[comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware] Interfacing between PCs in real time

johnl@walt.cc.utexas.edu (John Lange) (11/05/90)

I'm working on an application with multiple PCs.  I'm evaluating ways
of transferring data from one PC to another.  Two of the PC's will
be doing real time processing with DSPs.  A third PC will be used for
miscellaneous things.  I am unsure of the required data rates between
computers, so right now, I'm looking for general solutions.

For low data rates, I'm pretty sure plain RS-232 will work.  The 
problems are burst or continuously high data rates.  I know there
are about a jillion IEEE-488 boards on the market.  What kind of
transfer rates could IEEE-488 give in the above scenario?  Also,
how easy is the IEEE-488 to program?

Another possibility is the use of SCSI.  Each PC will have a SCSI 
adaptor for separate hard disks.  Certainly it is feasible to string
all the PCs together on the SCSI bus, but what kind of software
would be required to make this work?  Can anyone guess at a maximum
data rate using SCSI for data transfers from machine to machine?

Yet another possibility is some parallel interface I haven't heard of.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Please respond via email as
I don't normally read CSIPH.  Thanks in advance.

John Lange
johnl@walt.cc.utexas.edu