Multiport I/O cards: intelligent or dumb?

[Wm E. Davidsen Jr]

In article <9Xw8Z2w164w at cellar.UUCP> toad at cellar.UUCP (Tony Shepps) writes:
| We're running a BBS under SCO Unix.  Right now, we have two lines, but in the 
| near future we'd like to expand to three or four.
| 
| The tough question is whether to go with the cheap non-intelligent multi-port 
| card or the more expensive intelligent version.

  I would get an AST 4 port (someone was closing them out for $99) and
try it. If it drops chars or eats too much CPU install FAS. If it still
has problems convert the USARTs to 16550s so FAS can use the fifo.

  Minimal price, minimal non-SCO software. Stop enhancing when you get
the performance you want.
-- 
bill davidsen - davidsen at sixhub.uucp (uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen)
    sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX
    moderator of comp.binaries.ibm.pc and 80386 mailing list
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me