Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!anise.ac!ucbvax!VAX.FTP.COM!jbvb
From: jbvb@VAX.FTP.COM (James Van Bokkelen)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: NFS server/client hardware/software query
Message-ID: <8905151343.AA05291@vax.ftp.com>
Date: 15 May 89 13:43:28 GMT
References: <8905122053.AA00308@nike.cair.du.edu>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
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One correction: we aren't doing anything with an NFS server.  Our offering
is a DOS-based NFS client layered on top of our PC/TCP TSR transport module.

The only NFS server software for the 386 that I know of is SCO's port of
the Lachmann SysV code.

My opinion: Unless 60 clients will make your server crash because it runs
out of table space (don't laugh; you'd be surprised at the fragile NFS
implementations that exist out there), use the hardware you have.  That
kind of load, read 1024 bytes at a time (because of PC Ethernet card
limitations) won't create much more than a momentary slowdown on the server.
The .EXE files you are loading will be less than 3Mb total, so you shouldn't
need to buy a disk (I hope you have that much free).  If everyone loads
at once, then the files will get into cache and stay there for the duration
of the startup period.

You'd need to hack the server source to add check-out capability.  I haven't
heard of anyone doing it that way.

James B. VanBokkelen		26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA  01880
FTP Software Inc.		voice: (617) 246-0900  fax: (617) 246-0901