Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!BillW@SU-SCORE From: William Chops Westfield Newsgroups: net.micro Subject: Kermit as a file server Message-ID: <7543@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Fri, 18-Jan-85 21:38:08 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7543 Posted: Fri Jan 18 21:38:08 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 23-Jan-85 08:44:26 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 41 In recent RFCs about micro-computer networking, it was pointed out that KERMIT was inappropriate for general purpose communications, being very specialized for file transfer. The KERMIT developers agreed with this view. In the respect that a file server could mean just a system that makes files available for downloading, and a place to store files indefinately, KERMIT is certainly that already. However, A file server is usually required to do more compliacted things - such as downloading a single record for updating, transparent access from programs, and so on, and I doubt whether KERMIT would be able to do this without a great deal of work, and even then, i dont think it would be very good at it. At the last DECUS, there were two software vendors with products that did a much more complete job of implementing such tools. Here is a segment from my trip report on that DECUS: ------------ Micros and LSM machines. There were two interesting products from 3rd party software developers that achieve quite similar ends. MOBIUS, from FEL industries, and RAF from (Datability) both provide transparent mainframe file access from a micro - you define a new disk drive to be the mainframe, and then any program can access files on the mainframe just by referencing that drive. A complete system call interface is provided, so that these offer "remote file access" instead of just FTP - only the relevant data is sent over the serial line. MOBIUS provides a facility for defining microcomputer commands that run mainframe program (type MM on you micro, and it runs the program on the 20, drops you into terminal mode, and drops you back to the micro when the program exits). RAF provides a remote procedure call system, so that datatreive programs (for example) can do the terminal IO intensive parts of their work directly on the micro. Both programs do data compression and error checking and so on, and claim to work reasonably over a 1200 bps connection. Both run on 20s, Vaxen, and MSDOS machines. MOBIUS also works under CPM. A phone number for FEL is (802)348-6644, I dont have a phone number for datability handy... Enjoy BillW