[ih] History from 1960s to 2025 (ARPANET to TCP)

[John Gilmore]

Jack Haverty via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> Some TCP implementers in the 1980s chose to use a "front end"
> approach, placing all of the TCP mechanisms in a separate processor
> somehow attached to their main computer.   AFAIK, such implementations
> have mostly disappeared.

I was at Sun from the early days.  Once Ethernet chips became available,
one went right on the motherboard.  A Sun running BSD Unix could send
and receive back-to-back Ethernet packets at very close to wire speed,
just using the main processor, which was a fast-for-its-day 68010,
68020, or SPARC chip.  The OS supported a few "separate network
processor" accessory boards, but only fools bought them, because they
were much slower and cost extra money besides.

	John