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MP 2008/2208
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Overview
The Cubix MP 2008 and 2208 Adapters (also referred to as the Cubix MP Series, MP adapter, or MP 2x08), are multiport communications adapters in an AT form factor with an ISA bus connector. The MP adapters provide a state-of-the-art combination of high speed controller and Universal-Asynchronous-Receiver-Transmitters (UARTs) offering system administrators fast and reliable shared serial resources for "port controlled" networks. Using multiple MP adapters in a communications system allows the system administrator to manage a "port pool" of simultaneous dial-in and dial-out asynchronous connections.
Up to fifteen MP adapters may be placed in a single system, provided sufficient slots and power are available. Each MP adapter requires one 16-bit ISA slot.
Cubix Corporation supplies MP Series device drivers which provide access to the MP ports for various communications server platforms. By loading the appropriate driver onto the communications server, the ports on the MP adapter become available.
The heart of the MP 2008 and MP 2208 is the 20 MHZ 80C286 processor with optimized code to move data between the Cubix driver and the 16C550 class UARTs quickly enough to keep the ports operating at their maximum baud rating. The 16C550 UARTs are equipped with buffers to ensure that there will be no overruns or missed characters at full rated speed.
Note that the MP 2008 supports a maximum of 115,200 Kbps per port while the MP 2208 supports up to 460,800 Kbps per port.
Both MP Series adapters come with an octopus cable providing eight connections to external RS-232 compatible devices such as modems, multiplexors and mainframe terminal ports.
In addition, an optional eight-port line busy module is available. The line busy module is used to simulate an "off hook" (or line busy) signal when a server or COM port fails (for example, due to a power failure). When the telephone system senses that the line is in use, it automatically routes the call to the next non-busy line.
Who Should Use this Manual?
This manual is intended for the network systems administrator, and provides the following information:
This document, and all Web contents, Copyright © 1997 by Cubix Corp., Carson City, NV, USA.
