Protocol advise with WideFS; IPX or TCP ?

[AASHQ]

Dear Pete,

I'am getting to start all the peaces together for my own home build cockpit. Ordering 8 computers to do the job and make a network.

WideFS and FSUIPC can run two protocols, IPX/SPX and TCP/IP over a LAN.

On several post your favorate protocol is IPX/SPX, esp. with the new XP SP1 and SP2.

A friend of mine told me he had better performance with IPX/SPX...

What is your advise now days and why ?

Thanks in advance, your doing a great job for us all.

Bob

[Pete Dowson]

WideFS and FSUIPC can run two protocols, IPX/SPX and TCP/IP over a LAN.

On several post your favorate protocol is IPX/SPX, esp. with the new XP SP1 and SP2.

Well, IPX/SPX was most definitely favourite on an all Win98 setup. But it became problematic with mixed Win98/Me/NT/2k/XP setups, so that's when I added TCP/IP support.

As a programmer I prefer IPX/SPX just because it is so much simpler at the lower levels -- there is far less red tape. The actual data part of the transmissions is a much higher proportion -- there's too much red tape and multiple levels in TCP/IP, which are needed for Internet linkage all over the world but are a huge overkill on a small Network in your computer room upstairs! ;-)

Of course when I first did WideFS, back in FS95 days, local networks tended to be those coax-connected affairs running at 10 mbps. The faster hardware was pricey back then. Now 1000 mbps connections with support on the motherboards are commonplace, and you can take 100 mbps for granted.

Also Microsoft have put much more effort into making TCP/IP operate efficiently and smoothly, and it isn't so bad since WinXP SP1. Really unless you are really pushing a lot of stuff around I think you'd find it difficult to find any preformance differences between IPX/SPX and TCP/IP -- provided the PCs involved aren't overloaded. I still think IPX/SPX is cheaper in terms of processing, especially in the Server.

What is your advise now days and why ?

Well if you are okay at installing IPX/SPX, and have either an all WinXP or all Win98 setup, then go for that. You can easily compare them then, as the only change would be in one little parameter in the client INI file -- WideServer supports both automatically (if both are installed). On my test systems I have a mix of Clients, some TCP/IP and some IPX/SPX, and there's no problems. I am all WinXP these days.

If you use the latest version of WideFS (6.50 or the interim updates available above) then you don't even need to configure anything other than the IPX/SPX choice if all your machines are running XP.

Version 6.51 will be released next week I hope. Not any big differences, just a consolidation of the small things.

Regards,

Pete

[AASHQ]

Dear Pete,

WOW, thanks for the quick reply, do you ever sleep ?

I will go for IPX because of the better technical data performance, less overhead, and to isolate my system from the internet connection (security issue).

Thanks a million (again).

Bob