[HECnet] Multinet Tunnel Connections to SG1::

[Brian Hechinger]

On 6/5/2012 12:53 PM, Rob Jarratt wrote:

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE [mailto:owner-
hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On Behalf Of Johnny Billquist
Sent: 04 June 2012 23:17
To: hecnet at Update.UU.SE
Subject: Re: [HECnet] Multinet Tunnel Connections to SG1::

FYI - Update now have a Cisco box, which will be setup within a few days
to
be able to route DECnet over IP, so that will become another options to
hook
into HECnet at the Update site.

For people who don't need LAT and have a Cisco box, this is way better
than
the bridge program.
(If you really want LAT with other parts of HECnet, then there is no
alternative to the bridge...)

	Johnny

I assume you are using GRE on the Cisco box. I am not an expert in this
stuff so pardon the na  ve question but, what is it about Cisco that makes it
better than the bridge? After all aren't they really doing the same thing?
Is it just that you don   t need a server running the bridge (could use a
Raspberry Pi for that now) or is it the use of GRE? From a skim of RFC 2784
and 2890 GRE doesn't look too complicated, perhaps the bridge could be
changed to implement GRE if that helps in some way.

I don't know much about "professional" routers and Cisco stuff in
particular. If there are advantages to using a Cisco router, what should I
be looking for if I wanted to pick up something cheap on EBay? Could this
work in a domestic environment with an ISP that gives out dynamic IP
addresses?


The cisco isn't bridging traffic across the GRE link it's doing actual DECnet routing.

It's closer in function to a Multinet tunnel.

-brian