XNS on UNIX (Summary of responses)

[Michael Rourke]

In article <886 at elecvax.OZ> I wrote:

  We are interested in getting hold of some XNS source to run
  on our UNIX system (we have System V and bsd4.2 licences).
  Has anybody written anything in the public domain?
  
  I would also be interested to hear from anybody
  with experiences (good or bad) with this network protocol under UNIX.
  
  Interlan offers the source for $85K which seems a bit over the top!
  (we could write it for much less than that).

  PLEASE REPLY BY MAIL - My host isn't receiving netnews.

Here are the responses received (edited of extraneous headers):
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: Mark Weiser <mark at tove@seismo.UUCP>
  
  We at maryland have put XNS up through spp into the 4.2 kernel.
  We reported on this at the Dallas Usenix in Jan.  Cornell has
  put Courier on top of our spp.  We talk regularily to our
  network of Dandelions running STAR and XDE using this stuff.
  We charge $250 for our software distribution tape (which
  includes lots of other stuff).  Send mail to seismo!umcp-cs!despina
  to get the proper order forms and more information.
  
  Spoken: Mark Weiser 	ARPA:	mark at maryland	Phone: +1-301-454-7817
  CSNet:	mark at umcp-cs 	UUCP:	{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!mark
  USPS: Computer Science Dept., University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: topaz!hedrick at seismo.UUCP (Chuck Hedrick)
 Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
  
  If you get any responses, make sure that you know what they mean by
  XNS.  A number of implementations include only the packet transfer
  protocol.  If you just want to talk with another implementation that
  uses that level, fine.  But if you want to talk with a Xerox system
  of one sort or another that uses Courier, then that won't solve your
  problem.  We have yet to find a non-Xerox implementation of Courier.
  Cornell is working on one to run on top of the Univ. of Maryland
  XNS implementation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: Chris Torek <seismo!chris at maryland@decvax.UUCP at mulga>
  
  We have XNS code for 4.2BSD that we are distributing.  We have
  implemented all of IDP and SPP, and written a few Mesa utilities that
  pretty much act like telnet and FTP.  We speak to Xerox Dandelions,
  which indicates that the code might indeed be working, as well as to
  our own Vaxes.  Sorry, no performance data yet.... we're working on
  that now, though.
  
  Send mail to
  	Diane Miller
  	Computer Science Department
  	University of Maryland
  	College Park, MD 20742  USA
  for more information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: unido!ecrcvax!pete at mcvax.UUCP (Pete Delaney)
  
  	Here in europe we are establishing an ISO implementation that
  could become PUBLIC domain, at least here in europe.  I suggest you 
  talk to mvcax!vmucnam!lvbull!jim  about the ROSE project under the
  European Commission (ESPIRT).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: ut-sally!oakhill!mot!fred at seismo.UUCP
  
  why not try Network Research Corp, Santa Monica, CA?  213-394-7200,
  as i recall. that's what we run.
  
  Fred Christiansen, Motorola Microsystems, Tempe {ihnp4,allegra}!sftig!mot!fred
  {ihnp4,seismo}!ut-sally!oakhill!mot!fred        {ihnp4,amdahl}!drivax!mot!fred
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: rochester!rocksvax!z at seismo.UUCP (Jim Ziobro)
  
  	The XNS protocols are being worked on at several places.  The
  University of Maryland has done the kernal work and Cornell is doing a
  Courier implementation.  I hope to get more details at the upcoming USENIX.
  
  	The protocols themselves work very well.  I expect within the year
  all of Xerox will be using them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: harvard!enmasse!enms2!soph!dave at seismo.UUCP
 Organization: EnMasse Computer Corp., Acton, MA
  
  As well as Interlan, there's also Network Research corporation somewhere
  in California.  Phone -- (213)394-7200, I think.  I have an address that
  may be good:  1101 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica CA  90401 USA.
  
  Their FUSION package handles XNS and TCP, and they do offer source licences.
  We have been rather displeased with them, however the software does
  work if you don't push it TOO hard.  It runs under many systems (including
  Sys V and BSD 4.2).  They are not a very professional outfit.
  
  Re experiences:  the protocol family itself seems fine.  The Stream protocol
  would seem to have flow control problems in networks with fair sized
  delays (e.g. satellites), but it's certainly smaller/faster than the DoD
  family.
  	Dave Brownell
  	enmasse!dave at Harvard.ARPA
  	{genrad,harvard}!enmasse!dave
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: sdcsvax!sdchema!jwp at decvax.UUCP@mulga (John Pierce)
 Organization: Chemistry Dept, UC San Diego
  
  Sorry I can't help you with code, but we do have some experience with
  running XNS...  We had a Silicon Graphics graphics terminal that had
  to talk to one of our VAXen with XNS (all the SG machine supported).  It
  was an unpleasant experience...  Couldn't use the ARP code, which forced
  us to "fake" net numbers until we could upgrade the terminal to a full
  workstation (which is supposed to support tcp/ip, but doesn't work right
  for some reason).  The experience of another group on campus that has
  had to use XNS was the same as ours - no way to get it to work and have
  ARP running at the same time to talk to machines on other networks (the
  stuff using XNS was supposed to be on a separate network).  This may be
  due to buggy code in 4.2, of course, since it looks like it *should* work
  but I've got a feeling that it really has to do with something inherent
  in the way the XNS stuff has to work.
  
  				John Pierce, Chemistry, UC San Diego
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 From: enea!kuling!hans at mcvax.UUCP (Hans Eriksson)
 Organization: CoSyL, Upsala University, Sweden
 
  We are also on the search for Unix/XNS software. We have found something, we
  think, at Univ of Rochester but we do not yet know what it is.
  
  I would appriciate forwarding of any info you get on this subject. I will
  tell you what we found in Rochester, when we know.
  
  Hans Eriksson
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As before, could any further responses be mailed to me, as we still
aren't receiving net news properly.

Michael Rourke
School of Elec Eng & Comp Sci	 ACSNET: michaelr at elecvax.oz
University of New South Wales	 UUCP: {decvax,vax135}!mulga!elecvax.oz!michaelr
Kensington NSW 2033 AUSTRALIA	 Phone: +61 2 697 4040