plaza@ceab.es (Enric Plaza) (07/20/89)
We have a Xerox Lisp 1186 machine and another 1186 with ViewPoint and a laser printer. Both in a Ethernet network using TCPIP with other Unix machines. Xerox Spain told me that in order to use the laser printer from other 1186s or Unix machines we need to by a Xerox server. This seems very strange (and expensive). Does anybody know: 1- How to communicate via Ethernet a Lisp 1186 and a Viewpoint 1186 ? 2- How to communicate via Ethernet a Unix machine with a Viewoint 1186 ? (both without recourse to a server) 3- Is it impossible as Xerox Spain claims ? Thaks in advance Enric Plaza %---------------------------------------------------------------% % Enric Plaza % E-mail: plaza@ceab.es % % Centre d'Estudis Avangats % % % Cami de Santa Barbara % tel. (34-72) 33 61 01 % % 17300 Blanes % telex 56372 CEABL-E % % Catalunya, Spain % fax 34-72 337806 % %---------------------------------------------------------------% % Work chases me ... but I'm faster! % %---------------------------------------------------------------%
welch@CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU (Arun Welch) (07/21/89)
The problem isn't getting the packets between the two machines, but rather dealing with the packets. XDE had an implementation of TCP/IP, which though fairly broken, worked just often enought that you could probably use it to print stuff. I don't know if it's been folded into ViewPoint yet. If so, we've got a lpr client in Interlisp which would provide you with half of the connection, you'd need to write a client on the ViewPoint machine to do the other half. Or, you could use XNS, write a print server in Interlisp, and use the existing client in ViewPoint. Looks like either way you've only got half the system. You just might have to go the server route, which any more can be pretty cheap, if you buy a used 8000 server (how cheap? Well, shortly after last year's AAAI some computer broker was trying to sell us a couple '86s, and he'd throw in the print server free, including the printer. Used 1108's are probably <$100 by now, too). ...arun
lee@puffin.uucp (Lee Moore) (07/21/89)
In reply to the fellow from Spain who wanted to print from Lisp to Viewpoint.
I will assume that your Viewpoint system has a local laser printer. The local laser printer on a Viewpoint system can be accessable to other XNS citizens on the net if it is configured with DashNet. In this configuration, the workstation is both a print server and a workstation. The Lisp system can print on it normally.
You didn't say which Unix system you had. If you have a 4.3BSD system, then you can use xnsprint.
Lee
Lee Moore -- Xerox Webster Research Center
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DDN: +1 716 422 2496Tony_Sweeney@artificial-intelligence.co.uk (07/21/89)
Enric All things are possible: "1- How to communicate via Ethernet a Lisp 1186 and a Viewpoint 1186 ?" There is software called Dashlink which runs as a Viewpoint application, allowing the Viewpoint workstation to act as a Clearinghouse and Print service. We have used this succesfully. It is sold in this country by Rank Xerox, but with little enthusiasm (cause they sell fewer printservers), but we do have one customer who uses this. Try and get Xerox Spain to sell you it. "2- How to communicate via Ethernet a Unix machine with a Viewoint 1186 ?" This one is impossible to do directly, but... what we do is use the TCP library software on the lisp machine to run a TCPFTP server process. Write a shell script that puts files from Unix to a spool directory on the lisp machine. Write some lisp code that periodically looks in this directory and transfers them to the Dashlink workstation either for filing or printing. We use this mechanism to do all printing from our inhouse Unix machines to a 8000 printserver, but it should work equally well with Dashlink. If Xerox Spain can't or won't sell you Dashlink, then I'm afraid "3- It is impossible". Tony Sweeney Technical Support A I Limited.