stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu (01/11/91)
I have a questions about the networking capability of the Amiga. I know there
are ethernet boards out there. How do they rate? Do they work well with other
machines on the net? Is the software sound?
What other networking options do Amigians have? Is there an appletalk board
for the amiga? --
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu Kevin Whyte Proud Owner of an
Computer Services Box 45
Mankato State University Amiga 1000
stx@att1.mankato.msus.edu Mankato MN 56001
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~erick@CSUFresno.EDU (Eric Keisler) (01/12/91)
In article <1991Jan10.202026.1@vax1.mankato.msus.edu> stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes: > >I have a questions about the networking capability of the Amiga. I know there >are ethernet boards out there. How do they rate? Do they work well with other >machines on the net? Is the software sound? > .. Well, we have a 12 workstation graphics lab here of Amiga 2500/30's. Currently 6 of the Amigas are outfitted with CBM's A2065 ethernet adapters. We have a good relationship with our regional CBM rep, so we got our hands on a beta version of the AS225 TCP/IP software. I've been working with this stuff for a few months now and am very impressed with it. The A2065 board supports both thick and thin ethernet and has both a BNC and transciever connector. This is a quality board. The software is a fairly well rounded implementation of the TCP/IP suite. On the application level, it contains: telnet, rlogin, rloginVT (VT100 support), rcp, rsh, finger, FTP, TFTP, ping, and route. Protocols supported are: ARP, ICMP, IP, TCP, and UDP. Other TCP stuff includes rpcinfo, ls, chmod, passwd, arp, netstat, showmount, and a diag utility. It also supports NFS and has various commands and facilities for mounting remote file systems. The current rev of the NFS software allows the Amiga to be an NFS client but not a server. The same goes for telnet and rlogin (ie: you can't telnet *into* an Amiga but you can telnet out), however you can do an rsh into an Amiga. The documentation I recieved was a disk based pre-release version of the manual. All I can say about it is *even* in this pre-release form the docs look good. I have tested this software extensively with Suns, Nexts, and BSD Vaxen. Bottom line: it works great, it's fast, it does what we want. By the way, here's a kicker: all of our machines have Bridgeboards. I found that using Adisk and Jlink with network based 'virtual' volumes works just like they would on a hard drive. The fact that this works proves to me how well they interfaced NFS with the AmigaDOS filesystem. If you've ever tried to network real MSDOS PC's with a Sun via PC-NFS, then you'll drool over how much easier it is with AS225 software and a Bridgeboarded Amiga. Problems? I've noticed a few minor glitches, but nothing really worth noting. Shortcomings? Well, currently one cannot do a 'reverse arp' (ie: the Amiga yells out to the network "Who am I?", and a remote host tells it who it is). Also the lack of NFS server capability seems to me a big omission. Oh yes, the AS225 software also works with the CBM ArcNet board. According to the docs and developer note included with the TCP/IP package, the software is pretty much done - very few changes (if any) are planned. What puzzles me is that CBM *still* has not officially released it. It's very solid. The hardware is done. So why the delay? PLEASE NOTE>>> We're talking about *BETA* software here. So any problems or shortcomings I mentioned will likely (most likely I hope!) not be in the commercial release version. In closing, myself and a few other network 'gurus' have looked at these products quite closely. We're impressed. >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu Kevin Whyte Proud Owner of an > Computer Services Box 45 > Mankato State University Amiga 1000 > stx@att1.mankato.msus.edu Mankato MN 56001 >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- Eric Keisler, University Computer Services <and> Department of Art CSU Fresno erick@zimmer.csufresno.edu
stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu (01/13/91)
In article <1991Jan12.052120.13419@CSUFresno.EDU>, erick@CSUFresno.EDU (Eric Keisler) writes: (lots o intresting stuff deleted) > The documentation I recieved was a disk based pre-release version of the > manual. All I can say about it is *even* in this pre-release form the > docs look good. Apparantly they HAVE released it. I went down to my local amiga dealer and he had a full blown copy with docs. The documantation did look good at first glance. I didn't really have time for a second one. > > According to the docs and developer note included with the TCP/IP package, the > software is pretty much done - very few changes (if any) are planned. > > What puzzles me is that CBM *still* has not officially released it. It's > very solid. The hardware is done. So why the delay? > > > PLEASE NOTE>>> We're talking about *BETA* software here. So any problems or > shortcomings I mentioned will likely (most likely I hope!) not be in the > commercial release version. > > In closing, myself and a few other network 'gurus' have looked at these > products quite closely. We're impressed. From looking at the docs ( the amiga dealer didn't have an ethernet card) I would concur about the completness of the software. Now all I have to do is convince the people who control the money at this school to invest in amiga's! > Eric Keisler, University Computer Services <and> Department of Art > CSU Fresno > erick@zimmer.csufresno.edu -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu Kevin Whyte Proud Owner of an Computer Services Box 45 Mankato State University Amiga 1000 stx@att1.mankato.msus.edu Mankato MN 56001 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
martin@cbmvax.commodore.com (Martin Hunt) (01/13/91)
In article <1991Jan12.052120.13419@CSUFresno.EDU> erick@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU (Eric Keisler) writes: > >Oh yes, the AS225 software also works with the CBM ArcNet board. Actually, the Beta versions and the release 1.0 version don't support the arcnet card. Future versions will. > >According to the docs and developer note included with the TCP/IP package, the >software is pretty much done - very few changes (if any) are planned. > >What puzzles me is that CBM *still* has not officially released it. It's >very solid. The hardware is done. So why the delay? > It SHOULD be shipping now. Have your dealer check with their local rep. >--- >Eric Keisler, University Computer Services <and> Department of Art >CSU Fresno >erick@zimmer.csufresno.edu Martin Hunt Commodore-Amiga martin@cbmvax.commodore.com "Windows 3.0 is hot because it's really fun. It has brought some excitement back into the PC industry" - Microsoft I wonder who took the excitement out in the first place?
mykes@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Mike Schwartz) (01/16/91)
In article <1991Jan12.052120.13419@CSUFresno.EDU> erick@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU (Eric Keisler) writes: >In article <1991Jan10.202026.1@vax1.mankato.msus.edu> stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes: >> >>I have a questions about the networking capability of the Amiga. I know there >>are ethernet boards out there. How do they rate? Do they work well with other >>machines on the net? Is the software sound? >> >.. > >Well, we have a 12 workstation graphics lab here of Amiga 2500/30's. Currently >6 of the Amigas are outfitted with CBM's A2065 ethernet adapters. We have >a good relationship with our regional CBM rep, so we got our hands on a beta >version of the AS225 TCP/IP software. I've been working with this stuff for >a few months now and am very impressed with it. > >The A2065 board supports both thick and thin ethernet and has both a BNC and >transciever connector. This is a quality board. > >The software is a fairly well rounded implementation of the TCP/IP suite. > >On the application level, it contains: telnet, rlogin, rloginVT (VT100 >support), rcp, rsh, finger, FTP, TFTP, ping, and route. > >Protocols supported are: ARP, ICMP, IP, TCP, and UDP. > >Other TCP stuff includes rpcinfo, ls, chmod, passwd, arp, netstat, showmount, >and a diag utility. > >It also supports NFS and has various commands and facilities for mounting >remote file systems. > >The current rev of the NFS software allows the Amiga to be an NFS client but >not a server. The same goes for telnet and rlogin (ie: you can't telnet >*into* an Amiga but you can telnet out), however you can do an rsh into an >Amiga. > >The documentation I recieved was a disk based pre-release version of the >manual. All I can say about it is *even* in this pre-release form the >docs look good. > >I have tested this software extensively with Suns, Nexts, and BSD Vaxen. >Bottom line: it works great, it's fast, it does what we want. > >By the way, here's a kicker: all of our machines have Bridgeboards. I found >that using Adisk and Jlink with network based 'virtual' volumes works just like >they would on a hard drive. The fact that this works proves to me how well >they interfaced NFS with the AmigaDOS filesystem. If you've ever tried to >network real MSDOS PC's with a Sun via PC-NFS, then you'll drool over how >much easier it is with AS225 software and a Bridgeboarded Amiga. > >Problems? I've noticed a few minor glitches, but nothing really worth >noting. Shortcomings? Well, currently one cannot do a 'reverse arp' >(ie: the Amiga yells out to the network "Who am I?", and a remote host >tells it who it is). Also the lack of NFS server capability seems to me >a big omission. > >Oh yes, the AS225 software also works with the CBM ArcNet board. > >According to the docs and developer note included with the TCP/IP package, the >software is pretty much done - very few changes (if any) are planned. > >What puzzles me is that CBM *still* has not officially released it. It's >very solid. The hardware is done. So why the delay? > > >PLEASE NOTE>>> We're talking about *BETA* software here. So any problems or >shortcomings I mentioned will likely (most likely I hope!) not be in the >commercial release version. > >In closing, myself and a few other network 'gurus' have looked at these >products quite closely. We're impressed. > >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >> stx@vax1.mankato.msus.edu Kevin Whyte Proud Owner of an >> Computer Services Box 45 >> Mankato State University Amiga 1000 >> stx@att1.mankato.msus.edu Mankato MN 56001 >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > >--- >Eric Keisler, University Computer Services <and> Department of Art >CSU Fresno >erick@zimmer.csufresno.edu I run a network of 7 Amigas using AmigaNet software on the Hydra Systems ethernet boards. They support thin ethernet cables and regular ethernet as well. Our Amigas are also 68030 machines with only one Bridgeboard. As with the CBM network described above, bridgeboard volumes can be directed across the net to remote file servers. What AmigaNet does provide that the TCP/IP network doesn't is the ability for ANY Amiga on the net to act as a file server. In fact, all of a machines resources can be shared across the net (AmigaDos devices only). These include RAM:, RAD:, hard disk, floppy disks, SER: and PRT:. I have set up one Amiga as a file server. I put a 700MB hard disk on it and an HP laserjet III. All of the Amigas (clients) share libs:, fonts:, etc., on the server, which allows me to update the software in one place and have the rest of the machines access it. The only things I chose not to share are S: (startup-sequence, various other pref files), DEVS: (system-configuration), and C: (in case you want to run not on the net). Each machine has a minimal boot volume and an s:startup-sequence that merely starts up the network, mounts the fileserver volume, and then executes a startup-sequence.net from the network. This allows me to edit the startup-sequence in one place and have the change take effect globally. In addition, each user has his own startup-sequence.user on the network volume, again so I can have access to them all, and so each user can have custom startup-sequence things. We bought a copy of the application software we use for everyone on the net, but keep only one copy on the network server. I have not investigated site licenses with the publishers, but we are very careful to make sure that we are not illegally usng software (everyone has a set of floppies and a manual). AmigaNet 1.3 comes with a few network oriented programs. You can run the "time" program to set a client machine's clock to match the server's. You can CHAT between any two users. You can remotemount anybody's hard disk partitions. You can remoterun a program in any machine on the network (it is fun to remoterun the say program to make someone else's machine say something). The Amiga is an EXCELLENT networking machine, thanks in part to its multitasking operating system and in part to the way normal AmigaDos works. The Mac, for example, could not support as powerful a network operating system because remoterun requires multitasking, and the Mac OS does not allow multiple users to share the same system file/folder. AmigaNet 2.0 promises to use the SANA networking protocol so it will allow an NFS.device and Amiganet.device to run concurrently on the same board. EMAIL is also promised with 2.0 as well as too many other features to describe here. I am currently working on getting AmigaUUCP working on the server machine so any workstation on the network can access usenet. AmigaNet is quite good at making the network transparent to applications, so this should be doable. I have not found any applications that fail under AmigaNet to date. As a metter of fact, all file requestors in programs show the remote volumes (that you have mounted) and choosing print from an application prints on the shared network printer just fine. Now for the drawbacks. AmigaNet uses a custom protocol. From time to time, the network software drops links to remote devices. This is actually only a minor nuisance. The result of the dropped links is that any ASSIGNs you do to network devices and PATH assignments to network devices go away. I came up with a workaround for this by creating a batch file that people can run locally to reastablish all the assigns and paths we use. AmigaNet performance is excellent. I did a benchmark where I assembled a large program locally and on a remote volume. The assembly took 17.5 seconds locally and 18.5 remotely. The program assembled was 200K of source and the assembler created a 300K listing file, so there was intensive disk access going on. I hope this is useful. I highly recommend AmigaNet and consider it to be in the top 3 available networks for any computer system. By the way, the Hydra boards do not work in the Amiga3000. Mykes