[TriLUG] Serial pci card

[Aaron S. Joyner]

Marvin Blackburn wrote:

>We need to put in a serial pci card into a system running either redhat 9.0,
>redhat AS 3.0, ES 3.0, AS 2.1, or ES 2.1.  We couldn't find any hardware
>listed on the compatibility list at redhat.
>
>Can anyone recommend a card?
>
>------------------
>Marvin Blackburn
>Systems Administrator
>Glen Raven
>"He's no failure.  He's not dead yet" --William Lloyd George  
>
>  
>
The standard answer is the Comtrol RocketPort series, or a Digi 
AccelePort board.  From a quick glance at the RH hardware compatibility 
list, it appears Digi has certified their AccelePort RAS 8 (a variation 
on their serial cards that also has a modem chipset lined up on each 
serial port:
http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/?pagename=details&hid=968
Although it does not appear that the Comtrol RocketPort cards are 
certified, they are certainly compatible with FreeBSD, and although I 
haven't personally used them in Linux, I'm quite certain they're 
supported.  Check here for more information directly from Comtrol:
http://support.comtrol.com/download.asp

Generally, the Comtrol boards I've seen have been cheaper than the 
comparable Digi boards, and they are both fully functional.  The big 
selling point for me for the Comtrol boards I'm familiar with, is that 
they use RJ-45s built right on to the card (up to the 8J eight-port 
model), so that there's no magical connector that can wear out, break, 
get lost, etc -- and I can easily cable it right into my data center, 
with long runs over CAT-V, etc.  Digi may offer cards like this as well, 
but I do not have personal experience with them.  From looking at their 
site, it looks like they only offer external "connector boxes" for their 
cards.

Best of luck in finding a serial solution to meet your needs,
Aaron S. Joyner