daveb@geac.UUCP (Brown) (09/20/87)
In article <1045@cive.ri.cmu.edu| fitz@cive.ri.cmu.edu (Kerien Fitzpatrick) writes: | Has anyone looked into externally clocking the AppleTalk port? I am in | charge of a large Mac network with mostly Plusses and a few SEs. The | thought of spending $1000 per Plus and $600 per SE to get them on ethernet | is a little overboard. I don't feel we need a transfer rate of 10Mb/s, but | that 230Kb/s is snail speed. The original AppleTalk speed is fine when the | only equipment on your network is a LaserWriter, but once you start putting | file and mail servers the slow speed becomes painful. Is Apple doing | anything about this or are they just looking at connecting their new models | to a higher speed network? | Well, if you don't want to reclock things or use ethernet, you can approach the problem "from the side" and provide a facility to copy files about in the background while "using" them in the foreground. The most primitive form is to mail them, and be unable to work on them til they arrive. The next is to provide a mail-based copy-to/copy-back facility (with locking! cf "RCS") and still not edit them. The final form is to create "virtual files" which you think you are editing, but which are in the process of being migrated to your machine.... The last is somewhat hard. On the other hand, even the most primitive form is a real help if you don't need the file "This Very Instant". Send me mail if you want to discuss this. --dave -- David Collier-Brown. {mnetor|yetti|utgpu}!geac!daveb Geac Computers International Inc., | Computer Science loses its 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, | memory (if not its mind) CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 | every 6 months.