ethernet and switches, was Re: [rescue] Mozilla Firefox

[Dave McGuire]

On Apr 23, 2004, at 10:10 AM, Joshua Boyd wrote:
>>   Uhhhhhh, use something better than Ethernet?  Something that,
>> perhaps, uses something a little more robust than NOISE ON THE WIRE to
>> arbitrate media access?  Something with frame sizes a little more
>> in-tune with the way networks are used today, rather than thirty years
>> ago?
>
> Although to be fair, the last complaint has been addressed by GigE.  My
> understanding is that hubbing and half duplex are completely forbidden
> as well, which means there is no reason for the hardware to try to use
> noise to arbitrate media access, is there?

   Yes, frame sizes have been addressed, but last I checked, everyone 
was implementing jumbo frames differently (and incompatibly).

>   I wonder how much inappropriate legacy stuff is really left inside 
> of GigE.

   That's a very good question.  I understand GigE is much better than 
previous Ethernet standards (beyond just the bit clock) but I don't 
know many of the details.

> I'm working on rolling out FDDI in my apartment, but I'm not entirely
> certain I like having that 100Mbits shared around the ring.  I
> understand that FDDI switches exist, but I've never seen one.  I also
> find myself wondering about what to go after FDDI.  Sure HIPPI is
> superior, but damn that stuffs expensive if I want anything more than a
> crossover connection.  Unless I luck out on a switch, I don't expect to
> ever be able to afford that, and that seems to leave only GigE.

   I have two HIPPI switches.  I paid $50 for one and $100 for the 
other.  I believe Brian (up near you) has at least three of them 
(though physically very large ones) that aren't doing anything.  But 
otherwise I agree with your points.

          -Dave

--
Dave McGuire          "PC users only know two 'solutions'...
Cape Coral, FL          reboot and upgrade."    -Jonathan Patschke