luke@tasis.utas.oz (Luke Visser) (11/26/87)
We are in the process of setting up a new MacLab at this campus and I'm
interested in getting some information on performance, etc.
The lab is going to contain 25 Mac SEs (2 x 800K), 1 Mac II (not sure
yet what size hard disk but probably 40M or 80M) and 2 ImageWriter IIs. The
machines are all going to be networked together using PhoneNet with the II
being used as a file server/spooler.
The software that will be running in the lab will be AppleShare, Excel,
MicroSoft Word, FileMaker, SuperPaint, LogicWorks, MacMETH (Modula II), and
maybe VIP and HyperCard.
We currently look like having approximately 300+ students who will be
using the lab full time.
What I am interested in is establishing contact with people out there
running a lab similar to this so that I can quiz them with a number of
questions. The questions would mainly have to do with performance
of the various applications while running them from the Mac II using
AppleShare, and the performance of the network in general.
A more general question is whether any of the above packages are not
AppleShare compatible - specificially MacMETH.
Thanks muchly,
Luke Visser
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Snail: Uni of Tasmania, Box 252C GPO, Hobart 7001, Tasmania, Australia.
ACSnet: luke@tasis.utas.oz ARPA: luke%tasis.utas.oz@uunet.uu.net
UUCP: {enea,hplabs,mcvax,uunet,ukc}!munnari!tasis.utas.oz!lukepeter@aucs.UUCP (Peter Steele) (11/28/87)
in article <513@tasis.utas.oz>, luke@tasis.utas.oz (Luke Visser) says: > > We are in the process of setting up a new MacLab at this campus and I'm > interested in getting some information on performance, etc. > The lab is going to contain 25 Mac SEs (2 x 800K), 1 Mac II (not sure > yet what size hard disk but probably 40M or 80M) and 2 ImageWriter IIs. The > machines are all going to be networked together using PhoneNet with the II > being used as a file server/spooler. > The software that will be running in the lab will be AppleShare, Excel, > MicroSoft Word, FileMaker, SuperPaint, LogicWorks, MacMETH (Modula II), and > maybe VIP and HyperCard. We don't have a setup quite up to your standards (12 SE's with an SE server) but I'll pass on some brief thoughts. First of all, you should really look at the server software MacJANET. It was designed by the University of Waterloo in Canada and of the network software we looked at, it was the best. One thing good about it is that it was developed with the hostile student environment in mind and handles security extremely well. The next release will also allow you to restict the number of users who can simultaneously run a particular program. This is good for packages that don't have a network licence but you instead have to buy x copies if you have x stations. This way, you can buy fewer packages if you think the demand for that package will not be enough to warrent a copy for every node in the network. Really, you have to look at this server software. Contact cmd@watcsg on BITNET. This gives you the author of MacJANET and he can give you current pricing and version info, and whatever else you need. We are using PhoneNet and have found it very flexible and exellent value. We don't run all the exact software that you have, but we do use Word and SuperPaint. We also have Reflex, Statview, MacWrite, Works, CricketGraph, and so others. They all work without a hitch. We don't have HyperCard on the network and probably won't put it on for a while. The way the security works means that the software must reside on a read-only drive and HyperCard doesn't seem to like read-only drives. Of course, we could put it on a public read/write drive, but then students could copy it. This isn't allowed by HyperCard's licence agreement. Performance is exceptable, but with only 12 stations that's not surprising. We have two IW II's and a LaserWriter Plus. The IW II's work fine; the earlier IW II's (like mine) have terrible paper jamming problems, but the newer ones have been redesigned and jamming doesn't seem to occur anymore (but give the students time to figure how to do it :-) ). The LaserWriter is not in the lab but housed in the Computer Centre. Students pay 15 cents a page for laser output, the IW II output is free. There is another university here that has a lab of 30 Pluses and an SE server with 2.5 Megs of memory (as does our server). They've increased network throughput by adding special caching software in each of the stations on the network. This reduces the amount of memory for applications (they're using 400k for the cache), but it seems to be working very well. They are also using MacJANET and are very satisfied with it. (They started out with HyperNet but found it was not suitable). Neither of us feel that either Tops or Appleshare are suitable for student networks. They're more suited for small office networks. Hope this is helpful. Peter Steele Acadia Univ. Wolfville NS Canada B0P1X0 (902)542-2201x121 UUCP:{uunet|watmath|utai|garfield}dalcs!aucs!Peter BITNET:Peter@Acadia
Tim_M_Dierks@cup.portal.com.UUCP (11/30/87)
Here at the University of Notre Dame, I am a student monitor for a Macintosh Lab with: 11 Mac SE's, 11 Mac 512's & Plus's (I'm not exactly sure how many of each), a Mac II doing file and printer serving, 1 Imagewriter I and two LaserWriter Plus's. We use AppleServe and AppleShare. We use PhoneNet, and the same network serves the entire building (the lab plus about 5 more II's and maybe 7 more Plus's and SE's.) The lab is open 24 hours a day, and there are consultantants on duty 8AM - 10PM weekdays. During other hours our mainframe operations staff is available to feed the LaserWriters paper and toner cartridges, etc. We are extremely happy with Appleshare, especially after an experience with a Corvus network. Each of the Macs has its own account, which gives that Mac access to a private folder with its own copy of MacWrite. Other software is available to all the Macs, with more than one copy for some popular single-user software. If you run a similar lab, or would like to talk with us at all, please send mail to me at C4TKG3@IRISHMVS.BITNET and we'll be glad to help. Tim Dierks President, MADMACS User Group C4TKG3@IRISHMVS.BITNET Tim_M_Dierks@cup.portal.com
peter@aucs.UUCP (12/02/87)
> The lab is open 24 hours a day, and there are > consultantants on duty 8AM - 10PM weekdays. During other hours our mainframe > operations staff is available to feed the LaserWriters paper and toner > cartridges, etc. A university near here tried 24hr access. Result? Three Macs disappeared. This year, they have someone on duty at all times, and that isn't 24hrs a day (something like 7am to 2am). I've heard of another university that had a LaserWriter stolen. Peter Steele