From owner-freebsd-hackers Fri Mar 15 02:03:46 1996 Return-Path: owner-hackers Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id CAA18369 for hackers-outgoing; Fri, 15 Mar 1996 02:03:46 -0800 (PST) Received: from casparc.ppp.net (casparc.ppp.net [194.64.12.35]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id CAA18362 for ; Fri, 15 Mar 1996 02:03:39 -0800 (PST) Received: from ernie by casparc.ppp.net with uucp (Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0txWKg-000I8mC; Fri, 15 Mar 96 11:02 MET Received: by ernie.altona.hamburg.com (Smail3.1.29.1 #4) id m0txVM1-00001eC; Fri, 15 Mar 96 09:59 MET Message-Id: From: hm@altona.hamburg.com (Hellmuth Michaelis) Subject: Re: Microsoft "Get ISDN"? To: jgreco@brasil.moneng.mei.com (Joe Greco) Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 09:59:21 +0100 (MET) Cc: lehey.pad@sni.de, cmlambertus@ucdavis.edu, hackers@freebsd.org, jkrause.padg@sni.de In-Reply-To: <199603141610.KAA22055@brasil.moneng.mei.com> from "Joe Greco" at Mar 14, 96 10:10:38 am Reply-To: hm@altona.hamburg.com X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL24] Content-Type: text Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk [Connect ISDN via terminal-adaptors/ISDN-"modems"/IP-ISDN routers/PC cards] >From the several possibilities to connect (to the Internet) yourself via ISDN all have their good sides and drawbacks. PC cards: With (active or passive) PC ISDN cards you usually have access to _ALL_ services offered by ISDN: datacommunication, telephony, video, X.25, videotext/cep/btx, and, and, and .... Drawback: change architecture, change hw/sw; finding good sw is not that easy. PC cards emulating a com port or emulating an NE2000 don't fall in this category !!! IP-ISDN routers: you "only" get IP/IPX/etc. packets thru your ISDN link, you cannot do i.e. native ISDN computerized telephony. Good: change architecture, keep router. Terminal-adaptors, ISDN "modems": You have neither direct access to _any_ native ISDN service nor direct IP capabilities but have to go thru serial ports with all their drawbacks. No standardized access like a standard set of Hayes commands, no standard access to protocol configuration, etc, etc. IMHO the worst choice of all three. Good: change architecture, keep adaptor. There are some ISDN adaptors which connect to the SCSI bus avail- able, these seem to have not all of the drawbacks mentioned above, i.e. they allow better configuration. IMHO, if one just needs IP connectivity, one should buy a ISDN-IP router. I recently saw an ad for the new Cisco Pro line which starts with the Pro 750 which contains all you need for IP connectivity for ~1000 USD. If you want more than IP connectivity, get a ISDN card for your hardware, but make shure you get the "right" software! If you cannot afford an IP router and there is no hw/sw combination available for your platform, try go afford an IP router or change your platform so you can buy a suitable hw/sw combination for your platform. I would not even think about buing a TA/ISDN-"modem" .... A friend tested a Zyxel, and the experience was desastrous. The CAPI did not run, it only did X.75 (which noone uses here, IP is (for 99%) done transparently in HDLC over here, so any equipment not capable to do this is useless here!) and so on and so on. Same experience with terminal adaptors, they are simply awful, interoperability seems to be a non-existing word for the manufacturers of such devices. Just my .2 , hellmuth -- Hellmuth Michaelis hm@altona.hamburg.com Hamburg, Europe (A)bort, (R)etry, (I)nstall BSD ?