🚀 go-pugleaf

Here at LLNL we have tried both Applitek and DEC Ethernet bridges.  They both
work well at the basic job of filtering packets between Ethernets.  The DEC
bridge is currently faster.  The cost varies depending on how you are tying
the Ethernets together.  We tie them together over a broadband cable system.

The DEC bridge is made to tie directly to two Ethernets, or to optical fiber
Ethernet repeaters.  The Applitek bridge ties to Ethernet on one side and
to Applitek's proprietary Unilan on the other, so you need at least two Applitek
units to tie two Ethernets together.  Unilan can run on baseband
(Ethernet) cable, broadband, or optical fiber.

In our configuration, a DEC bridge must be coupled with a broadband Ethernet
transceiver to go over the broadband cable.  This combination comes out
somewhat cheaper than the Applitek unit on broadband.  However, broadband
Ethernet is very limited in distance -- about 1 mile; Applitek broadband units
are conservatively rated to 5 miles and have been made to work to 15 miles.

Rough list prices:

DEC LAN 100 Ethernet bridge		< $ 8,000
Broadband Ethernet transceiver		<   5,000
Applitek broadband bridge		   13,000

I also recently saw an announcment that CMC now has an Ethernet bridge that
is presumably equivalent to DEC's.


George Pavel					ARPANET/MILNET:	gp@lll-crg
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory		UUCP: {ihnp4,seismo}!lll-crg!gp
P.O. Box 808  L-61
Livermore, CA 94550
(415)422-4262