anybody running multiple protocols on a single cable?

[Bob Bismuth]

> Sorry if this is a dumb question.
> It it possible to run both (for instance) XNS and TCP/IP on a single
> ethernet?  How about DECNET as well?  Is anybody doing this?

No it's not such a dumb question - computer sales people and marketing
people frequently have the misconception that only 1 protocol type can
be used under the ethernet container protocol. This quite often gets
passed onto ethernet users.

You can have several protocol types in use on a single ethernet at once.
That is a design feature/goal of the ethernet "standard". Here at CADMUS
we run both TCP-IP and our own distributed file system protocol (UNISON)
concurrently. UNISON is completely independent from TCP-IP.

At the winter UNIFORUM, DEC was running both TCP-IP and DECnet over the
building ethernet. Of course, the only systems responding to the DECnet
protocol type were their ULTRIX systems and their token VMS system ...

	--  Bob
	    (decvax!ulose!bob)
	    
	    (Note, UNISON is a trademark of CADMUS and ULTRIX and VMS
	     are trademarks of Digital Equip. Corp.)