#Amiga's on a LAN?
23 messages in this thread
Don
I read some of the messages in the Communication section
and I think you might be able to help me.
I am building a new home and want to design it up front to allow
me to connect 4 workstations together for file sharing, printer
sharing, CD-ROM sharing (if possible).
My associate has an Amiga 2000 and an Amiga 500, and I would like
to purchase one of these for each of my 2 children…I currently
have a Leading Edge Model D (IBM clone) and a MacPlus (with
a Gemini upgrade)…also, I have an HP Deskwriter (300dpi inkjet)
connected to the MAC.
I am considering purchasing Novell Lite or Lantastic to accomplish
the LAN connectivity, but have no idea what type of cables are
required (Coax, twisted pair, etc.).
In the Novell forums, they say that Amiga is not a good choice
for LANs, same with Lantastic…
Can you give me any pointers/contacts/ideas/examples of anyone
who has accomplished this on a home budget (maybe $4K)
Tom send [76703,4321]
Tom,
We're using Amigas on Novell, and I have NO idea why the jerks over in
the Novell fora would say that Amigas are not a good choice. That said,
you canNOT run Amgia's on a Novell network unless you have a server and
there is NO server software for the Amiga (so Novell light is out of the
answer).
Tom:
In recent months there have been lots of advances in networking for the
Amiga. Commodore has 2 network cards available for the 2000, one ethernet,
the other decnet, and they have TCP/IP client software as well. another
Company called Interworks has networking software, but it might be Amiga
to Amiga only, I'm not sure, but they're here on CIS (I don't have their
PPN thou). PP&S (Progressive Peripheral & Software) makes an appletalk
card for the A2000, and possibly also for the 500.
The A2000 is a much better choice for networking than a 500 is, so you
might want to look into buying a couple of used 2000's rather than new
500's, as they're MUCH more expandable.
I can't really tell you much more details about the various Amiga
networking options, but I wanted you to know that they're out there, and
I'm sure somebody else here will add to this info.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
Mike,
Interworks product ENLAN is indeed Amiga only at this time. It is a
beautiful product and we'd use it exclusively if we could get our PCs
running on it too.
Tom,
I see others have replied to you. I've not networked the Amiga, so
wouldn't be much help to you.
Don
I just happened to snarf this in my capture buffer while on our local WWIV
BBS, hope this is useful:
_ Oxxi Releases Amiga Client Software for Novell NetWare
/ \ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ – \
/ ___ \
(_/ \_)miga Client Software (ACS) adapts any standard Novell
NetWare network to allow Amiga computers to act as workstations or
clients. ACS can be added to any existing Novell NetWare system
running Version 2.15 or higher, takes only minutes to install, and
requires no prior preparation. Once the Amiga Client Software is
installed, Amiga users on the network enjoy all the network
capabilities available to IBM and Macintosh workstations.
Amiga workstations retain their multitasking graphic environment in
addition to the full range of Novell NetWare functions. Users
receive their own personal set of Amiga Preferences — including
network printing preferences — automatically when they login from
any Amiga on the network.
Features
~~~~~~~~
Novell NetWare Functionality for the Amiga
Novell-style utilities provide easy selection of standard Novell
NetWare functions on the Amiga, including:
o File management and security
o Printer definition
o Print-job control
o Full network accounting records
o User login management, password security, login scripts
o Group account management
Individual Preferences
o Amiga Preferences supplied automatically at login, including
choice of local or network printer
o Login scripts customize user's network environment
o Login scripts can execute both Novell NetWare scripts and AmigaDOS
commands
Centralized Resources
o Server hard drive can be used as if it were in the workstation
o Data can be stored from the Amiga on the server, shared by all
computers on the network
o Data can be easily transferred from other platforms for use on the
[ MORE ]
[ continuation ]
Amiga, and vice versa
o Amiga software on server hard drives can be run from any Amiga
computer on the network
o Change or update software once on server, then use or download to
local computer
o Share printers, other hardware resources
Data Integrity
o Record-locking protects data in shared files
o File access can be controlled through directory access rights
o Multiple users can access a file concurrently
o Individual files can be flagged to further extend access control
o File ownership is assigned automatically, used to control access
Security for Information and Applications
o Individual user files protected by password and access-rights
assignments
o Confidential mail areas automatically created for each user
o Novell System security controls login and use of applications,
data and other resources
o Protect data and software from accidental or deliberate
alteration, theft, access by unauthorized persons
Plus Amiga-Specific Network Utilities
o AmigaBack — Server file backup and restoration for server from
the Amiga workstation
o NetMessage — Includes display of previous messages, user, group
and broadcast message sending
Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Software: Novell NetWare (R) Version 2.15 or higher, installed on
network file server; Amiga Workbench V1.3 or higher; Kickstart 1.2
or higher.
Hardware: Amiga computer with 512K memory, File Server, LAN ARC-Net
or Ethernet Communication cards (1 for each workstation, 1 for
server), cabling and other connection hardware.
Optional: Addition RAM, local hard drive, network peripherals such
as printers and plotters, third-party additions to Novell NetWare
such as bridges, additional servers.
Price and Availability
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Available now, only from Oxxi directly.
Oxxi, Inc.
[ MORE ]
[ continuation ]
P.O. Box 90309
Long Beach, CA 90809-0309
Phone: 310/427-1227
-*-
-J
Sorry,
At this point can I press gang your thread to ask a question? … Thanks!
There is a company here in the UK that is offering to set up a LAN for me
at a very reasonable price. It is a system aimed at the PC, but the company
is adamant that it will work with Amigas working under AmigaDOS.
They are claiming 20 megs a minute transfer rates, is this good? They also
say they utilize the ROM port …. Didn't know I had a ROM port!
Can anyone give me some info.
Thanks in advance,
Greg. (a LAN novice).
– via Whap!
Greg;
Sounds scarey. ROM port? You don't (unless maybe you have an Amiga 600,
and thats what they are calling the card slot).
20 Meg/minute is not particularly fast but could be plenty. Depends
mostly on what you will be trying to do with the LAN. At 20 Meg/minute I
would not suggest trying to run X-Windows.
-bill
20 meg/minute is 350 K /second – what's wrong with that? There's plenty of
people who run X Windows over serial lines at 19K baud, and some masochists
who run it at 2400 baud. It all depends on what you're doing under X.
John;
I'll have to take your word for it except that there are people that run
OS/2 also (ie: slow). I would hate to run something like PGS from over a
network at that speed.
However, I definately agree with your last line "… depends on what
you're doing." That statement is the vital criteria for all such
decisions.
-bill
In most cases, running a program over a network on the Amiga isn't that
bad. Once the program is loaded, it's in memory. Few programs that I know
of use overlays. I think the Sculpt 3D programs did. If a user needs
absolute speed, they shouldn't be running over a network, should they?
Some compromise has to be made.
John;
Using an A3000UX as a server, I sometimes almost can't tell that a program
came from the server. So yes, I yes, I'd agree on the Amiga network.
-bill
Thanks for your reply Bill, and to others.
I've spoken to the company again and apparently it's 20 secs a meg. ie. 50K
a second. It comes with a card for the AT slot (A2000) or plugs into the
trapdoor (A500). It's a peer to peer system and installation is included in
the price.
A little more speed would be good, but I only need to occasionally load
SuperBase 4 or WordWorth from my secretary's Amiga. By the way WordWorth is
about 400K so would take about 8 secs. However I've imploded wordWorth so
it's now only 221K, so the obvious question is will it load in just over 4=
seconds or the original sized 8.
If anyone knows of a faster method of networking a peer to peer system
without spending more than about #750 total cost, I'd appreciate the info.
Thanks again,
Greg :")
– via Whap!
Greg;
The "unpacking" should take place on your own machine, so the actual
transfer time should be around 4 seconds (based upon your numbers). Of
course you have to add the unpacking time to that as far as the user (you)
is concerned.
If you are only linking two machines together and are used to
saving/storing things on floppy, I suspect that the performance will be
quite acceptable.
There are other ways but I doubt that you want to consider them seriously.
There is always Matt Dillons DNet (using a serial or parallel port).
While these work, they both tend to require pretty knowledgable systems
people to insure that they continue to work. Naturally, the speed is none
too high either.
-bill
Bill,
Thanks again for the quick response. If you have a few moments I would like
to know what the alternatives are. Just so that I'm sure when I make my
decision that I've covered all the possibilities.
Thanks for the indulgance :")
Greg.
– via Whap!
PARNET runs at a comparable speed (50-70K/sec) and costs next to nothing,
relatively speaking (the only real cost is the cable).
I am anxious to see good, compact network adaptors for the A500. However,
they'll have to do a lot better than 50K/sec if they want it to be a
success. I wouldn't buy it.. I'd just keep using PARNET between my A500 and
A3000 as I do now.
Christopher
Thanks for the info regarding the PARNET. Can you tell me a little more
about it? Where is it available from? Will it work on my Workbench2.04, PAL
A2000 here in the UK?
Thanks in advance :")
– via Whap!
It's been my experience on the PC's that a good Novell ethernet is actually
faster than a local (IDE or ST-506) Hard Disk. No why's or wherefores on
it, but it often is more responsive.
Brian
– via Whap!
Sure, it depends on how the network is tuned. Depending on the task, and
the server, you can get very very fast times with Novell. They do a lot of
caching.
You know, we never bothered to tune the server….. Of course, 16MB of
server RAM helps…..
Brian
– via Whap!
20 Megabytes per Minute?? Most LAN speeds are in Megabits per Second.. 4
megabit, 10, 16, ect.. (MBPS)
20 Megabytes per Minute would be pretty fast.. (2.6 MBPS) For a small
LAN..