🚀 go-pugleaf

Miles O'Neal <meo@schoneal.com> writes:

| John Garnett wrote:
| > 
| > What Linux ISDN card/driver combinations will communicate (via ISDN line)
| > with a multiuser Ascend Pipeline 50?  I want to avoid any solutions that
| > will be limited by the speed of the Linux serial port (like the
| > Motorola Bitsurfer).
|
| I'm not sure I understand here.  If you install an ISDN card
| on the PC's bus, then it has nothing to do with serial ports
| (or are you simply trying to avoid being deluged with replies
| about ISDN equipment hanging off the serial ports?)

Sounds to me like he wants to avoid serial ports period (and hence any
responses for serial port based boxes do not apply) for the reason of
the speed limitations.  He seems focused on a bus card solution and is
disregarding an ethernet solution.


| While ISDN is ISDN (sort of), everyone uses different compression
| schemes, and occasionally has other extras - none of which
| interoperate.  SO, while any ISDN interface should talk to any
| other (at least in the same country) they will be definitely
| be communicating at teh lowest common denominator.

Do any of them use V.42bis compression?  Or do they all roll their own?


| >Also, I don't want to go to the expense of installing
| > a standalone ISDN/Ethernet bride or router on the Linux side.  What
|
| An ethernet bride.  Now *that's* a scary thought!
| While it's a non inexpensive solution, the bet
| solution - at least until recently - was also for
| most of us the only solution (unless we wanted to
| write drivers): an ethernet card hooked to an external
| box such as the P50.  Even a low-end 3com card will
| handle ISDN rates with no problem.

Writing drivers is no big deal ... *IF* the vender is not being an ...hole
about providing specs.  Any bus cards out there with specs for drivers?


| > I'd like to do is install (inside the Linux box) an internal ISDN card with
| > an ISDN driver or an ISDN card that emulates an NE2000 Ethernet card,
|
| First you have to find out what works at all.  I know that
| as of early this month that list was still extremely short -
| there were maybe 1 or 2 cards listed as having Linux drivers,
| and I believe those were still experimental.  Look in the latest
| hardware FAQ/howto for further information.

Any that emulate common ethernet or serial port interfacing automatically
have Linux drivers.  But if it's a new interface, just making the driver
specs available will result in a driver for Linux at no cost, because there
are plenty of driver writers working with Linux (remember, Linux has a larger
system development team than the paid staff of all commercial UNIXs combined).

| > The question is which of the Linux ISDN card/driver combinations (if any)
| > best interoperates with the multiuser Ascend Pipeline 50?  Any contact
| > information (WWW sites, phone numbers, etc) for the various vendors is
| > welcome.
|
| Again, assuming there is anything that will work at all,
| nothing will communicate nearly as well with an Ascend as
| an Ascend - at least to date.  I'm really hoping Ascend will
| start selling cards, or license the technology to someone to
| do so - soon!

Or someone should start establishing some open standards.
-- 
Phil Howard KA9WGN      +-------------------------------------------------+
Unix/Internet/Sys Admin |    When freedom is outlawed....                 |
CLR/Fast-Tax            |            ....only outlaws will be free!       |
phil@clr.com            +-------------------------------------------------+