mike@ronin.cc.umich.edu (Michael Nowak) (12/26/87)
Awhile back, I saw a posting asking about which IBM cards worked with
the Amiga 2000/BridgeBoard combo. Well, we can add another one to the
list: the TOPS card. This card, along with the software, allows
the IBM side of the Amiga to act as a file server for an AppleTalk
network. Additionally, the IBM side can use file servers that other Macs
or PCs have published. This means that Macs can use the MS-DOS partition
of an Amiga hard disk to store programs and data and execute the programs
too. In addition, the IBM side of the Amiga can store data and programs
on a Mac hard disk. It also means that you can interchange files very
easily from Mac to Amiga to IBM disks. Once you get the file to the IBM
side of the system, you use AREAD/AWRITE to convert it to an Amiga file.
Tops is a distributed network file system which allows each workstation
to act as a file server and/or client while still allowing the owner
to use the machine (i.e. it doesn't turn your machine into a dedicated
server).
My brother and I tried this with a 2000 w/20M IBM hard disk, a MacPlus
with a 20M SCSI drive and a Mac 512 with a floppy. Required hardware
included a TOPS card for the Amiga, along with the BridgeBoard, 3
AppleTalk boxes plus connecting cabling. Required software included
1 PC TOPS disk and 2 Mac TOPS disks.
Note: Standard disclaimers: I am not affliated with Centram West.
I just thought it was interesting...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Real Life: Michael Nowak
Via Internet: mike@ronin.cc.umich.edu
Via UUCP: uunet!umix!ronin.cc.umich.edu!mike
Working for but in no way representing the University of Michigan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------jbn@glacier.STANFORD.EDU (John B. Nagle) (12/27/87)
This is all very nice, but it doesn't let Amiga-DOS directly access files on a remote hard disk. I'd be very interested in a true Amiga interface to TOPS. It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga doesn't fully support any LANs. John Nagle
ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) (12/27/87)
[-------------------------------------------------------------] Speaking of PC XT/AT cards in the A2000, Is it possible to put in an alternate display card? Like an EGA or VGA?
cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) (12/27/87)
In article <17263@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: > It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga doesn't fully support any LANs. What is the definition of "fully support" ? I have an Amiga 2000 sitting on my desk at Sun with an Ameristar ethernet board running NFS. I can mount filesystems from a server on the net and have it appear as a volume on the Amiga. Works rather well from what I can tell. They tell me their Arcnet product supports peer-to-peer networking. It appears to be nearly as functional as Sun's PC-NFS product (I can't vouch for the RPC/XDR interface since I haven't played with it yet). So what's fully. You want an Amiga server? --Chuck McManis uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis BIX: cmcmanis ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
spencer@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Randy Spencer) (12/28/87)
In article <37399@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes: >In article <17263@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: >> It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga doesn't fully support any LANs. >What is the definition of "fully support" ? I have an Amiga 2000 sitting on >my desk at Sun with an Ameristar ethernet board running NFS. I can mount >filesystems from a server on the net and have it appear as a volume on the >Amiga. So what's fully. You want an Amiga server? > >--Chuck McManis Yeah, why you got one? (sorry...:-) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Randy Spencer P.O. Box 4542 Berkeley CA 94704 (415)222-7595 spencer@mica.berkeley.edu I N F I N I T Y BBS: (415)222-9416 ..ucbvax!mica!spencer s o f t w a r e AAA-WH1M -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
rminnich@udel.EDU (Ron Minnich) (12/30/87)
In article <17263@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: > This is all very nice, but it doesn't let Amiga-DOS directly >access files on a remote hard disk. I'd be very interested in >a true Amiga interface to TOPS. It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga >doesn't fully support any LANs. I don't get it. The Amiga has supported NFS via the Ameristar card for- what?- a year or more now? There are few other micros that can make that claim (I won't say 'no other micros' cause i don't want to get blasted). The Ameristar board is priced well enough that i would get it sooner than i get a hard disk- if i could afford either! After all with Ameristar I get 5 Gb for <$1000, which is $1/5 Mbytes of disk- a good price. TOPS may be great, i don't know, but i doubt it will ever be as prevalent as ethernet. Or did i miss your point completely? Also, another route is to put a 3com card in your 2000 PC side and run Karne's code. Looks like pretty full support to me. -- ron (rminnich@udel.edu)
hull@hao.ucar.edu (Howard Hull) (12/30/87)
In article <6400@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, spencer@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Randy Spencer) writes: > In article <37399@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes: > > >In article <17263@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: > >> It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga doesn't fully support any LANs. > > >What is the definition of "fully support" ? I have an Amiga 2000 sitting on > >my desk... > >--Chuck McManis > > Yeah, why you got one? (sorry...:-) > Randy Spencer Not the point _I_ would have raised, Mr. Spencer. I would have asked/said: So you got a buncha LAN stuff out of Ameristar for your A2000. If your wife's boss just picked up an A1000 (trade-in offer fallout from a dealer, perhaps) and said to you (Mr. McManis) "I got this A1000 in, since I heard so much from you about how much you could do when connected to a LAN. You go ahead and get a LAN board for this A1000 while I go out and get a sandwich. I'll be glad to test it when I'm back from lunch..." I think you would be looking for a diaper changing service, Chuck... Best Regards, Howard Hull hull@hao.ucar.edu
root@sbcs (Root) (12/30/87)
In article <1064@hao.ucar.edu>, hull@hao.ucar.edu (Howard Hull) writes: > > Not the point _I_ would have raised, Mr. Spencer. I would have asked/said: > So you got a buncha LAN stuff out of Ameristar for your A2000. If your wife's > boss just picked up an A1000 (trade-in offer fallout from a dealer, perhaps) > and said to you (Mr. McManis) "I got this A1000 in, since I heard so much Simple. Just tell the boss man's wife to go out and purchase one of those after market Zorro-II slots on an A1000 box. Or, if she bought an A500, get an A2000 slots on an A500 box. Ameristar sold a tack on the side A1000 product for quite a while. Aside from costing a small fortune in (low volume) sheet metal and UL/VDE/CSA approved power supplies, it just wasn't a great seller. But while you're asking questions, what you really want to know is this: "Why did Commodore change the Zorro spec?" Enough said? > > I think you would be looking for a diaper changing service, Chuck... > Best Regards, Howard Hull > hull@hao.ucar.edu Rick Spanbauer SUNY/Stony Brook (& Ameristar)
rminnich@udel.EDU (Ron Minnich) (12/30/87)
In article <1064@hao.ucar.edu> hull@hao.ucar.edu (Howard Hull) writes: >Not the point _I_ would have raised, Mr. Spencer. I would have asked/said: >So you got a buncha LAN stuff out of Ameristar for your A2000. If your wife's >boss just picked up an A1000 (trade-in offer fallout from a dealer, perhaps) >and said to you (Mr. McManis) "I got this A1000 in, since I heard so much >from you about how much you could do when connected to a LAN. You go ahead >and get a LAN board for this A1000 while I go out and get a sandwich. I'll >be glad to test it when I'm back from lunch..." and chuck would have got the 1000 Ameristar card, which was the first one they built, and would be running NFS after lunch. So what's the deal? The ethernet/NFS card has been around for the 1000 for, say, 16 months or so that i can remember. No big problem. No diaper service needed. ron -- ron (rminnich@udel.edu)
hull@hao.ucar.edu (Howard Hull) (12/31/87)
In article <909@louie.udel.EDU>, rminnich@udel.EDU (Ron Minnich) writes: > and chuck would have got the 1000 Ameristar card, which was > the first one they built, and would be running NFS after lunch. > So what's the deal? The ethernet/NFS card has been around for the > 1000 for, say, 16 months or so that i can remember. > No big problem. No diaper service needed. > ron The deal is that the A1000 Ameristar card is no longer in production, right? But in so far as Chuck is concerned, you're likely correct. Chuck is the one guy in Amigaland who would have one of the cards in a top desk drawer somewhere, eh? But I would need the diaper service, since I don't happen to have an A1000 Ameristar card anywhere in my desk. And when I need diaper service, _everyone_ is in trouble... Best Regards, Howard Hull hull@hao.ucar.edu
billd@crash.cts.com (Bill D'Camp) (12/31/87)
In article <17263@glacier.STANFORD.EDU> jbn@glacier.UUCP (John B. Nagle) writes: > > This is all very nice, but it doesn't let Amiga-DOS directly >access files on a remote hard disk. I'd be very interested in >a true Amiga interface to TOPS. It's a bit embarassing that the Amiga >doesn't fully support any LANs. > I'll bet the people at Ameristar Technologies would be surprised to hear this. They've been pushing their ethernet boards with TCP/IP and NFS for well over a year. > John Nagle -- _ /| Fundamentally Oral Bill \`o_O' UUCP: {akqua,hplabs!hp-sdd,sdcsvax,nosc}crash!billd ( ) Aachk! Phft! ARPA: crash!billd@nosc.mil U INET: billd@crash.CTS.COM