Xref: utzoo comp.protocols.misc:1095 comp.os.cpm:4367 alt.folklore.computers:7072 Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!munnari.oz.au!sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au!levels!etrmg From: etrmg@levels.sait.edu.au (What a Guy!) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.misc,comp.os.cpm,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Early microcomputer networks Message-ID: <15686.27426844@levels.sait.edu.au> Date: 15 Nov 90 10:04:52 GMT References: <1990Nov12.232142.16577@ddsw1.MCS.COM> <1990Nov13.210141.28709@en.ecn.purdue.edu> <1990Nov14.175037.1497@eng.umd.edu> Organization: Sth Australian Inst of Technology Lines: 40 In article <1990Nov14.175037.1497@eng.umd.edu>, hsu@eng.umd.edu (Dagwood splits the Atom) writes: > In article <1990Nov13.210141.28709@en.ecn.purdue.edu> milton@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Milton D Miller) writes: >>In article jim@baroque.Stanford.EDU (James Helman) writes: >>>I remember people having Corvus disk systems on their Apple II's >>>around 1980. >>Well, let's see what I can rember. We had one of these installed in >>high school... The lab was installed in 1982; I graduated in 1986. > ... >>What I rember was 3 stackable boxes about 9x15" of various heights, >>one was the network interface (2-3" high), one was the VCR backup >>attachment (one board in a 1" case), and the disk itself > > Sounds like a Corvus Constellation setup with the Corvus Mirror VCR backup > device. Who says videotape data storage is a new idea :-) > > Someone actually bought a Mirror? Wow. > Well, like I said, the Ozzie company here (my previous employer BTW :-) ) had the Omninet. . . They had one 10M server and a mirror, which was not utilized; It was just 'around'. Anyways - - You could run Different net OS'es on it. Since it was basically RS-422, I guess the specs were pretty easy to find. Our problem was that we had the Constellation II software, an upgrade I assume from the C I product. It used pipes to send files & things between apples & IBM's, etc. . . I have seen a card since for an NEC APC (!?) Talk about a beast. . . Well, that was basically our problem; because Novell had a package of Netware to run on the Omninet. Unfortunately, we had the CII software from Corvus, which had just gone under. I couldn't find anything to help me use the system and the rest of the site (Winery) was going headlong into Appletalk and since Mac IIcx's, I got frustrated and left. How can you do control on a shoestring like that? It would have been nice to do Arcnet. I understand that's a good deterministic system. Would have been just right for controlling gear remotely, although there was another net (by Proteon?) called 10-net ??? I was impressed by that. What has happened to it? I could seal off sections of the net and if connections where completely broken, you'd have two separately operating systems Sounded great, but was $$$. . . Ronn