[comp.dcom.lans] Sun SparcStation as Novell Network server

wcc1@ra.MsState.Edu (Bill Chapman) (08/02/90)

Does anyone have any experience using a Sun SparcStation as a Novell
Network Server using ethernet?  We are upgrading our lan in order
to be compatible with the university-wide campus network using
ethernet.  Our lan uses a Novell file server for sharing laser printer
and files, and all workstations are PC's with one async connection.

We want to know if the SparcStation platform would be able to
contain the PC-execuatble files, printer sharing, etc., invisibly
to a network of PC's, so we could have the other advantages of
a SparcStation, e.g., unix. (Unix is a trademark of AT&T.)

Please E-mail any info to wcc1@Ra.MSstate.edu.  Thanks!
-- 
Bill Chapman	             |(601) 325-2042     |(601) 325-FAXX - fax
103 Lee Hall - Box 1262      |wcc1@Ra.MsState.Edu| 
Mississippi State, MS  39762 |USA                | 

keith@excelan.COM (Keith Brown) (08/03/90)

In article <639@ra.MsState.Edu> wcc1@ra.MsState.Edu (Bill Chapman) writes:
>Does anyone have any experience using a Sun SparcStation as a Novell
>Network Server using ethernet? 

Unlikely! The IPX/SPX protocols in Portable NetWare are implemented in
the System V.[34] streams environment. Up until recently, SunOS didn't
have streams support and consequently the task of porting PN to Sun's
would have been distinctly non-trivial. However, now the SunOS<->System V
merge is becoming a reality, Sun's are endowed with the streams environment
and consequently the complexity of moving PN onto the SunOS platform is
significantly reduced. Patience....

For up to date information on who is shipping binary PN products and also
who is likely to be shortly call:

	Craig Toyama	- 801 429 3231 or
	Curt Johnson	- 801 429 3238

Keith

	

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Brown                                      Phone: (408) 473 8308
Novell San Jose Development Centre               Fax:   (408) 433 0775
San Jose, California 95131                       Net:   keith@novell.COM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ittai@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU (Ittai Hershman) (08/03/90)

In article <1636@excelan.COM>, keith@excelan.COM (Keith Brown) writes:
> In article <639@ra.MsState.Edu> wcc1@ra.MsState.Edu (Bill Chapman) writes:
> >Does anyone have any experience using a Sun SparcStation as a Novell
> >Network Server using ethernet? 
> 
> Unlikely! The IPX/SPX protocols in Portable NetWare are implemented in
> the System V.[34] streams environment. Up until recently, SunOS didn't
> have streams support and consequently the task of porting PN to Sun's
> would have been distinctly non-trivial.

Another possible future product for Sparcs is LM/X (Microsoft
LanManager running under Unix).  HP did the first implementation, and
the OSF has announced HP LM/X as part of its DCE (Distributed
Computing Environment) Offering.  Sun is unlikely to offer the OSF DCE
(unfortunately!), but I'm sure others will port it and make it
available.

Furthermore, AT&T did their own port of LanManager, and are OEMing
their LM/X, so maybe Sun will pick that up.  It would be a logical
thing to do.

I know little of the differences between the two different LM/X's, but
the HP version which will end up in OSF DCE will be integrated with
the other components of DCE.  On the other hand, DCE is not being
distributed yet.

A footnote: LanMan does not specify a transport, as I understand it,
and so you could have (and in fact 3com has announced product) TCP/IP
as the transport between LanMan client and LanMan server.  This is
good because the client PC can then run one protocol stack and get
PC Networking (i.e. LanMan), FTP, Telnet, et al.  Which is precisely
what I would like to have.

-Ittai

PS: I guess I should also mention that you obviously can run PC/NFS
    right now and do most of what you want to do.

haas@cs.utah.edu (Walt Haas) (08/06/90)

I made the following response to a posted message.  My reply bounced, but
maybe somebody else will be interested anyway -- Walt

>To: keith@ca.excelan.com
>
>I'd like to run Portable Netware on my SPARCstation 1+ - I called
>Grover Righter at Novell and asked him when it would be available,
>and he laughed and said it wasn't even on the list.  Do you have any
>reason to believe differently?
>
>-- Walt