jerzy@scotty.dccs.upenn.edu (Jerzy Sliwinski) (01/05/89)
We are asking people in educational institutions to participate in a survey concerning your use of X Window System. We are anticipating that our utilization of X Window System products will increase in the future and are attempting to better understand the impact on our network. We would appreciate it if you would take the time to fill out the questionnaire and return it to us by Monday, January 23, 1989. Please send responses via E-Mail to Survey@UPENN.EDU. We will provide you with the results of the survey when completed. In order to clarify the information being requested in the survey, we have also attached a completed sample survey. Please refer to it if the intent of any of the questions is unclear. If you have specific questions, please send E-Mail to the above mentioned address or call me at (215) 898-9308. Thank you in advance for your participation. Jerzy Sliwinski University of Pennsylvania Data Communications and Computing Services Suite 221A, 3401 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228 phone #(215)898-9308 jerzy@dccs.upenn.edu **************** begin survey ********************************************** GENERAL QUESTIONS - Are you using TCP/IP over Ethernet connected by routers and/or bridges and if so briefly describe your Network Architecture. - If not, describe your Network - Bandwidth - Campus wide connectivity strategy - What are the major protocols used on the Network - Estimate % use of each major protocol X WINDOW SYSTEM QUESTIONS - Are you using the X Window System? If so or if you are planning to use it in near future, please answer the rest of the questions. - How many users are working in the X environment on your campus presently? Answer these questions by completing the table below: - For each vendors hardware product using X Windows indicate the specified hardware model, X software vendor and version number, number of units in use today and number of units projected in a year. X Software # of Units # of Units Pro- Vendor/Hardware (Vendor/Version) Today jected in a Year - What X clients are used today? - Describe any custom X applications that you developed. - Describe any new X applications or implementations you would like to use between now and next year. - Have you experienced any performance bottlenecks in use of X Window System? If so, describe - Do you expect any bottlenecks in use of X Window System in the future? If so, describe - Was the Network ever a bottleneck, if so describe the configuration. - Describe any innovative use of the X Window System on your network? - If you had a faster network, would you use X differently? ************** end survey ************************************************ Completed Sample Survey: GENERAL QUESTIONS - Are you using TCP/IP over Ethernet connected by routers and/or bridges and if so briefly describe your Network Architecture. Our network is composed of 12 cisco routers interconnected by point to point ethernet bridges (DEC DEBETs and DELNIs). - If not, describe your Network - Bandwidth - Campus wide connectivity strategy - What are the major protocols used on the Network - Estimate % use of each major protocol IP 80% DECnet 15% XNS 4% other 1% X WINDOW SYSTEM QUESTIONS - Are you using the X Window System? yes If so or if you are planning to use it in near future, please answer the rest of the questions. - How many users are working in the X environment on your campus presently? About 250 staff and students. Answer these questions by completing the table below: - For each vendors hardware product using X Windows indicate the specified hardware model, X software vendor and version number, number of units in use today and number of units projected in a year. (Computer and Information Science (CIS) department only) X Software # of Units # of Units Pro- Vendor/Hardware (Vendor/Version) Today jected in a Year HP 9000/300 HP-UX 6.1 or 6.2 30 40 DEC vax 2/3 Ultrix 1.x or 2.x 10 10 Suns SunOS 3.x 4.x 25 50 - What X clients are used today? xterm, xmh, gnu-emacs, xbiff, xcalc,xclock, xrdb, xrefresh, xtrek - Describe any custom X applications that you developed. We have developed a custom X client that can display, edit, and manipulate images stored in PM format, a format locally developed as part of the GRASP project. Also, John Bradley developed XSPLOT, a spice output postprocessor that allows users to interactively view results of circuit emulation graphically. - Describe any new X applications or implementations you would like to use between now and next year. How about a client that would display GIF format files on an X server. - Have you experienced any performance bottlenecks in use of X Window System? If so, describe Occasionally, for large images, one notices delay when they get partially or completely redrawn. For the most part, the amount of data sent back and forth is small enough that it's not a problem. - Do you expect any bottlenecks in use of X Window System in the future? If so, describe As more applications use bitmap displays we will need X server implementations that use hardware functions of the display for greater speed. - Was the Network ever a bottleneck, if so describe the configuration. It's not clear. I suspect that network had something to do with taking time to get images across but whether that's network software, host hardware, or the network itself is not clear. - Describe any innovative use of the X Window System on your network? The GRASP lab, in particular, is writing some useful X applications for their imaging research, such as a way to display MRI data under X. - If you had a faster network, would you use X differently? I wouldn't. The GRASP researches might. In general, I think people are willing to wait for X applications to finish because it's so much faster than what they would have otherwise (eg, ASCII terminals).