Ref: 16880002
Title: Advantage of PCS/TCP Over Other PC-Based TCP/IP Products
Date: 11/07/89

Copyright 3Com Corporation, 1991.  All rights reserved.

The main advantage that PCS/TCP has over any other PC-based TCP/IP
product is its ability to co-reside with the XNS MINDS stack (the
Microsoft redirector) via the VECTOR drivers.  This gives you the
ability to Telnet or FTP to an IP host while you have 3F and 3P
links.

For example, suppose you have just 3F LINKed your home directory to E:.
You then change drives to E: and run FTP to your VAX
(typing E:\> FTP MYVAX).  After logging in you want to transfer a file
from the VAX to your home directory (which you previously 3F LINKed to E:).
You "get" the file (typing FTP> GET MYFILE).  The FTP application initiates
the request to the VAX and starts receiving the file (IP packets), which pass
through the VECTOR interface to the IP stack.  The IP stack writes to the DOS
drive E: which is being redirected (via the MS redirector) back through the
MINDS stack to the VECTOR interface and over the wire to a 3Com file server
running 3+Share.

Any other software that attempts to use the Ethernet adapter in the
workstation is likely to reset the adapter, thus crashing the MINDS stack,
eliminating the existing 3F link and, probably, hanging the PC.

