FarSync WAN T-Series cards - X.21 / V.35 / RS530 cards for Linux

Overview

The versatile intelligent FarSync WAN T-Series cards provide up to 10 Mbits/s per port WAN solutions for your X.21, V.35 and RS530 connectivity requirements. Whether you are connecting to the Internet, satellite links, private networks using TCP/IP or connecting sites using leased lines, FarSync cards provide the connectivity solution, replacing standalone routers and firewalls.

The cards install seamlessly under Linux kernel series 2.4 and 2.6 on both single and multiprocessor 32 and 64 bit systems. The drivers are included as standard in the kernel. Distributions by Redhat, SuSE, Slackware, Mandriva, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and more are supported.

The link level protocol can be PPP, Cisco HDLC or Frame Relay. Each serial port provides a standard point-to-point network interface controllable with all the standard Linux networking tools. Multiple cards can be installed to create a very low cost high speed Wide Area Network (WAN) hub.

PC connections to secure BRENT units are supported using X.21.

T1 and E1 (G.703 and G.704) connections are supported using the FarSync WAN TE1 - E1 / T1 card.

See also the support for the adapters under Windows XP, 2000 and Server 2003

Typical Applications

The FarSync WAN T-Series X21 / V35 adapters are suitable for connection to TCP/IP networks and HDLC lines. Typical applications include:

• High speed Internet access
• Frame Relay Internet access
• Remote office access over leased lines
• PC-based multi-port wide area network hub (Routers and Firewalls)
• Satellite multicasting
• Video conferencing

High Performance and Flexibility

The T-Series intelligent adapters have been designed for high performance and flexibility. The cards are driven by a AMD processors with 1 Mbyte of on board zero wait state SRAM. The PCI Bus mastering DMA interface on the FarSync T1U, T2U and T4U provides a very high performance interface to the card whilst minimising PCI and PC CPU loads.

• Synchronous line speeds up to 10 Mbits/s
• X.21 (V.11 / RS422), V.35, RS530 (EIA530), RS232C (V.24 / X.21bis) and RS449 (using conversion cables)
• 1, 2 and 4 port cards
• PCI Bus mastering DMA interface on the FarSync T1U, T2U and T4U
• Supported on 32 and 64 bit single and multiprocessor CPU systems

PC/Server PCI/PCI-X Bus Compatibility

The FarSync WAN TU1, T2U and T4U are PCI version 2.2 compliant and PCI-X compatible, this Universal PCI adapter can operate in PCs using either 3.3 volt or 5 volt signaling. The card is suitable for PCs with both 32 bit bus and 64 bit bus configurations. The power for the card is taken from the 3.3 volt supply rail.

Multiple Cards

A large number of ports can be supported by the installation of multiple FarSync cards in a PC. The T1U, T2U and T4U cards can be intermixed. Rack mounted Servers can support 12 or more cards (48+ ports) utilising more than one PCI bus, the card limit is only dependent on the resources available in the host server.

Application Development

Where an Application is required to interface to API supporting HDLC or transparent bit stream formats the FarSync OEM range of cards should be used.

Installation and Configuration

A simple installation procedure will make the device driver available via the standard kernel configuration mechanism. The driver may be either permanently linked to the kernel or used as a dynamically loadable module.

A configuration tool is provided to set line speed, interface and the protocol, after which the ports may be configured with standard networking tools. Examples and default configurations are provided with the on-line documentation.

For kernel versions 2.2.21 and 2.4.9 and above the drivers are included as standard.

Port Monitoring

A daemon is included that allows the signals on any or all ports to be automatically monitored.  The network interface associated with a specific port can then be brought up or down to reflect the line state.  This allows routing tables to be dynamically recalculated to reflect destinations actually available.

Cables

The cable and connector configurations for each card type are described here.  The FarSync WAN T-Series product range table lists the cables available for each card type.  Crossover cables, sometimes referred to as null modem cables, are also listed.

FarSync WAN T1U and FarSync WAN T2U

These one and two line cards have separate high-density D type connector for each port on the card. Cables supporting X.21 (V.11 / RS422), V.35, RS530 (EIA530), and RS232C (V.24 / X.21bis) are available plus RS449 via X.21 conversion cables.

FarSync WAN T4U

The four port cards use a single large high-density D type connector on the card with all four lines available though this connector. The quad port cables splits out the four network interfaces into separate network connectors. Cables supporting X.21 (V.11 / RS422), V.35, RS530 (EIA530), and RS232C (V.24 / X.21bis) are available plus RS449 via X.21 conversion cables.

Product Packaging

The product includes the communications card, driver software (with source), utilities and documentation supplied on CD-ROM. The cables are ordered separately see FarSync WAN cables for details.