Token ring (UK)

From: William Donzelli <aw288_at_osfn.org>
Date: Wed Jul 23 22:36:17 2003

> Support for anything other than a Windows/DOS PC was pretty much non-existant
> though and as we started using more and more Unix hardware (and the odd Mac,
> and Linux on x86) on projects I ended up throwing a bit of Ethernet into the
> pot, and things gradually started going that way by the time I left.

It should be noted that the very first phase of the NSFnet was built
around RTs with token ring cards. I still have one of the 8228 MAUs from
the network.

Later phases of the NSFnet used T960 Microchannel routing cards. These are
very cool 80960* based devices that came in four flavors - ethernet, FDDI,
V.35, and HSSI. Until about six years ago, an RS/6000 loaded with a few
of these cards was just about the fastest router money could buy (except
IBM apparently never sold the FDDI or HSSI flavors outside of the NSF).
I have heard there was a token ring router card, but I have never seen
one. There were apparently also T386 cards - the same technology but
designed around the 80386 - but I have also never seen one. They could
have been fantasy Microchannel cards.

*running a stripped down AIX, no less.

William Donzelli
aw288_at_osfn.org
Received on Wed Jul 23 2003 - 22:36:17 BST