Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!newsfeed.nacamar.de!nntp.uio.no!uninett.no!not-for-mail
From: sthaug@nethelp.no (Steinar Haug)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Socket drivers for SCSI
Date: 12 May 1997 08:02:29 GMT
Organization: Nethelp Consulting, Trondheim, Norway
Lines: 34
Message-ID: <5l6iql$8k5@verdi.nethelp.no>
References: <337329C5.A5678A08@isr.co.jp> <5kvoik$5hj@uriah.heep.sax.de>
<3374492B.C490C5DE@isr.co.jp>
NNTP-Posting-Host: dole.uninett.no
In-reply-to: Jason Marshall's message of Sat, 10 May 1997 19:08:43 +0900
Cache-Post-Path: dole.uninett.no!unknown@verdi.nethelp.no
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:40747
[Jason Marshall]
| > > A long time ago on a free Unix far far away, some folks bantered about
| > > plugging two or more machines together on the same SCSI chain, and
| > > thereby achieving networking of great speed. And I was wondering if
| > > FreeBSD had such a thing (I am lacking the experience to code such a
| > > beast myself, though I am a programmer).
| >
| > One of the fathers of {386,Free}BSD's SCSI code, Peter Dufault, once
| > wrote me that he attempted to implement this idea. I'm not sure
| > whether he ever got it to success. The biggest point, transfer speed,
| > is now probably already moot due to the invention of 100 Mbit/s
| > ethernet technology. (And i think you can use a crossover cable to
| > connect just two machines, saving the costs of the hub.)
|
| But Ethernet has some nasty contention problems that I assume (hope?)
| SCSI does not. Isn't it easier to guarantee QOS on SCSI than on
| ethernet? (assuming I am trying to do semi-realtime distributed
| computing over the medium).
Ethernet doesn't have contention problems if you run full duplex point
to point links.
Frankly, I don't understand why anybody would want to use SCSI for high
speed networking - it was never meant for that! If you really, *really*
need QOS in your networks today, buy ATM. Otherwise, 100 Mbps Ethernet
is certainly the way to go (simpler and less expensive - current best
price is around $340 for full duplex NIC + switch port).
If 100 Mbps full duplex is too slow, you can start thinking about 622
Mbps ATM (available from a few vendors), pre-standard Gigabit Ethernet,
or more exotic technologies like Myrinet or SCI.
Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug@nethelp.no