RE: TR vs. Ethernet (was: IBM 8230 Token-Ring concentrator)

["Simon Coulter" <shc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Russ,

That is a specious argument.  Beta is still used by professionals - VHS is 
mostly the home market (and I'm 
not certain the technical differences are so marked anyway).  Your argument is 
just another in a long line 
defending average technology rather than doing things properly.  That is doing 
serious harm to the IT 
industry.  It is why the desktop moved to Windoze, why the enterprise is trying 
to move to NT, and "the world 
is moving to Ethernet".  Ethernet has always been the preferred network for 
Unix systems but that is not what 
is driving the current popularity.  It is small networks running Novell or 
Windoze and _that_ most definitely 
is driven by price first and foremost.  These decisions are rarely made on 
technical merit -- often because 
the salesperson (or marketing/press coverage) leaves the non-technical 
purchaser with the distinct impression 
that "our cheaper product is just as good".

We (as technologists) seem to be very good at suffering inferior technology and 
improving it over time rather 
than starting with a much better baseline and improving that.  Think where we'd 
be if "the world" ran Power 
Mac's or OS/2 on the desktop, Lan Server for the NOS (over fibre-optic cable), 
and AS/400's as the enterprise 
repository, and all programs were written in SmallTalk.  If we'd started moving 
this way 10 years ago, oh, 
what a wonderful place IT would be now!

Just because "the world" is moving in some direction does not mean thinking 
professionals should jump on the 
lemming bandwagon -- it certainly is the easier route, though -- life in the 
wilderness is tough.

Yes, you would need to replace hardware to move to faster TR but you'd need to 
do the same to move to faster 
Ethernet -- for example, when/if Gigabit Ethernet arrives.  I would never 
recommed Ethernet as a first 
choice, even for small networks.

Ethernet is cheaper for more reasons than simply "economies of scale".  As I 
stated earlier it is cheaper to 
build an Ethernet card because the components are not as intelligent, therefore 
simpler, therefore cheaper.  
Also the licensing arrangements are easier on manufacturers, therefore easier 
for the "little guys".  TR is 
more expensive than it _should_ be and that definitely is due to scale.

The original author is already running TR network.  You are suggesting they 
convert to Ethernet and I am 
suggesting they stay with TR -- they have already made the correct choice.  I 
can't answer the original 
author's question because I don't know enough about his hardware.

Regards,
Simon Coulter.

//----------------------------------------------------------
// FlyByNight Software         AS/400 Technical Specialists
// Phone: +61 3 9419 0175      Mobile: +61 0411 091 400
// Fax:   +61 3 9419 0175      E-mail: shc@flybynight.com.au
// 
// Windoze should not be open at Warp speed.
//--- forwarded letter -------------------------------------------------------
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook 8.5, Build 4.71.2173.0
> Date: Sat, 02 Jan 99 10:56:19 -0500
> From: "rpopeil" <russ.popeil@ac.avnet.com>
> To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Reply-To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject: RE: IBM 8230 Token-Ring concentrator
> Importance: Normal

> 
> HI Simon
> 
> I do not dispute that Token ring is a better technology than Ethernet. But I
> would compare this to VHS and Beta max we know who one, it was not the
> technology leader.  The world is going Ethernet, and Switched Routed 100mb
> Ethernet with a properly designed network works fine even in large networks.
> You mention 100mg Token Ring. To move up to this you will probably have to
> replace your nic's and MAU's. While I will I agree that Token ring is a
> better technology, I would still recommend Ethernet. As far as price,
> Ethernet is less expensive due to economies of scale. There is just more
> manufactures, more competition and more users that are keeping costs down.
> Look at how much Ethernet equipment is sold by Cisco Bay and Cabletron not
> to mention all the little guys vs Token-Ring.
> 

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