NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/comp/protocol/ppp/1016

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From: [e-mail]
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
Subject: point-to-point protocol: frequently
Message-ID: <ppp-faq/[e-mail]-b>
Date: 21 Dec 92 19:13:00 GMT
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Archive-name: ppp-faq/part1
Version: 2.3
Last-modified: Tue Dec 15 12:34:18 MET 1992

0.1 Introduction

I took the Information in Ed Vielmetti's FAQ files, my personal experience,
and lots of stuff from comp.protocols.ppp, and built a new one for them.
This posting will be reposted fortnightly, as soon as it is fairly stable,
and weekly till then. Changed sections are marked in the index with a ! or
+ for something got added or - for something got deleted.

The major sections start with a ^L, so hit the spacebar on the --more--
prompt.

0.2 Information wanted:

If you have experience with anything mentioned here, or know of newer
versions, or of versions of software for other hardware/OS, or ...

send me mail. I'll include it and possibly mention your name, if you don't
express otherwise.

1. INDEX TO THE FAQ:

2. What is PPP?

2.1 Introduction
2.2 PPP features which may or may not be present
2.3 PPP glossary
2.4 PPP-relevant RFC's

3.1 How to:
3.1 connect a single host to a network without needing a new subnet.
3.2 configure KA9Q PPP and it's Unix counterpart
+3.3 configure NCSA with the merit ppp driver and its unix counterpart
!3.4 work BOOTP over protocols such as SLIP or PPP

4. Real PPP questions with answers
4.1 Does somebody have a patent on PPP? [no]
4.2 Is it possible to use PPP as link layer in ISDN? [yes]

5. Free PPP software packages.

5.1 free PPP FOR SunOS 4.1.x:
5.1.1.1 ppp-1.1.tar.Z, works also on BSD (386BSD: 0.0 only)
5.1.1.2 pppd-1.01.tar.Z
5.1.2 dp-2.2.tar.Z
5.1.3 Perkins/Clements/Fox/Christy PPP for SunOS

5.2 free PPP for BSD:
5.2.1 ppp-1.1.tar.Z, see 4.1.1.1

5.3 free PPP for SYSVR4:

5.4 FREE PPP FOR MSDOS:

5.4.1 KA9Q NOS ppp additions:
5.4.2 PPP for NCSA telnet:

5.5 free PPP for AmigaOS:
5.5.1 AmigaNOS (KA9Q NOS for Amiga):

5.6 free PPP for NeXT:

5.7 free PPP for Macintosh:

6. ftp sites for PPP stuff, docs etc.

7. Commercial PPP software packages.
7.1 Amiga Inet:
7.2 Commercial PPP packages for MS-DOS and MS-Windows
+7.2.1 MSDOS with and without MSWindows

+7.2.1.1.  LAN WorkPlace for DOS 4.1 beta (see also 7.2.2)
+7.2.1.2.  PC/TCP 2.11
+7.2.1.3.  Distinct TCP/IP 3.0 beta
+7.2.1.4.  Super-PPP for Windows 1.0 beta
!7.2.2 MSDOS/Novell:

-7.3 for other computers:

8. PPP hardware.
8.1 Hardware that does async PPP
8.2 Hardware that supports sync PPP
8.3 Recent summaries stuff from the net, will be merged with the rest later

+9. (incomplete) Acknowledgements

2. What is PPP?

2.1 Introduction
PPP is the Internet Standard for transmission of IP packets over serial
lines. PPP supports async and sync lines. For a general discussion of PPP,
and of the PPP vs. SLIP question, look at the paper

ftp.uu.net:vendor/MorningStar/papers/sug91-cheapIP.ps.Z

2.2 PPP features which may or may not be present

Above and beyond compatibility with basic PPP framing, note whether
the software implements the following features.  Not all features are
needed or even desired in every product.

- "demand-dial".  Bring up a PPP interface and dial the phone when
  packets are queued for delivery; bring the interface down after some
  period of inactivity.

- "redial".  (For lack of a better term).  Bring up a PPP
  interface whenever it goes down, to keep a line up.

- "scripting".  Negotiate through a series of prompts or intermediate
  connections to bring up a PPP link, much like the sequence of events
  used to bring up a UUCP link.

- "parallel".  Configure several PPP lines to the same destination and
  do load sharing between them.  (Not standardized, usually only see
  in SLIP implementations, noted there as "parallel-slip".)

- "filtering".  Select which packets to send down a link or whether to
  bring up a "demand-dial" link based on IP or TCP packet type or TOS,
  e.g. don't dial the phone for ICMP ping packets.

- "header compression".  TCP header compression according to RFC 1144.
  Marginally useful on high speed lines, essential for low speed lines.

- "server".  Accept incoming PPP connections, which might well also
  include doing the right things with routing.

- "tunneling". build a virtual network over a PPP link across a TCP stream
   through an existing IP network

- "extra escaping". byte-stuffing characters outside the negotiated
  asyncmap, configurable in advance but not negotiable

2.3 PPP glossary

From: [e-mail] (Edward Vielmetti) [and others]
Subject: PPP glossary

Every new technology breeds its own set of acronyms.  PPP is no
different.  Here is a glossary of sorts.

ack    Acknowledgement.
AO    Active open [state diagram] (no lonter part of the FSM as of RFC 1331)
C    Close [state diagram]
CHAP    Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (RFC 1334)
D    Lower layer down [state diagram]
DES    Data Encryption Standard
DNA    Digital Network Architecture
IETF    Internet Engineering Task Force.
IP    Internet Protocol
IPCP    IP Control Protocol.
IPX    Internetwork Packet Exchange (Novell's networking stack)
FCS    Frame Check Sequence [X.25]
LCP    Link Control Protcol.
LQR    Link Quality Report.
MD4    MD4 digital signature algorithm
MD5    MD5 digital signature algorithm
MRU    Maximum Receive Unit
MTU    Maximum Transmission Unit
nak    Negative Acknowledgement
NCP    Network Control Protocol.
NRZ    Non-Return to Zero bit encoding. (SYNC ppp default because of
    availability)
NRZI    Non-Return to Zero Inverted bit encoding. (SYNC ppp preferred
    alternative to NRZ)
OSI    Open Systems Interconnect
PAP    Password Authentication Protocol (RFC 1334)
PDU    Protocol Data Unit (i.e., packet)
PO    Passive open [no longer part of state diagram]
PPP    Point to Point Protocol (RFC 1331, 1332, 1333, 1334, 1376, 1377, 1378)
RCA    Receive Configure-Ack [state diagram]
RCJ    Receive Code-Reject [state diagram]
RCN    Receive Configure-Nak or -Reject [state diagram]
RCR+    Receive good Configure-Request [state diagram]
RER    Receive Echo-Request [no longer part of state diagram]
RFC    Request for Comments (internet standard)
RTA    Receive Terminate-Ack [state diagram]
RTR    Receive Terminate-Request [state diagram]
RUC    Receive unknown code [state diagram]
sca    Send Configure-Ack [state diagram]
scj    Send Code-Reject [state diagram]
scn    Send Configure-Nak or -Reject [state diagram]
scr    Send Configure-Request [state diagram]
ser    Send Echo-Reply [no longer part of state diagram]
sta    Send Terminate-Ack [state diagram]
str    Send Terminate-Request [state diagram]
ST-II    Stream Protocol
TO+    Timeout with counter > 0 [state diagram]
TO-    Timeout with counter expired [state diagram]
VJ    Van Jacobson (RFC 1144 header compression algorithm)
XNS    Xerox Network Services

2.4 PPP relevant RFC's:

Here's a list with descriptions.  Note some of these are obsolete.

1378  PPP AppleTalk Control Protocol (ATCP). Parker, B.  1992 November; 16 p.
      (Format: TXT=28496 bytes)

1377  PPP OSI Network Layer Control Protocol (OSINLCP). Katz, D.  1992
      November; 10 p. (Format: TXT=22109 bytes)

1376  PPP DECnet Phase IV Control Protocol (DNCP). Senum, S.J.  1992 November;
      6 p. (Format: TXT=12448 bytes)

1334  PPP authentication protocols. Lloyd, B.; Simpson, W.A.  1992 October;
      16 p. (Format: TXT=33248 bytes)

1333  PPP link quality monitoring. Simpson, W.A.  1992 May; 15 p. (Format:
      TXT=29965 bytes)

1332  PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP). McGregor, G.  1992 May;
      12 p. (Format: TXT=17613 bytes)  (Obsoletes RFC 1172)

1331  Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) for the transmission of multi-protocol
      datagrams over point-to-point links. Simpson, W.A.  1992 May; 66 p.
      (Format: TXT=129892 bytes)  (Obsoletes RFC 1171, RFC 1172)

1220  Point-to-Point Protocol extensions for bridging. Baker, F.,ed.  1991
      April; 18 p. (Format: TXT=38165 bytes)

1172  Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) initial configuration options. Perkins,
      D.; Hobby, R.  1990 July; 38 p. (Format: TXT=76132 bytes)  (Obsoleted by
      RFC 1331, RFC 1332)

1171  Point-to-Point Protocol for the transmission of multi-protocol datagrams
      over Point-to-Point links. Perkins, D.  1990 July; 48 p. (Format:
      TXT=92321 bytes)  (Obsoletes RFC 1134; Obsoleted by RFC 1331)

1134  Point-to-Point Protocol: A proposal for multi-protocol transmission of
      datagrams over Point-to-Point links. Perkins, D.  1989 November; 38 p.
      (Format: TXT=87352 bytes)  (Obsoleted by RFC 1171)


[e-mail] (Bob Sutterfield) wrote in comp.protocols.ppp
(Message-ID: <[e-mail]>):

All of 1134, 1171, and 1172 (and 1055, for that matter :-) have been
obsoleted.  They're interesting only if you want to debug a connection
with an ancient PPP implementation, and you're wondering why (e.g.) it
asked you for IPCP option 2 with a length of only 4, and
Compression-Type 0x0037.

(There's a lot of that still running around - be careful out there.)


3. HOW TO ... :

3.0 complain about missing or incorrect information in the FAQ list

E-mail to [e-mail] (Ignatios Souvatzis), and add
information I'll need to think about it. That is:

- In case of incorrect information, send me the correct information and the
   source of it.

- In case of missing information, send me the information which is missing and
  the source of it.

3.1 connect a single host to a network without needing a new subnet.

From: [e-mail] (Ignatios Souvatzis)

If you have only one single machine on the other side, the easiest way
is to give it a IP address belonging to the local ethernet/IP subnet,
and to tell the ppp gateway machine to advertise (proxy arp) its own
ethernet address as the other machines'. Works like a charm here. Of
course, for a large group or complicated network on the other side,
you would get more management problems.

On the gateway do:

arp -s othermachinesipaddress myownethernetaddress permanent public
ifconfig pppNUMBER myipaddress othermachinesipaddress [other params] up

on remote machine:

ifconfig pppNUMBER gatewaysipaddress [other params] up
route add default gatewaysipaddress 1

pppNUMBER might be spelled as dpNUMBER for dialup IP.

Of course, if you use routeing daemons, you could also propagate the
route via routed / gated etc. to other machines, but it's more painful
because every machine has to do it (and might choose not to do it),
and every machine doing IP on a Ethernet HAS to talk arp.

On intermittently connected demand-dialed links, you may need to edit
/etc/gateways to define the destination of the PPP or SLIP connection
as a "passive" link.  Otherwise, routed will remove routes from the
kernel's routing table that use that link, because it won't hear RIPs
coming from hosts or routers across the wire.  Since it doesn't hear
anything from hosts or routers on the far side of the wire, routed
assumes that the link is dead forever.


3.2 configure KA9Q PPP and it's Unix counterpart

Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Kim Toms)
Subject: Re: PPP for DOS? (good info for FAQ)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1992 06:26:28 GMT

I have been able to use the ka9q software on my PC to call my Suns at
work.  This is available from merit.edu:/pub/ppp/ka9q.zip. I had to
tell our Sun product [that would be Morningstar PPP, see below. I.S.]
"nolqm" in order to prevent it from hanging up because of an lqm
failure, but other than that, I have had no trouble.

Below, I include the configuration I use on my pc.  I unpacked the
ka9q distribution into \ka9q.  All the configuration files are located
there.

I have also been able to use the NCSA telnet packet driver, however, I
could not use ftp with that, so I gave it up some months ago.

Here's what I use on the PC:

In a file called "doit2.bat";
net -d \ka9q dialup.net

In a file called "dialup.net";
ip address 137.175.2.42
attach asy 0x3f8 4 ppp pp0 1024 256 9600
dialer pp0 dialup.ppp
ppp pp0 trace 2
ppp pp0 quick
ppp pp0 lcp open
ppp pp0 ipcp open
route add default pp0
ip ttl 32
tcp mss 1460
tcp window 2920
domain addserver 137.175.2.11
domain suffix MorningStar.Com
domain cache clean on
start echo
start discard
start telnet
start ftp
start finger
start ttylink

In a file called "dialup.ppp";
control down
wait 1000
control up
wait 1000
wait 2000
send "at\r"
wait 3000 "OK"
send "atdt4515016\r"
wait 60000 "login: "
send "<username>\r"
wait 5000 "word:"
wait 1000
send "<password>\r"

3.3 configure NCSA with the merit ppp driver and its unix counterpart

From [e-mail] (Ignatios Souvatzis)

I had at least partial success using the parameters, to the public ppp for
SUNOS (dp-2.2, but I suspect any of dp-2.1 or dp-2.2* or pppd-1.01beta or
ppp-1.1 would have the same behaviour) -ac -pc vjmode draft. The latter
would be called in ppp-1.1 'vjmode rfc1331'.

3.4 work BOOTP over protocols such as SLIP or PPP

Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Steven L. Johnson)
Subject: Re: Tech?: BOOTP over SLIP or PPP
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 03:14:37 GMT

[e-mail] (John F. Moehrke (414-284-5559)) writes:

>Does anybody know if there is a description of how to work BOOTP over
>protocols such as SLIP or PPP. It seems this should work but the problem
>is that there is a field in the BOOTP header that contains the physical
>layer type, and these numbers are defined as the hardware types for ARP.
>Since SLIP and PPP do not use ARP, they do not have numbers.

I haven't looked very far, and would appreciate a pointer to any
previous work or concensus.  I've used a type 0 but only with a cisco
terminal server.  I don't know if this causes problems on other
implementations.

>The second problem is that the BOOTP header also contains a field
>for the physical layer address (i.e. Ethernet address). PPP and SLIP do
>not have an physical layer addresses. What does the BOOTP server have
>to base it's IP address suggestion on?

It's my understanding that PPP can itself negotiate the IP address
and that this is the preferred method.  If the IP address is included
in the bootp request then the remaining configuration is done based
on that IP address and not the hardware address.  With SLIP there
isn't this option, so the IP address must be assigned by knowing the
physical port on which the request was received.  Again, I used an
address of 0 (with a address length of 0, I think) and this didn't
seem to cause a problem.

On a terminal server that contained only a minimal implementation
of bootp, it was necessary to send two requests.  The first request
was satisfied by the terminal server and configured only the IP
address.  A subsequent request (that contained the IP address provided
by the first request) was forwarded by the terminal server to a
bootp server on the ethernet and provided the rest of the configuration
from a standard bootptab.

-Steve


4. Real PPP questions with answers

4.1 Does somebody have a patent on PPP?

From: [e-mail] (Edward Vielmetti)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip,comp.unix.sysv386,comp.protocols.ppp
Subject: Re: Public domain PPP for SCO 2.0??
Date: 8 Dec 1992 06:04:52 GMT

Scott Raney ([e-mail]) wrote:
:
: Doesn't matter.  I just read (in another newsgroup) that DEC has a
: patent on PPP, and is asking $5000 for a license.  That means no
: public domain PPP, and a rapidly increasing reluctance to support it
: from OEMs.  Stick with SLIP until something better comes along.

This is *not* true.

DEC has a patent application outstanding for the negotiation of a 48 bit
checksum which might be used in one of the option negotiation phases.  It
is not an essential part of PPP; many implementations currently do not
use this little tiny algorithm in the way they work, and they work just
fine.

There is no indication that the 48 bit FCS will be accepted or standardized
on by the IETF - from my reading of the  mailing lists traffic that is
unlikely at this point.

There are free PPPs and there will continue to be free PPPs.  You will
also more likely buy PPPs as part of hardware you buy.

...

4.2 Is it possible to use PPP as link layer in ISDN?

Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Bob Sutterfield)
Subject: Re: PPP in different subnets
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1992 22:03:56 GMT

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Terje Dalen) writes:

   1. Is it possible to use PPP as link layer in ISDN?  If yes, what
      about signalling? Do you need to combine PPP with the I.451 for
      basic call control?

Yes, PPP is one of the optional encapsulations specified for use over
ISDN networks.  It's particularly useful where end-to-end out-of-band
negotiation facilities are unavailable.  Write to [e-mail]
or [e-mail] for details.


5. free PPP software packages.

5.1 free PPP FOR SunOS 4.1.x:

5.1.1.1 ppp-1.1.tar.Z, works also on BSD (386BSD: 0.0 only)
  Author: [e-mail]
  Public ftp archives:
        [e-mail]:pub/ppp/code/ [primary ftp server]
        [e-mail]:pub/ppp/SOFTWARE/ [mirror for europe]
  Comments: for the 386bsd part, see also note and ftp site at end of 5.2.1

5.1.1.2 pppd-1.01.tar.Z
  FTP Archives: merit.edu:pub/ppp/
  Comment: Used to work at cs.uni-bonn.de, but we switched to the
           redial code by Kirk Smith. The BSD code herein is very out
           of date. Superseded by ppp-1.1.tar.Z.

5.1.2 dp-2.2.tar.Z

  Author: Kirk Smith <[e-mail]>,
      [e-mail], and others
  Features: demand-dial, filtering, header compression, server, scripting,
       SunOS loadable modules partially supported
  Comment: basically is dp-2.2-beta with a few typos corrected and non-sun4c
           kernel architecture support #ifdef'd in. Not tested on sun4m
           machines yet!!!!!
       Currently works at cs.uni-bonn.de. Loadable modules work fine
           as long as you don't unload them. Survives even talk(1) without
           crashing the machine. If you see older versions, especially
           dp-2.0.tar.Z, toss them immediately!
  Plans:   solaris 2.1 (sunos 5.1) support scheduled for version 2.4. :-)
  Mailing-list: [e-mail].
  Mailing-list-maintainer: Kirk Smith <[e-mail]>
  FTP Archives:
        [e-mail]:pub/ [primary ftp server]
        [e-mail]:pub/ppp/SOFTWARE/DIALUPPPP/ [for Europe]

5.1.3 Perkins/Clements/Fox/Christy PPP for SunOS
  Version: patch level 6 of 1991-10-04
  Anonymous FTP: merit.edu:/pub/ppp/ppp/sunos4.1.pl6.tar.Z
             premises1.quotron.com:/pub/ppp-sunos4.1.pl6.tar.Z
  E-mail: [e-mail] (Greg Christy)
  Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
  Supported systems: Sun 4, SunOS 4.1.1
  Comments: should be considered out of date


5.2 free PPP for BSD:
5.2.1 ppp-1.1.tar.Z, see 4.1.1.1

From: Frank Terhaar-Yonkers <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1992 09:59:19 -0500

I started on the 386bsd PPP based on ppp-1.1.tar.Z.  Got something
actually running but had to switch gears to get my box up
to the current patchlevel because of other problems.  Hope to
finish up durring the holidaze.

It's available from: sunvis.rtpnc.epa.gov:~pub/386bsd/ppp-hacks

- Frank


5.3 free PPP for SYSVR4:
- rumoured to be ready really soon now.


5.4 FREE PPP FOR MSDOS:

5.4.1 KA9Q NOS ppp additions:

- A complete ka9q distribution with ppp is available from
  Authors: Phil Karn (KA9Q) with additions from lots of others. PPP code
       written by Katie Stevens of UC Davis, based on the original
       implementation by Drew Perkins of CMU. Updated by Bill Simpson and
       Glenn McGregor of the University of Michigan.
  Public FTP site: merit.edu:pub/ppp/ka9q.zip
  Comment: see 3.2

5.4.2 PPP for NCSA telnet:
  Public ftp archive: merit.edu:pub/ppp/ncsappp.zip
  Comment: [e-mail] (Kim Toms) wrote in comp.protocols.ppp:
       "I have also been able to use the NCSA telnet packet driver,
       however, I could not use ftp with that, so I gave it up some months
       ago."

5.5 FREE PPP FOR AmigaOS:

5.5.1 AmigaNOS (KA9Q NOS for Amiga):

  Mailing-list-maintainer: [e-mail]
  Mailing-list: [e-mail]
  Faq-posting: in comp.sys.amiga.datacomm, every 21 days.
  Comments: AmigaNOS2.9i.lha doesn't contain PPP code, as far as can I see
           without an Amiga, but contains SLIP.  However, a few people are
           sure to have seen an AmigaNOS version with PPP support (version
           information rumoured to be KA9Q NOS 900418 (PPP.15)) done by Marc
           Boucher, and want to check out and tell me. I'll add the
           information here as soon as I'll get it. If you know anything, tell
           me.

5.6 FREE PPP FOR NeXT:
  Public ftp archive: merit.edu:pub/ppp/next-ppp0.2.tar.Z
  Author: [e-mail] (Miron S. Cuperman)
  Comment: The author claimed: "I heard that it doesn't work with 3.0.
    I haven't looked at it myself." As can be seen from Readme etc.
    files, it is a quick adaption of the Christy et al. code. It comes
    with a loadable kernel module.

5.7 free PPP for Macintosh:
- MacPPP 1.0 beta from Merit Network, Inc.
  author: [e-mail] (Larry Blunk)
  Public ftp archive: merit.edu:pub/ppp/MacPPPv1.0b1.sit.hqx
  Status: Beta test. Testers should report their problems/their
      successes to the author, and watch out for a newer version.

      This is a beta PPP LAP driver for MacTCP.  The current
      version does not support Appletalk over PPP, only IP. The
      driver requires System 6.0.5 or higher. (Note: the PPP LAP
      requires MacTCP 1.1 or higher.  MacTCP 1.1 and 1.1.1 both
      have problems with slow links, but 1.1.1's are less severe).

6. ftp sites for general PPP stuff, docs etc.

try also the ftp sites mentioned above in the 'packages' section.

- Merit PPP collection at merit.edu:/pub/ppp/

- Ohio PPP collection at archive.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/ppp/

- KA9Q NOS collection at ucsd.edu:...

- in Europe, try theory.cs.uni-bonn.de:pub/ppp for a very selected
  collection.

7. Commercial PPP software packages.

7.1 Amiga Inet:

A version, which will support SLIP (but, alas, not PPP), is expected to
be distributed with AmigaOS 3.1 in spring 93


7.2 MSDOS with and without MSWindows

7.2.1 Commercial PPP packages for MS-DOS and MS-Windows

  This information orignally appeared in the December 7th, 1992 issue
of "Open Systems Today", a newspaper published by CMP Publications,
[phone].

  Each of these packages costs around $400 not including volume or other
discounts. Call the vendor for details.

  Each of the packages is a complete TCP/IP stack with assorted client
programs, ftp, telnet, etc.., that run under MS-DOS and/or MS-Windows.
The TCP/IP client programs included in each package vary. Some use the
DOS command line (even under MS-Windows) while others have full Windows
GUI interfaces.  A PPP client (but not server) is included with each of
these packages.

7.2.1.1.  LAN WorkPlace for DOS 4.1 beta (see also 7.2.2)
    Novell
    USA: [phone]

  Summary: This is an MS-DOS TSR (Terminate and Stay Ready) solution so it
  runs under either MS-DOS or MS-Windows. It includes a program called
  "DIALUP" that only allows connections at 8 bits, no parity. You can use
  the public domain "kermit" program instead if you need 7 bits, parity
  connections.

7.2.1.2.  PC/TCP 2.11
    FTP Software
    USA: [phone]

  Summary: PC/TCP is an MS-DOS TSR solution that had PPP long before it
  was fashionable. Not surprisingly, it was the only non-beta product
  available for this review.

7.2.1.3.  Distinct TCP/IP 3.0 beta
    Distinct Inc.
    USA: (408) 741- 0781

  Summmary: This is a Windows DLL solution so it only runs under MS-Windows.
  Nice scripting features and built-in support (stored configuration
  strings, basically) for various modems.

7.2.1.4.  Super-PPP for Windows 1.0 beta
    Frontier Technologies Corp
    USA: [phone]

  Summary: This is a Windows DLL solution that is an optional component of
  their Super-TCP for Windows product. Super-TCP comes in both TSR and
  DLL flavors but the Super-PPP product is strictly DLL. Very configurable.


  Performance notes: If you run PPP under MS-Windows, your performance will
  suck (it might not work at all!) unless you have 16550A UARTs in your PC.
  If you have an extra card slot, you can add two 16550A ports with the
  DSP 550 card from STB Systems, [phone]. To find out what kind
  of UARTs are in your PC, use the program "msd.exe" in your MS-Windows 3.1
  install directory or retrieve the program
  /published/open-systems-today/uarttype.zip from ftp.uu.net .
  Older UARTs are the 8250 or the 16450.  These UARTs will work ok under
  MS-DOS. A fast CPU helps, though. No performance tests were run because
  three of the four packages above are still in beta.

  For more information, read the Open Systems Today article and stay
  tuned to this FAQ.

7.2.2 MSDOS/Novell:

    Novell now offers PPP support (asynchronous) in LAN WorkPlace for DOS
    version 4.1, and PPP support for synchronous and T1 connections on
    NetWare v3.11 servers in the MultiProtocol Router WAN Links option.
    NetWare server support for the routing of IP and IPX protocols over
    asynchronous dialup lines will be available sometime around mid-1993.

    This is an excerpt from LWP41.TXT, a document describing LAN
    WorkPlace for DOS v4.1 (the entire text can be found on
    sjf-lwp.sjf.novell.com in ~/lwp4dos/lwp41.txt):

       *  SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point to Point
          Protocol) support.  SLIP and PPP support is provided in the form
          of a custom ODI driver for LAN WorkPlace: SLIP_PPP.COM.  This
          driver allows the Novell TCP/IP Transport for DOS v4.1 to use
          asynchronous connections for IP services required by DOS and
          Windows applications.  It supports the following:
           -  SLIP
           -  Compressed SLIP (C-SLIP) using Van Jacobson TCP/IP header
              compression (as described in RFC-1144).
           -  PPP with support for Van Jacobson TCP/IP header compression
              option negotiation and PAP (Password Authentication
              Protocol) as described in RFC-1334.
           -  Support for National Semiconductor's 16550, 16550A, 16450
              and 8250 UARTs (Universal Asynchronous Receiver
              Transmitter).  Use of a 16550 UART is strongly recommended
              (and is required for use with Windows at speeds of 9600bps
              or greater).  NOTE: One can use the Microsoft Diagnostics
              program supplied with Windows v3.1 (MSD.EXE) to determine
              which type of UART is installed in a PC.
           -  Interface speeds up to 57,600 bps when used with a
              V.32bis/V.42bis modem and 16550A UART.

    [e-mail] (Brian Meek) clarified on my request, that:

    IP is the only protocol supported directly by the LAN
    WorkPlace SLIP_PPP driver in this initial release.  One can use
    the IPTUNNEL LAN driver (also included in LAN WorkPlace) to
    encapsulate IPX in UDP/IP and attach to a NetWare v3.11 server
    running a similar driver.  This "IP Tunneling" mechanism is
    described in RFC 1234.

    Direct IPX support for this PPP driver will be added later,
    but the current tunneling mechanism is presently more widely
    applicable... since few (if any) PPP implementations are presently
    available with support for IPX.

7.3 for other computers:

From: [e-mail] (Edward Vielmetti)

This is a woefully incomplete list, updates would be welcomed.

- Morning Star PPP
  Price: $795 (40% discount for .edu)
  Supported systems: Sun 4, Sun 3, NeXT, DECstation, RS/6000, SCO UNIX, ISC
    UNIX, and Silicon Graphics

  Features: demand-dial, scripting, filtering, redial, header compression,
    client, server, tunneling, extra escaping, the ability to work with
    various keycard access systems that require user interaction during
    the script

    Morningstar claims that their async PPP and SLIP run fine over UNIX
    systems' native serial ports, with no additional hardware required.
    For better performance, they recommend that users of PC-based UNIX
    systems install either a serial interface card based on the
    NS16550AFN UART, or a multiport "smart" card. They claim to do async
    PPP and SLIP/CSLIP as fast as the underlying UNIX supports (usually
    38400), and to do sync PPP up to T1 (1.544Mb/s) or E1 (Euro-T1,
    2.048Mb/s) over our SnapLink. They provide dynamically-loadable
    modules for SunOS 4.1.* and NeXTStep 2.1 and 3.0, so users needn't
    even reboot during the installation process.

  FTP: ftp.morningstar.com
       ftp.uu.net:/vendors/MorningStar/
  E-mail: [e-mail]

- Brixton PPP
  Supported systems: Sun 4
  Features: demand-dial

- Marble Teleconnect
  Price: $???
  Supported systems: NeXT.
  Features: ???
  (does this really do PPP?  PSI press release didn't say so)


8. PPP hardware.

8.1 Hardware that does async PPP
From: [e-mail] (Edward Vielmetti)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp

Archive-name: ppp-faq/async

This is a list of hardware that supports async PPP, in the form
of a terminal server or terminal server / router combination.

- Telebit Netblazer
  ftp information from ftp.telebit.com
  N2-1-ES    1 ethernet + 1 56K +  2 RS-232
  N10-1-ES    1 ethernet + 1 56K + 10 RS-232

- Merit SCP

- Livingston Portmaster PM-11
  ftp information from gator.netcom.com:/pub/livingston/

- Cisco (?)


8.2 Hardware that supports sync PPP
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Edward Vielmetti)

Archive-name: ppp-faq/sync

Note that sync PPP is rather well established and it's not surprising
to see lots of vendors using it as their only sync serial line
protocol.  Various folks do various of the configuration options,
anywhere from a full implementation to very bare bones.

The price point is arbitrary.  These are list prices for the cheapest
box that has at least 1 sync PPP port that runs at 56 kb/sec plus one
ethernet.  Prices approximate, your milage may vary, contact your
vendor for details.

- Cisco
  E-mail: [e-mail]

- Telebit Netblazer
  Phone: +1 800 TELEBIT
  E-mail: [e-mail]
  N2-1-ES    1 ethernet + 1 56K +  2 RS-232
  N10-1-ES    1 ethernet + 1 56K + 10 RS-232

- Livingston
  E-Mail: [e-mail]
  IR-4        1 ethernet + 4 56K +  1 RS-232

- 3com

- Morning Star SNAPlink
  E-Mail: [e-mail]
  SnapLink    SCSI-attached serial interface for Unix systems
        1 T1 + 2 56K, RS-232 or RS-449
  HDLC driver for sun4c ttya and ttyb included with PPP software

- Merit SCP

- NAT

- Wellfleet

8.3 Recent summaries stuff from the net, will be merged with the rest later

From: [e-mail] (Peter Galbavy)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
Subject: [SUMMARY]: PPP Capable Terminal Servers (Interim)
Date: 27 Nov 92 12:13:35 GMT
Organization: MicroMuse Limited, London, England.

I got lots of very helpful replies to my request for terminal servers
that are capable of PPP.

I am not really around in the office at the moment to collate the replies
into any thing coherent, but generally three were recommended (or rather
mentioned). Most replies were of the form "The XXX server supports PPP,
but we haven't used it yet".

I will post a more detailed summary in a week or so:

Xylogics MicroAnnex XL        (8-16 ports - release 7.0 firmware)
Xylogics Annex 3        (8-64 ports - release 7.0 firmware)
Livingston Portmaster        ( ??? )
3com CS/2100            (10 lines max)
Datability VCP 200/300        ( ??? )
Telebit NetBlazer        ( limited... I don't think of this a a TS )

The number I got were:

Xylogics US: [phone] <[e-mail]>
Xylogics UK: [phone] <[e-mail]>
Livingston Enterprises, Inc: [phone]

The most suggestions were for Xylogics. I have not got any further info yet.
I will let you all know if you want later...

Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Brian J. Smith)
Subject: Re: [SUMMARY]: PPP Capable Terminal Servers (Interim)
Date: Fri, 27 Nov 92 23:35:18 GMT

In article <peter.722866415@hilly> [e-mail] (Peter
Galbavy) writes:

>Xylogics Annex 3        (8-64 ports - release 7.0 firmware)

I have been *VERY* happy with my Xylogics terminal servers I have to Annex II's
and a Annex 3.  They were designed for the Unix type person, and take 2 mins to
get working on the network.  Port configuration will take longer, but normally
you only have a few sets of configurations "modem dialin high speed" etc.
Two thumbs up to this company, now if they didn't cost so much. :) :)

>Datability VCP 200/300        ( ??? )

I tested one of these, they come in 8-16 port configurations, a TCP or LAT or
TCP/LAT version.  Very VMS like, I would guess a off spring of DECservers.
Cheaper than the Xylogics in Price.  Didn't fit my feel due to the VMSish
help and commands.

>Telebit NetBlazer        ( limited... I don't think of this a a TS )

A NetBlazer works flawlessly for remote site PPP/SLIP links.  As a term server
it doesn't fit the bill.  And a bit costly.

Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
From: [e-mail] (Samuel Lam)
Subject: Re: [SUMMARY]: PPP Capable Terminal Servers (Interim)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Samuel Lam)
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 07:21:07 GMT

In article <peter.722866415@hilly>, [e-mail] (Peter Galbavy) wrote:
>Livingston Portmaster        ( ??? )

They have 10-, 20- and 30-port configurations.  List prices
ranging from ~US$2.7K to ~US$3.8K.  Contact <[e-mail]>
for more information.

9. Acknowledgements:

Thanks for their contributions to:

Edward Vielmetti <[e-mail]> (for the first Version, called 0.1)
Bob Sutterfield <[e-mail]> (lots of contributions, not only
    about Morningstar PPP)

[e-mail] (RFC descriptions)
Helmut Heller <[e-mail]> (more next information)
[e-mail] (Peter Galbavy) (for a PPP terminal server summary)
[e-mail] () (for contributing to a PPP term. server summary)

[e-mail] (Michael Davis) (for Abbreviations)
Dan Pritts ([e-mail]) (for MacPPP information)
[e-mail] (Brian Meek) (for much Information about Novell PPP)
[e-mail] (Jason Martin Levitt) (for reviewing an
    Open Systems Today review about tcp/ip with ppp packages for
    MSDOS/MSWINDOWS)

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    Ignatios Souvatzis
    [e-mail] [e-mail]
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