janderson@HQAFSC-VAX.ARPA ("Jim Anderson") (11/11/86)
We are considering acquiring the XNS software to interface between a VAX, DUENA, and a XEROX 9700. The problem is we are getting mixed information about XNS. Does anyone know if it is a package that is relatively self-contained or would we have to write our own drivers? Thanks in advance. ------
KB13@TE.CC.CMU.EDU (Ken Burner) (11/12/86)
Maybe you know something we don't, but our understanding is that
the Xerox implementation of XNS on Ethernet between VMS VAXes and Xerox
9700 printing systems is a 7-bit highway. This, in our view, severely
limits its utility in an educational, demand publishing environment: no
multi-font files can be communicated between the host and the printer.
We have decided not to spend the money for such limited access to our
X9700's capabilities. We are currently spooling print tapes from our
VAXes to our 9700.
The University of Pittsburgh has just completed an
implementation of full 8-bit communications between VAXes and Xerox
8700s or 9700s using the DEC DMR-11 interface. If you are sending
someone to XPLOR in Orlando next week, you should inquire about the
availability of this product.
Until Xerox implements FULL 8-bit communications to its printers
via Ethernet, point-to-point or tape communications seem the only full-
function option for Xerox printing products.
-Ken Burner
Asst. Dir. for Operations & Hardware Systems
Carnegie-Mellon University
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