19 Jun
2012
19 Jun
'12
5:16 p.m.
On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 3:49 AM, Dave Wade <dave.g4ugm at gmail.com> wrote:
That much is clear. I did find some X.25 LAPB hardware out there, and
there's still a few currently-available sync serial devices (at prices
you'd expect for specialty hardware).
It's also
entirely possible that the demand for synchronous serial
comms over RS-232 lines is so small...
I think that the "demand" could be there, but devices to implement are not.
So I end up using simulated sync over TCP/IP 99.99% of
the time.
Even Cisco apparently supports that, for connecting older automatic
teller machines via "BIP" (Bisync over IP).
The only
(well as far as I know) syncronous capable device(s) I have are a couple of
IBM 3174 screens. What I don't have is any way to connect them to my Windows
PC, Linux PC or SUN Solaris box. Even if I had some sync cards then I would
still be left with the issues of writing drivers for Hercules and as there
doesn't seem to be a standard for these cards I would need a driver for each
type of card.
What I end up doing is going TN3270 over IP on Token Ring which really is a
big fiddle.
3270 sessions are certainly a likely use case for hobbyist sync serial
comms, and, yeah, nearly any amount of layering of existing products
and protocols is probably better than writing and maintaining your own
driver suite.
-ethan