The question is a bit academic.  A colleague had a system that was running
on RS-232 and he had to upgrade to Ethernet when the application went to
TCP/IP.  He said he'd rather have kept the serial network and just add an IP
layer -- much less hassle.

Of course, the upgrade occurred years ago.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: plug-discuss-admin@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
> [mailto:plug-discuss-admin@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us]On Behalf Of
> plug@arcticmail.com
> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2001 6:35 PM
> To: plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us
> Subject: Re: RS-232
>
>
>
> I'm hoping that I grokked your question correctly.
>
> You can do TCP/IP over RS-232c between two systems
> using an RS-232c null modem cable (available at
> Radio Shack, Frys, PC Club) and either SLIP
> or PPP.  SLIP is TCP/IP only; PPP can handle
> multiple protocols (e.g., IPX/SPX).
>
> If both RS-232c ports have high-speed UARTS
> (IIRC, 16550), the RS-232c ports can talk to
> each other at 115,200bps.
>
> If you have more than two systems, and each
> system has at least two RS-232c ports, you could
> build a network by daisy-chaining systems
> together and enabling IP forwarding on the
> systems in the middle of the chain.
>
> Cheap 10BaseT presents a LOT fewer headaches, though...
>