umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) (02/24/90)
In the next 2 months, I'm going to have to help install a LAN based on 286 class DOS machines. The other person and I who will be installing it unfortunetly don't know that much about LANs, and <lucky me> I've been elected to learn LANs on my own, then give him a crash course when its time to install it. The main application running will be a prewritten Foxbase application. The company who wrote it recommends Novell, but we would prefer to stay away from things that require specialized disk formats like Novell does. Can anyone recommend some books on LANs? Specifically in the DOS area, and hopefully something that explains Novell, 3com, Lantastic and their pros and cons. There will only be 4 nodes on the network. Its already been decided that 286 machines will be used for atleast 3 of the nodes. We're not sure what to do about a server set up. I suggested either a 386 as the 4th node and server, or a 286 for the 4th node and a seperate 286 as the server, the later more than likely being preferable, but more expensive. I'm told the chances of all 4 nodes being in heavy use at the same time are slim, and 4 nodes is basically a convience so everyone can have ready access to the system at their desk, instead of one central based system like they are using now. Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated! Charles