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Open Transport PPP: The Rock Of A New Age

I tested the latest beta version of Open Transport (1.1.1), along with the PPP beta (Apple calls it "Paris") in our University of Wisconsin labs. Both are stable--especially considering that the PPP implementation is Apple's first foray into non-AppleTalk protocols over dial-up lines. However, OT/PPP 1.0 is available only for Open Transport 1.1.1 or later, requiring that PPP run on the 68030 or newer Macintoshes that Open Transport needs. For comparison, we also tested FreePPP 2.5 (the most popular PPP implementation) and PacerPPP 1.5.2 from NetManage.

Rock Solid? I installed OT/PPP on a PowerBook Duo 2300c and a Power Macintosh 8500/120. During testing, I was out of the office and relied on OT/PPP for connections to e-mail. Although these are betas, I had no trouble with the PPP stack on my PowerBook. For AppleTalk over PPP, you still will need to u se a third-party PPP product, such as PacerPPP from NetManage (resold from FCR Software), InterPPP II from InterCon Systems or T ribePPP from Tribe Computer Works.

OT/PPP is a cohesive, Open Transport-native implementation of TCP/IP over PPP for the Macintosh. I would like to see the addition of support for at least AppleTalk, if not Novell NetWare protocols. OT/PPP also could use a quick launch utility that would provide simple connect and disconnect capabilities, like FreePPP's control-strip module. Authentication for the PPP accounts can be done through Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) or Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP). In addition, there is a scripting language for connecting to command-line hosts. My main connection is to our San Mateo, Calif., office via a Shiva LANRover, which supports PAP and CHAP. I also connected to the University of Wisconsin's dial-up pool and tried out the command-line abilities. Instead of scripting, I used the optional terminal window to navigate the Cisco Systems router's command mode.

Speeds That Rock the World? Not only does OT/PPP run as native PowerPC code on PowerMacs, but it is written specifically to the Open Transport API. So, it takes advantage of Open Transport's streams-based architecture. Its speed is better than other PPP software we have used.

In basic file transfer testing over FTP, I found OT/PPP to be about 15 percent faster than FreePPP and about the same speed as PacerPPP. I also found that none of the PPP stacks improved when using a 28.8-Kbps modem, even though OT/PPP gained a bit more speed on downloads than the others did. Most Macintoshes have 57.6-Kbps serial ports.

Using the PowerMac 8500 (with a supposedly faster serial port than the Duo) and a Supra fax modem 28.8e, I tested SerialDMA's claims. There was little improvement in performance. Download speeds were on par with the original results. Uploads did improve by a mere 5 percent to 10 percent. Don't plan on any terrific speed gains on V.34 modems with any PPP software.

Robert J. Kohl hepp can be reached at rkohlhepp@nwc.com.