Ethernet and ARCnet Controller Boards   networking, IBM PC
Ethernet and ARCnet Controller Boards
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Complus offers Yamatech Connectivity Solutions' three Ethernet
and three ARCnet network controller boards for the IBM family of
computers.
 
The Ethernet boards, called the Turbo Ethercom 8, the Turbo
Ethercom 16, and the Super Ethercom 16, use surface-mount
technology and VLSI parts. They support the IEEE 802.3 and
Ethernet protocols at transfer rates of 10 Mbps using the carrier
sense multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) method.
 
Both the thick Ethernet Applications User Interface and the
thin Ethernet (cheapernet) interface connectors are on the rear
bracket of the boards. The boards support the evolving 10 Base
T standard for 10-Mbps twisted-pair Ethernet via an external
or on-board transceiver.
 
Other features include a software-selectable interrupt, direct
memory access, node ID, and a jumper-selectable I/O base address
for easy coexistence with other expansion cards. The Ethernet
controller chip set provides a data throughput of up to 3.3
megawords per second. The boards are Novell NetWare-compatible;
NetBIOS and TCP/IP are offered as options.
 
The Turbo Ethercom 8 is a half-size 8-bit board for the IBM PC,
AT, and 80386 bus that includes an on-board 16K-byte multipacket
buffer with two transmit buffers of 2K bytes each and 12K bytes
of receive buffers.
 
The Turbo Ethercom 16 is a half-size 16-bit board for the IBM
AT and 80386-type bus. It includes an on-board 64K-byte shared
RAM multipacket buffer, which is divided into two transmit
buffers of 2K bytes each and 60K bytes of receive buffers. The
Turbo Ethercom 16 also features a 16-bit data path for maximum
network throughput and NetWare drivers for the server and the
workstation.
 
The Super Ethercom 16 is a full-size 16-bit board for IBM PS/2
Micro Channel architecture (MCA) compatibles, including the
Models 50, 60, 70, and 80. It has the same features as the Turbo
Ethercom 16.
 
The ARCnet boards, called the Turbo Arcom 8, the Turbo Arcom
16, and the Super Arcom 16, also employ surface-mount technology
and VLSI parts. The boards support the ARCnet baseband modified
oken-passing network running at 2.5 Mbps with up to 255 nodes
connected per network. Coaxial and twisted-pair connectors on the
rear brackets of each board can automatically sense the type of
cable connected; you can configure these connectors in a bus or
star topology. Fiber-optic cabling is also supported as an
option.
 
Using an on-board transceiver, you can achieve node-to-node
distances of up to 3 kilometers with no repeaters. The boards
use 16K bytes of system address space, which is switch-selectable
to 32K bytes for auto-boot PROM and other applications.
 
Other features include user-selectable interrupts, I/O address,
and memory and node addresses; two diagnostic lights on the rear
bracket for monitoring network activity; and Novell NetWare
compatibility.
 
The Turbo Arcom 8 is a half-size 8-bit coaxial controller board
for the IBM PC, AT, and 80386-type bus that features an on-board
2K-byte data-packet buffer, which can hold up to four data
packets. The Turbo Arcom 16 is a halfsize 16-bit board for IBM
AT-compatible 80286 and 80386 computers that features an on-board
4K-byte data-packet buffer with dual-ported, zero-wait-state,
double-buffered RAM and a 16-bit-wide data path. An enhanced-mode
NetWare driver is available as an option. The Super Arcom 16 is a
full-size 16-bit board for IBM PS/2 MCA-based systems that has
the same features as the Turbo Arcom 16.
 
Price: $395 U.S. for the Turbo Ethercom 8; $595 U.S. for the
 
Turbo Ethercom 16; $695 U.S. for the Super Ethercom 16; $325 U.S.
for the Turbo Arcom 8; $495 U.S. for the Turbo Arcom 16; $695
U.S. for the Super Arcom 16.
 
Contact: Complus GmbH, Sebastianstrasse 171, D-5300 Bonn 1, West
Germany, 49-02-28-62-50-01.
 
                              --- Martha Hicks
 
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