Do people/companies still use Token Ring?

[tain]

When was the last time you saw it actually being used on a daily basis? Do some places still use it today?

[S.SubZero]

Hmm.. I used to support a corporate Token Ring network ~12 years ago and while the hardware was kind of weird, it was very reliable and network performance was exceptional compared to ethernet of the time. I think one good thing about it was that it didn't suffer from performance problems as network traffic increased, since the "token" was always the only thing on the network, and it stopped at every workstation regardless.

I can't see any real use for it today though, as Ethernet has evolved to a point where it can be used in any situation where Token Ring might have been beneficial long ago. The only companies using it probably have big infrastructures that would be prohibitive to convert to Ethernet.

Madge, the company that today makes most Token Ring hardware, is still in business, so they must still have customers.

[Ponch]

We had it but they ditched it progressively 3years ago and it totally gone since this year. Big company, IBM in charge.

Want cards and PCMCIA ? Hundreds in the bin.

[arctirus]

We just had a $3 million robotic device installed which comes with it's own network which happens to be token based. It's not the old ibm token ring but unfortunately that's all I know about it.

[puntoMX]

We just had a $3 million robotic device installed which comes with it's own network which happens to be token based. It's not the old ibm token ring but unfortunately that's all I know about it.

That’s interesting; do you have some info of the Control System?

[newsposter]

Lots of retail systems (cash register) use tk still.

[arctirus]

We just had a $3 million robotic device installed which comes with it's own network which happens to be token based. It's not the old ibm token ring but unfortunately that's all I know about it.

That’s interesting; do you have some info of the Control System?

Not right now I don't; I would have liked to ask more questions of the tech but the environment was very loud and I didn't have much time with him. Next time they are back though I'm going to have plenty to ask.

[tain]

Lots of retail systems (cash register) use tk still.

I've heard that before. Do you have any examples? I think Arby's might.

[bizzybody]

There's an office supply business near me that runs a small (about 2x the size of a typical tower PC) AS-400 system with TokenRing. They're too cheap to upgrade it to Ethernet, so their printers are shared off various PCs rather than being directly connected via their built in Ethernet printservers and whenever anyone wants to print...

They have a VPN setup over DSL to another office. I got them to install a standalone JetDirect (that office uses Ethernet) to hook up a dot matrix printer for printing shipping orders. That was only because they wanted to be able to send the orders anytime without having to phone and make sure some PC with attached printer was running.

I'm surprised they're still in business.