*BSD News Article 41416


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From: dwhite@anshar.shadow.net (Don Whiteside)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: FreeBSD as Terminal server?
Date: 23 Jan 1995 13:13:03 -0500
Organization: Shadow Information Services, Inc.
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  I've got a BBS I run here at Miami-Dade Community College, and our 
networking project is coming along well enough to make it worth making 
the BBS network accessable. It's all on a TCP backbone, so I can't use 
the out-of-the-box software available for it. So the next choice is to 
buy the Internet Connectivity Option for it.
  Problem there is that it's gonna suck up processor cycles and provide 
me with a bunch of options and features I just don't need. That would be 
no problem if I didn't have to PAY for all those features.

  So what I'd like to do is set up a FreeBSD machine with a 16 port board 
to take incoming telnet sessions and direct them out the serial ports. 
(The 16 port board is because Boca will sell me one on a sysop plan for 
next to nothing. I only expect to use about 8 sessions at a time) This 
lets me put my money into a piece of hardware rather than into dead-end 
software. FreeBSD because it's what I'm familiar with, but I'd consider 
NetBSD if I have to go that way.

  Am I dreaming? Is this doable in a worthwhile way? A throughput on 
these channels of 600cps each would be plenty acceptable, as it's just a 
chat and message board.