Introduction
The Lab
Test Scores
Conclusions
Addendum (other page)
See also Alfred Arnold's Benchmarks of MCA Ethernet Adapters.
Content © Wolfgang Gehl, 2016. Edited by Major Tom.
Introduction
Like most people, I like to work with high quality tools that are made to
last. Computer systems with Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) are high quality
tools. They were made for professional use. With respect to network support
this is true in particular.
I'm happy to say, that I own some of these systems. Now I would like to find
out, how far network data transfer can be pushed using token ring hardware.
Apart from that I would like to know, whether the token ring switch I use
(Madge Smart Deskstream) is able to bridge data transfer to ethernet without
loss. Token ring hardware is potentially more powerful than contemporary
ethernet hardware. I'm curious about browsing the internet with an IBM 9595 in
the year 2012 from within a token ring network.
It's astounding to see, how many operating systems the user was able to
choose from in the mid nineties for his x86 micro channel system. It would be
interesting to see, which operating system would make the best use of token
ring hardware. Purely on my convenience, I will confine to Windows NT, the
operating system I'm working with since 1997, involuntarily first (since I was
a satisfied NetWare user), absolutely voluntary later. Only one more operating
system is involved here: OS/2. With OS/2 IBM can demonstrate the performance of
token ring technology with its own hard- and software.
(For those folks more related to Unix systems I made an addendum
here.)
Testing is made with hardware from the years 1989 to 1997. The scale for the
results should be technology of the same period. I know, that today's mobile
phones have more processing and more networking power than an IBM 9595. But
that is irrelevant for my purpose.
A project of Alfred Arnold which he made
with MCA ethernet adapter cards has inspired me for this work. Since I like it,
I adopt the plain style of his web site. Hopefully he has nothing against
it.
For all errors you will find here, I'm the one to blame for. This inquiry
was not made to clear things out for good and all. It was made to give an idea,
what micro channel token ring hardware is capable of.
The Lab
In the words of Alfred Arnold, the best network card is the one you can get
hold of. Token ring cards are relative easy to get hands on, at least in the
year 2012. They are incompatible with dominant ethernet, so nobody wants
them.
My cards are working with 16 Mb/s (megabits per second). This equals to the
data throughput's theoretical maximum of 2 MB/s (megabyte per second). There is
one exception: IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32. It supports Token Transmit Immediate
Access Protocol (TKI), which means it is able to send and receive data
simultaneously in a dedicated connection to the Token Ring switch. In a
Dedicated Token Ring (DTR) connection TKI - or Full Duplex - allows a maximal
throughput of 32 Mb/s (= 4 MB/s). Having said that, it sends and receives data
with 2 MB/s each. In the following Full-Duplex is used to label this
feature.
Seven token ring network cards are available and will be tested:
Network Interface Card | 16 Bit MCA | 32 Bit MCA | MCA Streaming | Full Duplex | ADF Options |
IBM Token-Ring 16/4 MC Adapter:
16F1144, 1989 firmware
53F7748, 1990 firmware
74F9415, 1994 firmware | yes | | | | 32KB RAM Window Enabled |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | | yes | yes | | Fairness ON/Streaming ON |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | | yes | yes | yes | Streaming Data Enabled, Fairness ON |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC Ringnode | | yes | | | Delayed Release (Fair) Immediate Release (Fair) |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC 32 Ringnode | | yes | yes | | Streaming Enabled (Fair) |
After the first tests I noticed a significant variation of data
rates according to the device driver version in use. So I decided to
test all the device driver versions I know.
Network Interface Card | Microsoft | IBM | Madge | Source |
IBM Token-Ring 16/4 MC Adapter:
16F1144, 1989 firmware
53F7748, 1990 firmware
74F9415, 1994 firmware | 4.0 | | | Windows NT 4.0 Operating System CD |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.01 | | Windows NT 4.0 Operating System CD |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.04 | | TRPALS4.EXE |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.06 | | TRMALS2.EXE |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.01 | | Windows NT 4.0 Operating System CD |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.04 | | TRPALS4.EXE |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | | 3.06 | | TRMALS2.EXE |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | | 5.23 | | NDIS34.EXE |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC Ringnode | | | 2.04.30 | Windows NT 4.0 Operating System CD |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC Ringnode | | | 2.21 | Madge LAN Support Software 5.0(2) |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC 32 Ringnode | | | 2.04.30 | Windows NT 4.0 Operating System CD |
Madge Smart 16/4 MC 32 Ringnode | | | 2.21 | Madge LAN Support Software 5.0(2) |
A Madge Smart Deskstream serves as the ring switch. Built-in is a link
module, which connects the token ring to a 100 Mb/s full-duplex ethernet
network. The tested connection between switch and token ring end station is
always a Dedicated Token Ring (DTR).
NETIO version 1.3.1 from Kai Uwe Rommel will test
the card's data throughput. Measurements will be given in KB/s (kilobyte per
second). 2 MB/s equals 2000.00 KB/s. With six data packets of different size
the transmitting capacity of the client computer will be determined. All test
runs were done ten times and averaged.
Those many values will make it difficult to compare between the cards. To
receive a performance succession, I have averaged the six transmitting capacity
values also. You will get the point why below.
To achieve comparable preconditions, all platforms are adjusted to the
following values:
- TCP Receive Window Size (RWIN): 65535
- Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU): 1500
Four platforms will be tested.
- LIRA: AT&T system 3325
486er Desktop,
Pentium Overdrive 83MHz, 0KB Second Level Cache, 64MB RAM, ATI Ultra+,
NCR 53C94 SCSI, 4GB IBM SCSI hard disk
Windows NT 4.0
- DIME: IBM 9595
Pentium Tower, MCA
Streaming, Pentium 90 MHz, 256KB Second Level Cache, 64MB RAM, ATI
Graphics Ultra Pro, IBM Fast/Wide SCSI, 1GB IBM Fast SCSI hard disk
OS/2 Warp 4
- THALER: IBM 9595
Pentium Tower, MCA
Streaming, Pentium 90 MHz, 256KB Second Level Cache, 256MB RAM, IBM
XGA2, IBM Fast/Wide SCSI, 1GB IBM Fast SCSI hard disk
Windows
NT 4.0
- TALENT: ACER 7730
Notebook, Intel T6570,
Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet, 3GB RAM, 250GB SATA hard disk
Windows 7
The NETIO server task on the ethernet side of the network will be done by
TALENT. Regarding TALENT's network bandwidth, the micro channel
computer's data throughput will not be braked.
I had problems to measure the CPU load of NETIO's test program accurately.
The only available tools I had were Windows NT task manager and process monitor
(pmon.exe) or OS/2 CPU load panel. Because of this, I will give approximated
values according to the following list:
NETIO CPU Load | Rating |
roughly under 50% (10-60%) | low |
roughly about 50% (20-70%) | middle |
roughly under 80% (60-90%) | high |
roughly over 80% (80-90%) | cruel |
CPU load is particularly high at transmissions up to 4 KB/s. From 8 KB/s up
it scales down significantly. Here, "low" rating means up to 60% CPU load
at 1 KB/s, 2 KB/s and 4 KB/s and up to 20% CPU load at 8 KB/s, 16 KB/s and
32 KB/s transmissions. "Cruel" rating means, that almost every network access
claims the whole CPU's processing power.
Test Scores
I. Data Transfer Rates on the Token Ring Network
First we need a reference value of the token ring network segment's data
throughput. For that purpose I will use (since it supports Token Transmit
Immediate Access Protocol) the most capable network card of IBM's streamer
family - AutoLANStreamer MC32 - inside the most capable x86 micro channel
computer I can offer - IBM 9595. The first attempt will be a test of OS/2
against Windows NT. The OS/2 device driver is part of the OS/2 Warp 4
Convenience Pack 2.
NETIO client: DIME (OS/2, token ring segment)
NETIO server: THALER (WinNT, token ring segment)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 4.54 | yes | 1712.22 | 1711.52 | 1718.31 | 1724.13 | 1724.03 | 1721.65 | low |
Average is 1.718,64 KB/s. That is 85.9% of the theoretical maximum
throughput.
Now vice versa: Windows NT against OS/2
NETIO client: THALER (WinNT, token ring segment)
NETIO server: DIME (OS/2, token ring segment)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | 1859.80 | 1869.28 | 1863.81 | 1868.71 | 1869.29 | 1873.70 | middle |
Average is here 1876.43 KB/s or 93.4% of the theoretical maximum
throughput. Both tests are made using the out of the box device
drivers.
II. Data Transfer Rates on a Token Ring to Ethernet Bridge
Network
Now we will check the Smart Deskstream's ability to bridge data
transfer to ethernet without loss.
NETIO client: DIME (OS/2, token ring segment)
NETIO server: TALENT (Win7, ethernet segment)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 4.54 | yes | 1717.00 | 1717.54 | 1719.27 | 1720.12 | 1720.27 | 1720.06 | low |
NETIO client: THALER (WinNT, token ring Segment)
NETIO server: TALENT (Win7, ethernet segment)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | 1871.48 | 1871.19 | 1871.76 | 1871.71 | 1871.53 | 1876.54 | middle |
Madge Smart Deskstream transfers data from OS/2 with 86.0% (1719.04
KB/s), from Windows NT with 93.6% (1872.37 KB/s) of the theoretical maximum
throughput. With that said, Smart Deskstream bridge function gains slightly at
the data transfer rate. From now on TALENT will do the task as NETIO
server.
In relation to Windows NT OS/2 has a lower data throughput at the token ring
interface but it has the lower CPU load too. In several aspects a computer
system benefits from a lower CPU load. It allows the processor to compute other
tasks faster and accelerates other system devices. For that reason the average
of OS/2 will be the reference value of the token ring network data throughput:
1719.04KB/s.
III. Data Transfer Rates on a 486 Class Platform
The third test checks the token ring data throughput on LIRA,
a 486 AT&T system.
NETIO client: LIRA (WinNT)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 16F1144 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 543.71 | 549.79 | 556.53 | 568.76 | 574.51 | 577.86 | high |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 53F7748 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 623.29 | 632.85 | 642.36 | 656.38 | 660.52 | 668.97 | high |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 74F9415 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 660.57 | 672.14 | 679.08 | 694.61 | 701.54 | 705.65 | high |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | 1168.45 | 1263.60 | 1650.50 | 1796.21 | 1820.30 | 1825.97 | cruel |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | 1182.06 | 1299.97 | 1371.96 | 1391.56 | 1396.36 | 1417.65 | high |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | 1173.74 | 1274.91 | 1378.99 | 1392.30 | 1399.62 | 1415.32 | high |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | 1207.85 | 1310.36 | 1709.54 | 1816.88 | 1820.36 | 1827.02 | cruel |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | 1127.56 | 1225.22 | 1625.16 | 1804.94 | 1866.91 | 1874.82 | cruel |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | 1181.99 | 1281.50 | 1371.97 | 1392.65 | 1399.85 | 1415.45 | cruel |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | yes | 1082.45 | 1235.28 | 1222.23 | 1264.88 | 1275.37 | 1289.06 | cruel |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | 1161.80 | 1271.93 | 1374.10 | 1392.51 | 1369.82 | 1411.41 | high |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | yes | 1078.99 | 1246.30 | 1219.51 | 1261.65 | 1273.30 | 1288.41 | high |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | | 1022.32 | 1042.24 | 1075.30 | 1118.72 | 1126.25 | 1147.74 | cruel |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | yes | 1139.48 | 1171.90 | 1205.19 | 1244.44 | 1213.54 | 1245.93 | cruel |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC
Immediate Release (Fair) | Madge 2.04.30 | | 813.42 | 871.12 | 998.56 | 1044.47 | 1083.90 | 1110.92 | cruel |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.21 | | 766.25 | 814.65 | 937.66 | 977.34 | 1007.93 | 1035.36 | high |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC 32 | Madge 2.04.30 | | 1266.86 | 1385.65 | 1709.45 | 1767.44 | 1798.62 | 1784.51 | cruel |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC 32 | Madge 2.21 | | 1223.44 | 1285.79 | 1606.98 | 1744.12 | 1766.77 | 1769.02 | cruel |
CPU load is very high for all network cards, particularly for 1 KB/s and 2
KB/s data packets. 486 system environment seems to be the data rate bottleneck.
Even a Pentium Overdrive processor cannot compensate for that. The close
relation between CPU load and data throughput is clearly recognizable for the
busmaster network cards. 1 KB/s and 2 KB/s packets require the whole CPU power.
When packet size reaches 8 KB/s and more the cards are working with higher data
rates. IBM's device driver development becomes more understandable against this
background. At first sight data throughput seems more worse the later the
driver is. Effectively, the later device drivers increase data throughput for 1
KB/s and 2 KB/s data packets.
Madge seems to suffer from device driver problems too but - as against IBM
- it leads only to a moderate cut down of the data throughput. Smart Ringnode
16/4 MC will not work with device driver version 2.04.30 if burst mode is set
to "Delayed Release (Fair)" (default) and has to be adjusted to "Immediate
Release (Fair)".
To my surprise data throughput is poor for the 16Bit network cards. 560 KB/s
transmission performance is good for a 1989 network card, but the 1994 network
card is clearly below contemporary ethernet network card's transmission
performance.
And now sequenced (index 100.0= 1719.04 KB/s, IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32,
OS/2):
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | CPU Load | Avg. (KB/s) | Index |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 16F1144 | Microsoft 4.0 | | high | 561.86 | 32.7 |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 53F7748 | Microsoft 4.0 | | high | 647.40 | 37.7 |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 74F9415 | Microsoft 4.0 | | high | 685.60 | 39.9 |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.21 | | high | 923.20 | 53.7 |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC
Immediate Release (Fair) | Madge 2.04.30 | | cruel | 987.07 | 57.4 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | | cruel | 1088.76 | 63.3 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | yes | cruel | 1203.41 | 70.0 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | yes | high | 1228.03 | 71.4 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | yes | cruel | 1228.21 | 71.4 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | cruel | 1283.18 | 74.6 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | high | 1330.26 | 77.4 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | high | 1339.15 | 77.9 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | cruel | 1340.57 | 78.0 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | high | 1343.26 | 78.1 |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.21 | | cruel | 1566.02 | 91.1 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | cruel | 1587.44 | 92.3 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | cruel | 1615.34 | 94.0 |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.04.30 | | cruel | 1618.76 | 94.2 |
IV. Data Transfer Rates on a Pentium Class Platform
The fourth test checks the token ring data throughput on an IBM Pentium system.
NETIO client: THALER (WinNT)
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | 1K Packets (KB/s) | 2K Packets (KB/s) | 4K Packets (KB/s) | 8K Packets (KB/s) | 16K Packets (KB/s) | 32K Packets (KB/s) | CPU Load |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 16F1144 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 598.73 | 600.04 | 595.48 | 600.52 | 598.96 | 601.04 | low |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 53F7748 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 688.10 | 695.71 | 675.79 | 704.39 | 698.74 | 698.69 | low |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 74F9415 | Microsoft 4.0 | | 867.09 | 877.34 | 884.52 | 904.44 | 855.71 | 858.99 | low |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | 1821.91 | 1822.15 | 1822.65 | 1822.10 | 1821.56 | 1826.95 | middle |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | 1600.05 | 1590.64 | 1581.34 | 1599.02 | 1523.14 | 1520.40 | low |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | 1592.38 | 1583.53 | 1609.67 | 1596.41 | 1534.65 | 1519.34 | low |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.04.30 | | 1587.98 | 1495.02 | 1591.80 | 1601.77 | 1582.67 | 1551.24 | low |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.21 | | 1512.34 | 1518.61 | 1532.02 | 1537.66 | 1547.32 | 1501.43 | low |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.04.30 | | 1816.67 | 1815.87 | 1811.90 | 1816.81 | 1811.82 | 1790.84 | low |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.21 | | 1816.34 | 1814.95 | 1805.69 | 1815.28 | 1811.97 | 1759.18 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | 1821.75 | 1821.31 | 1822.09 | 1821.17 | 1822.36 | 1827.25 | middle |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | 1871.48 | 1871.19 | 1871.76 | 1871.71 | 1871.53 | 1876.54 | middle |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | 1588.68 | 1591.43 | 1606.61 | 1596.55 | 1526.17 | 1509.48 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | yes | 1447.59 | 1478.25 | 1500.23 | 1560.40 | 1485.71 | 1459.53 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | 1601.04 | 1601.57 | 1619.61 | 1606.93 | 1534.24 | 1520.59 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | yes | 1476.86 | 1496.45 | 1489.99 | 1576.09 | 1490.20 | 1466.91 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | | 1333.60 | 1361.81 | 1399.61 | 1433.95 | 1399.03 | 1362.93 | low |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | yes | 1483.15 | 1513.27 | 1525.43 | 1584.92 | 1504.93 | 1450.91 | low |
Data throughput at different packet size is at par now, which means, the
Pentium 90 MHz CPU is powerful enough to saturate the busmaster adapter's CPU
load. But that's not good enough for IBM. Its Streamer Family device drivers
performance lag far behind Madge Smart Ringnode device driver performance.
Both of the 16 bit long token ring adapters have reached their performance
limit on the 486 platform already. The short 16 bit token ring gains nearly 200
KB/s, but still remains behind contemporary ethernet adapter performance.
Madge's non streaming Ringnode does a 500 KB/s leap. Its burst mode now
reaches the performance level of the micro channel streaming capable cards.
Again sequenced (index 100.0= 1719.04 KB/s, IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32,
OS/2):
Network Interface Card | Device Driver | Full Duplex | CPU Load | Avg. (KB/s) | Index |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 16F1144 | Microsoft 4.0 | | low | 599.13 | 34.9 |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 53F7748 | Microsoft 4.0 | | low | 693.57 | 40.3 |
IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter /A 74F9415 | Microsoft 4.0 | | low | 874.68 | 50.9 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | | low | 1381.82 | 80.4 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | yes | low | 1488.62 | 86.5 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | yes | low | 1499.42 | 87.2 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 5.23 | yes | low | 1510.44 | 87.8 |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.21 | | low | 1524.90 | 88.7 |
Madge Smart Ringnode 16/4 MC | Madge 2.04.30 | | low | 1568.41 | 91.2 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | low | 1569.10 | 91.3 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.04 | | low | 1569.82 | 91.3 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | low | 1572.66 | 91.5 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.06 | | low | 1580.66 | 92.0 |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.21 | | low | 1803.90 | 104.9 |
Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 | Madge 2.04.30 | | low | 1810.65 | 105.3 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | middle | 1822.66 | 106.0 |
IBM LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | | middle | 1822.89 | 106.0 |
IBM Auto LANStreamer MC 32 | IBM 3.01 | yes | middle | 1872.37 | 108.9 |
Conclusions
And the winner is ... ?
... for me Madge Smart Ringnode MC 32 for the half-duplex cards. Its latest
device driver's data rate is 20% higher than IBM streamer family's at the
same low CPU load. For workstation use, the higher CPU load of IBM's device
driver version 3.01 shouldn't be a big problem.
There is is a lack of competition for the full-duplex cards. So nothing
exceeds IBM's Auto LANStreamer MC 32.
Compared with 10 Mb/s ethernet network interface cards, data throughput of
the busmaster token ring cards is 40% higher. To make use of this advantage
effectively you will need a Pentium system. For me this is all the more
surprising, considering busmaster adapter cards are made to take off the CPU
load.
Collision free transmission in a half-duplex network is the most important
advantage of token ring in relation to ethernet networking. Higher CPU load
seems to be the price for it. Today a half-duplex ethernet segment can be
separated from a full-duplex ethernet segment with the help of a network
switch. So collisions of data packets shouldn't be a big problem any more.
Looked at it that way, I wouldn't make use of a token ring network card inside
486 or weaker computer system.
If - for certain reasons - token ring is a must, my choice for a 486 system
would be IBM LANStreamer MC32 together with device driver version 3.04, because
it has a little less CPU load than Madge Smart Ringnode MC32. For a Pentium
system any Streamer Family adapter or Smart Ringnode is perfect.
There is one thing I'm sure about. If you have the choice between an
ethernet card and an IBM Token Ring 16/4 Adapter/A, take the ethernet card.
And yes, the IBM 9595 works snappier on the internet with a working Auto
LANStreamer inside... ;-)
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