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Path: utzoo!mnetor!yetti!geac!daveb
From: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans,comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Smart Ethernet boards
Message-ID: <863@geac.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Jul-87 11:40:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: geac.863
Posted: Mon Jul  6 11:40:32 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 7-Jul-87 01:17:50 EDT
References: <283@sering.cwi.nl> <8212@utzoo.UUCP> <17346@amdcad.AMD.COM> <365@parcvax.Xerox.COM> <585@houxa.UUCP>
Reply-To: daveb@geac.UUCP (Dave Brown)
Organization: The little blue rock next to that twinkly star
Lines: 32
Summary: a side comment re programmability
Xref: mnetor comp.dcom.lans:606 comp.protocols.tcp-ip:505

In article <585@houxa.UUCP> mel1@houxa.UUCP (M.HAAS) writes:
>For small systems with 80386 and 68020 class CPUs, I would think that
>an on-board TCP/IP with similar CPU and decent memory buffers would give
>optimum performance.  Does anyone have figures or thoughts as to what
>impedes performance?  One article here commented on the multiple
>copies being made of the data being transferred.  Is that necessary
>or desirable?  Couldn't the on-board TCP/IP processor just handle
>the headers on the board and DMA the data to/from user's I/O space?
>
>   Mel Haas  ,  odyssey!mel

  A side point that might be of interest here: "an on-board TCP/IP with 
similar CPU and decent memory buffers would give optimum performance"
implies that the TCP/IP board could be programmed from the host. If you
have the choice of such a board, go for it.

  CP-6 (and possibly CP-V) has a mechanism for compiling parts of
major programs (like editors) to run on the front-end processors.  As
a result the front ends tended to be accesable, programmable in
something other than assembler and maintainable.
  A performance improvement was there too: the two parts of the "same"
program tended to know how to communicate with each other effectively,
using the basic comms primitives the system provided. Especially minimizing
redundant copying.

  So look for boards with big ram buffers and hooks for user
programmability/downloading: you may bless your foresight.
-- 
 David (Collier-) Brown.              |  Computer Science
 Geac Computers International Inc.,   |  loses its memory
 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, |  (if not its mind)
 CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 |  every 6 months.