<CT> Re: Problems: school, internet, Calmira Online, IFA
- From: "Martin B. Brilliant" <mbrilliant@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: calmira_tips@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 21:12:05 -0500
On 28 Mar 2001, at 14:22, Botond B. Balazs asked (on behalf of a guy
in a Hungarian list) about creating a network out of 10 386's with 40
MB HDs and 4MB of RAM running Windows 3.1x, and two machines running
Win98.
I have an experimental lashup at home that does something like that.
However, I have only two machines, one running Win95, the other a 386
with about 500 MB in two HDs and 32MB of RAM - so I am not so badly
strapped for resources. The 386 was first loaded with MS-DOS 5.0 and
Windows 3.1, and then had Windows NT 3.1 installed over that, so it
dual-boots.
I connected the two machines with 10Base/2, alias ThinNet, alias
coax. Windows 3.1 doesn't have any native networking, but Windows NT
3.1 can share files and a printer with Windows 98 in any of three
different protocols (I've tried them all): NetBEUI, Microsoft IPX/SPX-
compatible protocol, and TCP/IP. I can also network them with two
protocols at a time, say, NetBEUI bound to file/printer sharing and
NetBIOS, and TCP/IP not bound to anything. I would like to try
connecting the TCP/IP to a software proxy server on the Win95 system
(which already connects to the Internet via Microsoft Dial-Up
Networking) and run a browser in the WinNT system.
I also have Win for Workgroups 3.11, which I think I could install
over Win 3.1 on the MS-DOS side of the 386, so it would communicate
with the Win 95 system the same way Win NT does, but I haven't tried
that yet.
Whether the Hungarian guy can do this partly depends on what is meant
by "Win3.1x". If that means Windows only, and not WfW or WinNT, then
something would have to be added, but I don't know what. Has he
already set up some networking? I don't quite understand what I read
about each 386 running Windows from a larger computer. If that means
he already has a network, then the rest should be straightforward.
For me, the advantage of coax (ThinNet) is that I can add on more
systems without any additional hardware, just by putting all the
machines on one coax run. For N computers, it takes N-1 lengths of
coax cable, N coax tees, and 2 terminations. I don't know whether you
could put 12 machines on one run that way - or whether the machines
are physically located so you could run coax between them.
But the bottom line is that I'm pretty sure a network will do
everything the guy wants to do - except cure the problem of not
having enough RAM on each machine to run all the programs the user
wants. On a network of you-knicks systems, you could run a program in
one machine's RAM using another machine's keyboard and monitor, but I
don't think you can do that on an MS-Windows network. It might be
important to identify which protocols and services use the least RAM,
and not load any that aren't needed.
And beyond the bottom line - I'd like to know what other other people
think, and what actually works or doesn't work.
Marty
Martin B. Brilliant at home in Holmdel, NJ
http://www.netlabs.net/hp/marty/
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