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From: gkn@M5.SDSC.EDU (Gerard K. Newman)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: RE:  Re: Questions on TCP-IP (vs. DECNET)
Message-ID: <880716211306.2360009b@M5.Sdsc.Edu>
Date: 16 Jul 88 21:13:06 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 42


	From:	 hedrick@topaz.rutgers.edu  (Charles Hedrick)
	Subject: Re: Questions on TCP-IP (vs. DECNET)
	Date:	 15 Jul 88 06:20:12 GMT
	Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

	DECnet routing tends to be slightly unstable.

This is true to some extent, in that a serial line attached to (say)
a DECSA router can cause lots of triggered routing updates on an
ethernet.  But I've also seen some amazingly unstable routing caused
by unstable serial lines on IP gateways.

	Interfacing DEC's mail system into an environoment with DECnet,
	IP, and BITnet is always a real trip.

Yes, it is, although there is some very good software out there which
will do just that.  My 4 protocol mail gateway (DECnet, IP, BITNET, and
MFENET) handles about 5K messages per week with very little non-automated
attention.

	Some of the newer services seem to have no equivalent on DECnet,
	e.g. the network file system.  I haven't heard or X or NeWS over
	DECnet, though I'd think DEC might have an X over DECnet for its
	VMS-based workstations.

DEC markets a product called DFS which is a distributed file system,
but it isn't really based on DECnet.  Likewise, the VAXcluster file
system isn't based on DECnet, but it too is a distributed file system.
DECWINDOWS is DEC's X-Windows product which supports X11R2 on top of
DECnet.  It is not yet out of field test.

gkn
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