a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz (Andy Dent, ph: 09 380 2620) (03/23/89)
Having just seen a demo of Alisatalk, combined with PC's running PCSA, I have a
few questions:
1) Printing:
- When a file is printed using a VMS print queue
- Who is charged for it? (The Alisatalk APC ?)
- What control does a user in a Mac application have? Are there any Desk
Accessories that allow queue status, removal of jobs etc.?
2) License management:
- Are there any facilities under Alisa similar to the "floating license
count" of PCSA, whereby the system allows n simultaneous users of a given
package?
3) Mail:
- Can Quickmail be used over Alisa so the Mac has a transparent interface
to VMS Mail?
- Are any other Mail facilities available?
4) Scripting:
- Does Alisa offer any command language such that backups of local disks
could be automated (to Virtual Disks).
- Is MacroMaker compatible with Alisa? - It could be a reasonable
substitute for a proper scripting language.
5) Performance:
- I am a little concerned about the performance of the Alisashare disks
when large Macintosh volumes are being used. We have had bad experiences
with Pacershare suffering severe degradation of folder-opening.
- Ok, so it's fast over Ethernet. Anyone able to comment on Alisa vs Pacer
speed over Localtalk.
6) Comms Hardware Compatibility:
- In a Localtalk system, what gateways will run Alisa?
- Does PhoneNet cause problems with Alisa?
Many thanks for any help offered. Once we have acquired some knowledge
ourselves I'll be happy to answer these sort of questions - give us about 6
months (I hope).cetron@wasatch.UUCP (Edward J Cetron) (03/23/89)
In article <568200@vaxa.uwa.oz> a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz (Andy Dent) writes: I was one of the original beta sites, and the Univ of Utah has been running (in places) Alisatalk ever since. I left before the last major update (for V5) so I might be a tad out-of-date.... > - When a file is printed using a VMS print queue > - Who is charged for it? (The Alisatalk APC ?) This used to be a problem since the APC 'daemon' would show as user. I recall Alisa has/had plans to fix this. > - What control does a user (Mac) application have? Are there any Desk > Accessories that allow queue status, removal of jobs etc.? None as of the last release, this must all be done from the VAX end (but then we all have MAC II's with multiple windows right? :-) >2) License management: > - Are there any facilities under Alisa similar to the "floating license > count" of PCSA, whereby the system allows n simultaneous users of a given > package? None that I recall (unless implemented with standard appleshare facilities). >3) Mail: > - Can Quickmail be used over Alisa so the Mac has a transparent interface > to VMS Mail? > - Are any other Mail facilities available? This was being worked on and from what I here is either available or almost available. >4) Scripting: > - Does Alisa offer any command language such that backups of local disks > could be automated (to Virtual Disks). > - Is MacroMaker compatible with Alisa? - It could be a reasonable > substitute for a proper scripting language. The backup of remote volumes (on the VAX) can be scripted using DCL command procedures. MacroMaker should be compatible, and if you could write a routine/macro to back up you local volumes to a remote volume, all is well. We had several users who would manually backup their entire user files from their 20-30 Meg hard disks to a volume/folder on the server and then let the VAX automated backup save it to 9-track. >5) Performance: > - I am a little concerned about the performance of the Alisashare disks > when large Macintosh volumes are being used. We have had bad experiences > with Pacershare suffering severe degradation of folder-opening. > - Ok, so it's fast over Ethernet. Anyone able to comment on Alisa vs Pacer > speed over Localtalk. We ran it exclusively over localtalk <-> Kinetics <-> ethertalk and after MANY benchmarking sessions determined the major bottleneck was the KFPS-2 gateway. I hear the new -4 is MUCH faster. We would consistently get rates significantly faster than a local floppy, and somewhat slower than a local hard disk. Once the gateway bottleneck is fixed, then the localtalk causes problems. I have worked with Pacer and Alisa; Pacer is MUCH less standarized, is not fully appleshare compatible, and is MUCH slower than Alisa. But let us not forget the reality that we are talking a localtalk-based fileserver in this case and even the appleshare servers have this same problem. >6) Comms Hardware Compatibility: > - In a Localtalk system, what gateways will run Alisa? Mainly the kinetics gateways. > - Does PhoneNet cause problems with Alisa? Not that I am aware of. >Many thanks for any help offered. Once we have acquired some knowledge >ourselves I'll be happy to answer these sort of questions - give us about 6 >months (I hope). Not likely, the last version of Alisa that I installed was a real simple affair - well documented, lots of help/hints/tips and examples, good VMSinstal files, etc. If you can configure the gateway (the hardest part if you are on a large mixed network [TCP/IP, DECNET...] where all of the nets have to match everyone else's) the rest is easy. And the Alisa group has by far the best telephone support. -ed cetron cetron@wasatch.utah.edu Standard Disclaimer - I have NO interest in Alisa except as a satisfied customer.
dmcintee@netxcom.UUCP (Dave McIntee) (03/23/89)
In article <568200@vaxa.uwa.oz> a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz (Andy Dent, ph: 09 380 2620) writes: >Having just seen a demo of Alisatalk, combined with PC's running PCSA, I have a >few questions: > > . . . > >3) Mail: > - Are any other Mail facilities available? There is cc:Mail: cc:Mail, Inc.; 385 Sherman Ave.; Palo Alto, CA 94306; (415) 321-0430. I am interested in these questions, also. Thanks. -- Dave McIntee NetExpress Communications, Inc. Phone: (703)749-2380 1953 Gallows Road, Suite 300 uunet!netxcom!dmcintee Vienna, VA 22180