🚀 go-pugleaf

jeremy@sour.sw.oz.au (Jeremy Fitzhardinge) writes:

>This is just a general query to find out what drivers there are
>for ISDN cards, and if it makes a difference, what kinds.

>We're looking at setting up a Linux box as an ISDN gateway
>machine, and we're wondering if we need to write a driver for
>any card we may get.

>We'd be happy with ahpha, beta test/prerelease versions, and
>could actively help develop/debug a driver.

>Also, what PC ISDN cards available approved for use in Australia?

>	J
I went through this exercise about a year ago. 

At the time Austel gave me a list of ISDN PC cards that were approved.
I contacted all the people, saying that I was prepared to work on a
driver, provided I could publish the source of same.

At that time (the situation may have changed since then) there were only
two reasonably priced cards: the one sold by Telecom, a rebadged
'Stohlman', and a 'Design Two Thousand', marketed by JNA.

(There exist other approved cards: IBM, HP, NCR, ISIS, Mitel, and
JTech - they are all expensive)

The Design Two Thousand actually looks the best (you can use both B
channels for Data - it also operates to some extent with the PC
off), but I never actually got through to JNA what GNU means etc. etc.
(They were enthusiastic, I know a number of people there, but kept
talking non-disclosure etc.). In the end I gave up becuase the cards
cost (ahem) over two thousand dollars.

I'm still interested in the idea myself, but after I put the line in,
buy the card, I then have to write code, which (essentially) helps
JNA sell more cards. Somehow I don't feel as though I'd be coming out
ahead here!

Amongst the most popular cards in Europe are the Diehl (German). There
are Linux driver's for these. I'm not sure if these are dumb or smart
cards (or if they have a range).

These are also reasonably priced (figures of DM 500). The problem is
Austel approval. The testing process was quoted to me by Austel as
$30,000. Private conversation with companies that have actually gone
through the process put the figure at more like $100,000. You have
to sell a lot of cards to make this worth while.... maybe this has
changed since then

Just to round off this long-winded article: I don't recommend external
TA's. You lose too much bandwidth in 'framing'.

For me, probably the simplest thing to do is use V.FC modems. You also
don't have timed local calls.

Regards,
Jamie