Local area networking company Fox Research of Dayton, Ohio has released version 3.2 of its 10-Net local are network, including the Fox 10-Net Starlan board. The new product replaces 10-Net 3.1 in the US, and offers 10-Net users the choice of running the traditional 10-Net token bus topology or in a Starlan wiring topology. The latest version of the 10-Net local area network sells for $695, with no price increase. Our users can now tie into any Starlan wiring and hub that meets the standards set by the IEEE 802.3 1 base 5 subcommittee, which is the Starlan committee, stated Rick Rebo, Fox executive vice-president of research and development. Unlike previous versions of 10-Net, this release incorporates collision detection in both modes of operation. 10-Net 3.2 retains the same functionality as 10-Net 3.1 and still includes all bundled utilities standard with the product. This release, our Starlan release, has virtually no change to the user interface, stated Rebo. Addition of the new 10-Net 3.2 board to an existing 10-Net network requires an upgrade of software to level 3.2 throughout the network, although the 10-Net 3.2 200 interface board can run with boards from all prior 10-Net releases. The new Fox board changes include use of a different controller chip – the Intel 82588 chip. Fox SNA, bisync and RS-232 gateways provide a link to the larger corporate environment. The twisted pair local area network runs at 1Mbps at a distance of up to 2,000 feet between repeaters and a maximum of 10,000 feet using the CSMA/CD protocol. The network requires no dedicated server, is compatible with multi-user software using PC-DOS 3.1 or 3.2 function calls, and is compatible with any hardware running MS-DOS. 10-Net has extra features bundled into its software, including electronic mail, electronic news, printer spooling, remote job submission, calendar, CHAT user-to-user communications, CB communications and network diagnostics. 10-Net sells for $695 per node, including software, interface card, tap box, cable and documentation.
