|> >
|> > I'm starting the process of evaluating async terminal servers that will
|> > be attached to our Solaris-based SPARCstations, and I wanted to query the
|> > net.at.large for any recommendations, warnings or * caveats/features.
First let me state for the record that under Solaris the Host Device Emulation
feature of the PortMaster is not usable with printers. It's not clear whether
this is a problem with 2.4 or with the pseudo-device emulation in this release.
Under all releases prior to 2.4 the Host Device emulation was broken because
of the way STREAMS modules are pushed and/or popped off the device in question.
As of 2.4, outbound modems appear to work properly but it's still not resolved
that printers (especially PostScript) will provide expected results.
|> > I'll be using the async ports to drive external devices rather than using
|> > them for login sessions per se, so if there's anything more suited for that
|> > type of environment I would greatly appreciate a pointer!
It'd be much more useful to know what type of devices you're talking about
but if you're talking network devices there isn't a box designed more toward
that end than the PortMaster.
|> >
|> > I've heard Good Things about the Livingston boxes, especially when used in
|> > conjunction with Sun hardware (because of the admintool interface?). Does
|> > anyone have any positive or negitive feelings about this or any other
|> > particular brand?
The admintool interface is a piece of crap. Always has been, always will be.
And who really cares? Do you really need an X-based app to point and click
your way through adding a user? Man, admintool pisses me off because it's
never worked right and the tasks it actually performs are so trivial (even to
a non-unix type) that it's embarrasing a unix vendor ever presented it. I'm
more pissed about admintool than I am about Sun's silly move to SVR4. And
that, my friends, is PISSED. 4.1.3_U1 was golden. Read it and weep.
|> > Use private e-mail if you want to be purely subjective; I've never been
Me? Private conversation? Nah, wrong guy. :-)
|> > accused of political correctness so rants, raves and well-chosen words
|> > about a vendor won't be passed beyond my mailbox (and certainly not without
The *only* other box I ever tried to set up in this fashion was the Xylogics
and (while I admit this was 3+ years ago) it seemed one had to be a Comm
expert before you could even begin to understand what they wanted you to
type into that file it booted from ... and oh, damn, I typoed something, go
power cycle the box ... and oh REALLY damn, I put something stupid in the
bootfile so I'm screwed.
|> > 1. initial set-up (a relatively minor influence...i hope)
There is no easier than with a Portmaster
|> > 2. programatic use of the device's ports (major influence)
Host dependancy here, but as long as it has a usable rarpd and tftpd you
should be fine ...
|> > 3. on-going support of the devices and ports (major influence)
Not sure what this means ... if you mean outbound devices then, yes, there
is a limited number of hosts we support this functionality on.
|> We bought a Portmaster about 6 months ago. I found the manuals to be
|> quite poor. I have never been completely able to figure out how to
Ok, I've said this to the 'net before, and I'll say it again. Two or more
years ago when I joined Livingston some smartass VP noticed that I had a
Tech Pubs background. More's the pity. The point I have made time and
time again about our manuals is that the information is all there but I
would defy you to find it. There's more defensiveness in that statement
than there is substance but then I'm the guy who wrote it, so there!
|> make their filters work correctly. This would not be such a terrible
|> problem if their tech support were more responsive. Each call to tech
|> support took us roughly 3 days to get returned. I finally got the
Well, I'm glad you used the word "roughly" as I know you were put through
to an engineer directly on a number of occasions.
|> person in charge of tech support to help me. He sent me some new, as
|> yet unrealeased manuals. They are much better than the old ones, but
No. I sent you the WWW available Quick Start Guide ... though at the time
this info was not in html format.
|> I still have been unable to get the box to do everything I wanted.
|> Basically, I have just given up because things are working well enough
|> and it isn't worth any more time investment.
This is silly.?Man, I'm really sorry for anybody who could take offense
at this but if I bought something that was supposed to perform as advertised
and it didn't ... well, I guess I'd flame them. :)
|> The bottom line is that the hardware seems to be good. The desired
Yes, the hardware is good ...
|> software capabilities are there. The X windows based configuration
|> interface is great. I just wish I could figure out how the thing
|> really works so I could get the last 10% of the functionality we want.
If, in this Comm world, all you are worried about is 10% I have to believe
your questions have been answered
by