FTP Software® currently offers a wide range of TCP/IP- based networking software products for PCs running DOS and Microsoft Windows™. Several of our products provide TCP/IP connectivity for Banyan VINES client PCs.
PC/TCP® and PC/TCP OnNet® include a variety of applications that use the TCP/IP protocol stack. Of equal importance, they also include several different "kernels" to support a wide variety of network environments.
Each kernel interfaces the TCP/IP stack with a network driver for a particular environment. Some kernels interface with open and standard network drivers; some kernels interface with proprietary ones, like Banyan VINES.
In the formative years of PC networking, device drivers came from two possible developer groups:
Either protocol stack developers wrote unique device drivers for each network interface they wished to support.
Or network interface card developers wrote unique drivers for each protocol they wished to support.
Both developer groups recognized that these drivers (named "MAC layer drivers" because they worked at the Media Access Control layer in the protocol stack) demanded a substantial investment in development time.
FTP Software led an early effort to allow protocol/device independence (and the added benefit of running multiple protocols over a single network interface) by developing a MAC layer driver standard known as the Packet Driver standard.
With this standard, hardware vendors need only write a single driver (the lower half of the MAC layer) to support all protocols. Similarly, protocol vendors need only write a single driver to support all network interfaces of a particular class.
Today, FTP Software provides in the XX-210 family of products a collection of seven Packet Driver kernels (both in TSR format for DOS and in VxD format for Windows) for the following standardized network classifications:
Network Classification Kernel Name
DIX Ethernet ETHDRV
IEEE 802.3 Ethernet IEEEDRV
IEEE 802.5 Token Ring TOKDRV
LocalTalk (Appletalk) LTDDRV
PPP PPPDRV
SLIP SLPDRV
X.25 X25DRV
Each of these kernels interfaces easily with its specific type of network Packet Driver.
If you are investing in TCP/IP networking software for a PC, you can rest assured that FTP Software products will work with your network hardware, both today and in the future. As new networking hardware technologies emerge, your revised TCP/IP kernel from FTP Software will be capable of interfacing with these new communication mediums.
Instead of adopting the Packet Driver standard, Banyan is one company that opted to retain proprietary protocol-specific device drivers. FTP Software worked with Banyan to provide a different version of our TCP/IP kernel that runs in conjunction with Banyan VINES.
The EBANYAN kernel allows both TCP/IP and the VINES Core protocols to run simultaneously over a single network interface via a VINES device driver. The XX-215 family of products offers this unique TCP/IP and VINES coexistence feature. With this product installed, a VINES client PC can send and receive both TCP/IP and VINES packets at the same time; both protocols can run independently on a single network interface card.
Anyone interested in operating a network based on both TCP/IP and VINES can use this product to greatly minimize the configuration effort required on the client PC. Because this solution takes advantage of the native VINES device drivers, additional configuration procedures are minimized, resulting in a lower cost of LAN administration.
Banyan also offers a server-based TCP/IP routing option. With this server option enabled, Banyan servers can communicate with other TCP/IP hosts through the use of the TCP/IP protocol. Additionally, IP packets encapsulated within VINES packets can be received by the server, converted, and transmitted as TCP/IP packets. This feature allows VINES client PCs to communicate with other TCP/IP hosts while using the VINES Core protocols as its sole means of communication.
FTP Software worked with Banyan to produce the IBANYAN kernel, which encapsulates IP packets within VINES transport protocols. When used with the server-based TCP/IP routing option, your PC can communicate via TCP/IP and VINES at the same time while only transmitting and receiving VINES packets. The XX-216 family of products offers this TCP/IP encapsulation feature.
Anyone interested in operating a network based on both TCP/IP and VINES can use this product to greatly minimize the configuration effort required on the client PC. Because this solution takes advantage of the native VINES device drivers, additional configuration procedures are minimized, resulting in a lower cost of LAN administration.
FTP Software also offers Services OnNet, a product designed to ease the tasks associated with installing and maintaining a TCP/IP-based network. Services OnNet is the first commercially-available product to include a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for Windows. All of our product families include DHCP clients. Together, the DHCP server and client combination allow flexible and easy administration of TCP/IP networks.
One of the configuration frameworks you can create using DHCP on your network is automatic parameter assignment. As the system administrator you can configure your client PCs to obtain their host specific information from a DHCP server on the network. Configuration items such as: IP Address, Hostname, Software Serial Number, and Authorization Key are but a few of the configuration parameters that can be automatically distributed.
Using DHCP to distribute PC configuration settings eliminates the need for LAN administrators to physically "visit" each client PC. A generic TCP/IP software directory can be used to install TCP/IP on the PC initially. This directory could be server- or floppy- based. Once installed and rebooted, the PC obtains its configuration information from the server and stores this information locally. You can also set the length of time that a particular configuration parameter is valid.
The automatic distribution of PC configuration settings lowers the administrative cost of operating a network and protects the everyday user from configuration concerns; this results in less travel time to remote sites, less time spent configuring PCs individually. You can set up templates for large groups of PCs that are all similar. The cost savings (and the peace of mind for users) are substantial.
FTP Software can provide the right solution for connecting Banyan VINES users to local TCP/IP hosts, the Internet, and more. We currently offer three different kernel product families to match a wide variety of network requirements. Each product family contains a variety of end user application options.
For more information, please contact your sales representative.
100 Brickstone Square
Andover MA 01810
1-800-282-4387
For information or questions regarding this page contact marketing@ftp.com
29-Nov-94
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