Very Computer

I read the Serial-FAQ... but I am unclear on one point, is it possible to
run multiple serial ports (like 8 or 16) using one of the "supported" cards
listed in the FAQ without running into IRQ problems under linux?
Thanks for any Info
-- NR
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- A board (up to 4 ports or so.) can set an IRQ per port (the STB can do this)
  This means you loose an IRQ to each serial port configured.

- A board might share interrupts. The kernel then polls a flag register (or
  each connected port) to determine which port generated the interrupt. The
  kernel supports this (p10 and up ???) for the standard DOS (yuck) COM ports.
  To implement you need to kludge around with diodes to make a wired OR so
  one IRQ doesn't blow out the other IRQ (check the postings from a few day ago
  it contains a diagram on how to do this).

A last word :

Be carefull when buying a BOCA board. Some models don't support all necessary
hardware signals (CD is missing) so they can't be used comfortably for dial-in
access. They might work with terminals though.

Just my $0.03,

Arthur

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