Sync serial bridging over Ethernet, was Re: [HECnet] Multi-floor household (DECnet) routing help needed

[Dave McGuire]

On 01/18/2013 02:38 AM, John Wilson wrote:
I remember being thoroughly impressed with the Z8530, and
I've used it in several projects since then...

I'm pretty !@*^% impressed too (except for the annoying two-step register
access, which I guess is fixed in other versions).   That DPLL is the perfect
thing for ham packet radio -- wish I'd known about that (I paid Real Money
for a used DUP11 about 20 years ago hoping to use it for hamming but never
got around to building the circuitry it would have taken to whip up a clock,
but it seems the Z8530 already has that and was commonly available at the
time -- dammit!).

  I hate when that happens!

So yes...if you're doing sync stuff with it, that might be very handy if
we do this and it goes this route.

Sync is the plan but I don't yet have anything to test against (waiting
for some trivial PCBs to come back that save me the trouble of piecing
together a Berg-to-DB25 cable for my DUV11, and I think they'll also work
for DMV11s and DUP11s, so I'll have plenty to test/debug with).   So that'll
change within the next week and I'm working to have code ready by then.

  Gotcha.   I'm interested in hearing of your progress; that sounds like fun!

I would imagine it'd be offended. ;)   However if memory serves, HDLC
frames contain a few bits' worth of sequence numbers.

BTW is there any particular target in mind for this?

  Ask Ian. ;)

If it's for HECnet,
DDCMP would probably be more useful than the annoying bit-stuffing protocols.
But better yet would be to support everything ... no point in having to
build almost the same thing again later.

  I'd be up for almost anything.   I like the idea of tunneling old
protocols within standardized (if just as old) networking systems to
enable connectivity where it wasn't possible before.   If we do this, and
if we can make it as flexible as possible, I'd be happy.

As for config:   is using the RS232 port (in async mode) too easy?

  I think a lot of people would be bothered by it because they think
RS232 is no longer common (wrong) and that USB<->serial adapters don't
work well (wrong) or that terminal programs are somehow hard to find
(also wrong).   Granted "those" people are probably not the target
market, though.

                        -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA