Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!yale!cmcl2!rnd!ittai
From: ittai@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU (Ittai Hershman)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Sun SparcStation as Novell Network server (ethernet)
Summary: LM/X
Message-ID: <4424@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU>
Date: 3 Aug 90 12:20:13 GMT
References: <639@ra.MsState.Edu> <1636@excelan.COM>
Organization: NYU Stern School of Business
Lines: 37

In article <1636@excelan.COM>, keith@excelan.COM (Keith Brown) writes:
> In article <639@ra.MsState.Edu> wcc1@ra.MsState.Edu (Bill Chapman) writes:
> >Does anyone have any experience using a Sun SparcStation as a Novell
> >Network Server using ethernet? 
> 
> Unlikely! The IPX/SPX protocols in Portable NetWare are implemented in
> the System V.[34] streams environment. Up until recently, SunOS didn't
> have streams support and consequently the task of porting PN to Sun's
> would have been distinctly non-trivial.

Another possible future product for Sparcs is LM/X (Microsoft
LanManager running under Unix).  HP did the first implementation, and
the OSF has announced HP LM/X as part of its DCE (Distributed
Computing Environment) Offering.  Sun is unlikely to offer the OSF DCE
(unfortunately!), but I'm sure others will port it and make it
available.

Furthermore, AT&T did their own port of LanManager, and are OEMing
their LM/X, so maybe Sun will pick that up.  It would be a logical
thing to do.

I know little of the differences between the two different LM/X's, but
the HP version which will end up in OSF DCE will be integrated with
the other components of DCE.  On the other hand, DCE is not being
distributed yet.

A footnote: LanMan does not specify a transport, as I understand it,
and so you could have (and in fact 3com has announced product) TCP/IP
as the transport between LanMan client and LanMan server.  This is
good because the client PC can then run one protocol stack and get
PC Networking (i.e. LanMan), FTP, Telnet, et al.  Which is precisely
what I would like to have.

-Ittai

PS: I guess I should also mention that you obviously can run PC/NFS
    right now and do most of what you want to do.