The SDL card is lower in price and better manufactured. I would recommend it over the ET board. -- Jim Dixon VBCnet GB Ltd http://www.vbc.net tel +44 117 929 1316 fax +44 117 927 2015
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