From kas na informatics.muni.cz Thu Feb 4 17:46:58 1999 From: kas na informatics.muni.cz (Jan Kasprzak) Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 17:46:58 +0100 Subject: Gigabitovy ethernet na Linuxu Message-ID: <199902041646.RAA02611@gloin.fi.muni.cz> Zdroj: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/990203/wa_packet__1.html Jedna z nejvetsich firem v oblasti gigabitoveho ethernetu - Packet Engines, ohlasila podporu Linuxu pro svoje vyrobky. ----------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday February 3, 8:04 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Packet Engines Announces Collaborative Development Of G-NIC II Gigabit Ethernet NIC Drivers Supporting Linux, VIA and BSD For Gigabit Ethernet -- Labs and Educators Herald Packet Engines' Unique Driver Support -- SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 1999-- Packet Engines, an Alcatel company and a worldwide leader in gigabit networking solutions, today announced that the company's ongoing collaboration with government laboratories and educators has now resulted in the only Linux, VIA and BSD Unix Gigabit Ethernet network interface card (NIC) drivers available today. Support for Linux is key to many Fortune 1000 companies now examining the deployment of a wide variety of operating systems in their networks. The drivers are designed for use with Packet Engines' G-NIC II, the industry's only second-generation Gigabit Ethernet NIC. Donald Becker, staff scientist at NASA CESDIS at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, authored the Linux driver code, which he developed through collaborative efforts with Packet Engines' G-NIC engineering development team. ``Packet Engines has been exceedingly helpful in providing support for our Linux development efforts,'' Becker said. ``As a matter of fact, Packet Engines is the only Gigabit Ethernet company that has really been open to Linux, and we are very pleased with their ongoing assistance and support.'' Becker hosts a website for his Linux driver, and offers ongoing support through a reflector to which interested parties may subscribe. Packet Engines has also collaborated to help produce VIA (Virtual Interface Architecture) driver code for work in conjunction with Linux. VIA provides a protocol specification for NICs for use in specialized applications involving clustering, server-to-server networking, and parallel distributed computing. ``Our implementation of VIA for Linux, M-VIA, has optimized drivers for Packet Engines' hardware,'' said William Saphir, leader of the Future Technologies Group at the Department of Energy's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center in Berkeley, California. ``M-VIA provides a factor of 2 to 3 latency improvement over the Linux TCP performance, which is already the best in the industry. Packet Engines has been very supportive of our Linux development efforts,'' Saphir added. ``The G-NIC II is enabling research and OEM customers by providing significant gains in time-to-market for Gigabit Ethernet-capable applications,'' said Bob Jones, vice president of Packet Engines' Entry Systems Division. ``The code is second-generation, proven, and high performing.'' The BSD Unix driver, authored by Chris Csanady, network research programmer for the Scalable Computing Laboratory of Ames Lab in Ames, Iowa, is also now available as the result of ongoing collaboration by Csanady and Packet Engines. ``Packet Engines has been especially receptive and responsive to our BSD development efforts,'' Csanady said. ``Other companies have not been as open or as easy to work with on Open Unix platforms. I applaud the efforts of Packet Engines in helping to expand solutions throughout the industry.'' ``G-NIC II adapters have been shipping since July 1998, and have gained significant development support from universities and research laboratories around the world,'' said Kim Stearns, director of Packet Engines' Internet Development. ``The G-NIC II is the only choice for Linux, VIA and BSD Unix users today.'' The G-NIC II is the industry's only second-generation Gigabit Ethernet adapter, maximizing performance and host CPU availability in high-end servers and workstations. Designed for 32-bit and 64-bit PCI bus computers, Packet Engines' G-NIC II offers the only Gigabit Ethernet support for Linux, VIA and BSD Unix drivers, as well as for Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT, Novell NetWare, Sun Solaris, Digital Unix, Apple Mac OS and SGI IRIX operating systems. About the Linux, VIA and BSD Unix Drivers Linux, VIA and BSD Unix Drivers are available today, through links from the Packet Engines G-NIC II Device Drivers page at: http://www.packetengines.com/support/drivers/gnic2drivers.htm In addition, support for the Linux device driver may be accessed at: http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/hamachi.html The M-VIA drivers and website are located at: http://www.nersc.gov/research/FTG/via/ Information about the BSD Unix driver device may be found at: http://www.ameslab.gov/ About Packet Engines Packet Engines, an Alcatel company, was founded in 1994 to develop networking solutions delivering gigabit performance and mission-critical reliability for enterprise, ISP, and service provider networks. The company offers a complete suite of high-performance gigabit networking solutions including the PowerRail family of routing switches, the FDR Gigabit Ethernet hub, and G-NIC II Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards. Packet Engines is now providing these solutions directly and via a variety of industry partners. On December 14, 1998, Packet Engines was acquired by Alcatel (NYSE:ALA - news), a world leader in telecommunications systems and equipment. Alcatel operates in over 130 countries providing complete solutions and services to operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers, ranging from backbone networks to user terminals. For more information about Packet Engines, visit www.packetengines.com. For more information about Alcatel, visit www.alcatel.com. PowerRail, FDR, G-NIC II, Packet Engines and the Packet Engines logo are trademarks of Packet Engines Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Contact: For Packet Engines Vivian Kelly, 703/860-0707 vivian_kelly na interprosepr.com -- \ Jan "Yenya" Kasprzak http://www.fi.muni.cz/~kas/ \\ PGP: finger kas at aisa.fi.muni.cz 0D99A7FB206605D7 8B35FCDE05B18A5E // \\\ Czech Linux Homepage: http://www.linux.cz/ /// /// Can you say "ignored email" three times quickly while chewing \\\ // on an apple? --Linus Torvalds \\ From Pavel.Janik na inet.cz Mon Feb 8 07:48:27 1999 From: Pavel.Janik na inet.cz (Pavel Janik ml.) Date: 08 Feb 1999 07:48:27 +0100 Subject: IBM a Linux na RS/6000 Message-ID: Zdroj: http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19990208S0005 Společnost IBM plánuje komplexní podporu operačního systému Linux na serverech RS/6000 ve spolupráci se společností LinuxPPC, Inc. IBM Gives Linux PowerPC Boost Edward F. Moltzen Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM Corp. plans to initiate a companywide effort that should next month lead up to full-blown support of the Linux operating system. A cross-divisional working group within IBM, examining the computer giant's response to the growing market acceptance of Linux, has pushed the company into making several key decisions, said sources who had been briefed. Those decisions will lead to a series of unveilings on March 1, the sources said. First, IBM plans to unveil wide-ranging support for Linux throughout its product lines. The company also plans to preload versions of Linux, initially on low-end versions of its RS/6000 systems. These bundles will be focused primarily on the education and Web-serving solutions markets. Armonk-based IBM is talking with a range of independent software vendors, including LinuxPPC Inc. and Red Hat Software Inc., about cooperative efforts to put the freeware onto IBM hardware, sources said. The moves, and other key decisions, are expected to be unveiled on or before the LinuxWorld trade show next month, said a source who had been briefed. Robert Ramos, RS/6000 product manager for Champion Computer Corp., Boca Raton, Fla., one of IBM's largest North American midrange distributors, said Champion already configures some systems with the open-source-code operating system, and described the performance of those systems as "smoking." "The last six months or so is when things have really come to life," Ramos said. Linux now competes head-to-head with Windows NT, and the fact that the next release of NT, Windows 2000, is delayed "plays into the favor of the Linux community," he said. Linux began to draw interest in accounts where an NT investment of $10,000 to implement is compared to a free investment in Linux, along with improved support, Ramos said, adding that he had not heard, officially, about the specifics of IBM's plans. "The momentum and excitement is there," Ramos said. "If you don't ride the wave, you're going to be left out." IBM is talking with LinuxPPC about different cooperative efforts, said Jason Haas, marketing director at the Madison, Wis. start-up that provides versions of Linux ported to the PowerPC processor platform. "They've spoken with us about working on a demo model of the RS/6000 running Linux in their booth at LinuxWorld," Haas said. LinuxPPC has ported a version of Linux to the PowerPC processor platform, he said. While IBM has dabbled with Linux-and even offers a version of its DB2 Universal Database for the operating system-it has, on the surface, been tepid in its support, analysts said. IBM subsidiary Lotus Development Corp. has promised a Linux version of Notes/Domino. IBM declined for several weeks to return phone calls while its working group continued hammering out a companywide strategy. One spokeswoman, though, last week said IBM for years has said it would support a variety of operating systems. A recent survey inside the company showed that 90 percent of IBM accounts use at least three different operating systems, she said. Pricing and market pressures, however, have put IBM in the position where it will make a bold, supportive statement of Linux next month, industry experts said. Competitor Compaq Computer Corp. last week said it would offer a series of midrange servers based on the Alpha processor. Systems with Unix-based operating systems will be $19,900, while those with Linux will be $15,000. Those servers will compete with IBM's RS/6000. Copyright ® 1999 CMP Media Inc. -- Pavel Janík ml. Pavel.Janik na inet.cz