> From: "Antonio Carlini" <arcarlini@iee.org>
> To: <port-vax@NetBSD.org>
> Subject: RE: Found DEC branded AU, need specs
> Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 16:22:06 -0000
> 
> DESTA stands (IIRC) for Digital Ethernet Station Adapter. As others
> have pointed out, you use to to allow a device with a "thickwire"
> interface to connect to a "thinwire" run. In the "thickwire" 
> implementation the host had a connection called AUI (attached
> unit interface?) that was connected via AUI cable to a transceiver
> that was directly connected to the ethernet backbone cable (usually
> via a vampire tap). An example of such a transceiver (H4000) can
> be seen here: http://208.190.133.201/decimages/h4000tmp.pdf.
> 
> When thinwire came along (basically a long RG58 cable with a 50 ohm
> terminator at each end and T-pieces everwhere you wanted to add a
> station), the DESTA was the way to hook up the older-style interface
> to the new-style (and easier to use) network cable.

There is a frequent confusion in terminology, since both the
original 10Base-5 coax and the AUI cable are "thick wires", as
distinguished from RG58 10Base-2 coax, which is a "thin wire".

    carl
-- 
    carl lowenstein         marine physical lab     u.c. san diego
                                                 clowenst@ucsd.edu