[100] in resnet
Re: Choosing a card
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Michael L. Barrow)
Sat Jan 8 08:08:39 1994
Date: Sat, 8 Jan 1994 08:05:01 -0500
To: arifh@MIT.EDU, resnet@MIT.EDU
From: mlbarrow@MIT.EDU (Michael L. Barrow)
Cc: resnet-help@MIT.EDU, dcns-rcc@MIT.EDU
Just to let you know, the <resnet@mit.edu> mailing list is public so
everyone can see your question and its answer. If you want a question to be
private, you should only send it to <resnet-help@mit.edu>.
At 1:40 AM 1/8/94 -0500, arifh@mit.edu wrote:
>I have heard a number of conflicting recommendations for various
>ethernet cards. I had originally narrowed my choices to either
>the 3Com 3C503 or the 3C509. There is a substantial price difference
>between the two, but I am not aware of the spec differences.
The 3Com 3C503 is the lowest end card that 3Com manufactures. It's an 8 bit
card. The 3C509 is 16 bit and is a bit faster than the older 503.
Otherwise, the cards are functionally the same.
>Recently I was made aware of the Allied Telesis 1700AT. This
>complicated things since, while I value the recommendations of IS,
>I have heard more about the 3Com cards, and very little about this one.
>I need a card that will support IS Dos and Windows applications, and
>will also provide support for Linux in the near future. Please advise
>me in my decision-making.
The Allied-Telesis card is now the DCNS-tested and recommended card. It
works with Novell LAN Workplace and Linux. It specifically does not work
with Windows NT since there is no driver support yet, but one is expected
to go beta within 2 to 3 months. If you need to run NT right now, you will
need to buy the Allied-Telesis 2000U. It is NE2000-compatible and NT does
have drivers for the NE2000 cards.
3Com is a very popular company and their cards are very dependable.
However, the MIT Computer Connection could not carry their boards at a
competitive price. The Ethernet Board Evaluation group set out to find
inexpensive, yet dependable boards from reputable companies to replace the
3Com offerings. The results of our search are the Allied-Telesis boards.
I am sure that you will find the Allied-Telesis 1700AT to be a very nice
board at a very nice price. It's 16-bit, software configurable (i.e., no
odd jumpers and dip switches!), compatible with popular software in use on
the MIT campus, and it features both AUI and UTP interfaces.
I believe that this should answer your questions. If you need additional
assistance, please feel free to drop a line to <resnet-help@mit.edu>.
========
Michael L. Barrow
Network Analyst/Resnet Support Coordinator
MIT Distributed Computing & Network Services
Director, Boston Computer Society Internet SIG
