PC-Network File System (PC-NFS) Installation

The Center runs an ethernet network among its main microcomputers (and it's X-terminals) which, though generally treated as a local-area network within the lab, is in fact a subnet of the ICS Department's UNIX NFS network. Sun's PC-NFS was chosen to provide the most seamless integration with NFS, as well as some standard Internet services. Each PC and X-terminal is therefore named as an Internet host.

At this period the Center has no other in-house networking, and no servers of its own.

The interrelation of the Center's subnet and the department's services means that the Center's network manager must at times be closely involved with the department's Support group, and possibly with Network and Telecommunications Services. A basic knowledge of the topography of the department's net, both physical and logical, is highly advisable. This document cannot attempt to supply it; consultation with the Support group is necessary.

A document is available that describes the services available. It is intended mainly for those, such as perhaps undergraduate coders, who may be new to these capabilities; those familiar with TCP/IP, or Sun's NFS itself, will find most of its contents already familiar. Sections of notable importance to maintainers include the driver software and its settings, and probably the main services we now have it providing the users. Sun's manuals for PC-NFS can be found on the shelves in the lab.

NOTE: Anybody who may be working with the DOS-hosted p-System over the net should be sure to read this document.

Correspondence Archive on PC-NFS Maintenance

This is a fairly unedited archive of correspondence over the course of PC-NFS maintenance and updating, to give a more detailed perception of the subnet's development and the particular problems that have been encountered.

Some notable subjects covered:

The physical arrangements in the lab

The present layout of the thinnet cable through the lab, and the current placement of ETC's various hosts along it, are as shown in this diagram of the Center (scale is approximate at best):

The PC's and PS/2's listed:

CAUTION:This list is very likely to be outdated soon, as specifics of network connections and machine resources change. Indeed, even now (May 1994) some changes have had to be made. However, it should be a fair guideline for some time to come.

Alternatives for More Robust Network Support

The network is still relying on PC-NFS 3.0.1, although an upgrade to PC-NFS 5 has been available (though not cheaply) for many months. However, before making any upgrades, the following list of possibilities should be considered, particularly when improved integration into the deparment and campus network may result. Furthermore, as more advanced operating environments enter use at the Center (Windows 3.1, OS/2, for instance) and more applications systems are acquired which rely on their own TCP/IP-based network service (for client-server operation, for instance), the support for PC-NFS will have to become more tolerant of co-existing TCP/IP usage than it has been so far.

Packet Drivers
The packet driver collection, from Clarkson University (more recently from Crynwr Software) provides an interface to the hardware which various protocols can use in cooperation. A full description is contained in the package itself. A sharable interface may become important for the increased capacity for co-existence described above.
Virtually no experimentation has yet been done at the Center with packet drivers, even just to support PC-NFS.
the Network Distribution Interface Standard (NDIS)
This standard, originally from Microsoft, is also intended to provide a glue level for NDIS-compliant hardware drivers, and network protocols that can be bridged to the NDIS standard. An implementation has so far been available along with the packet driver system. It is successfully (indeed, invisibly) used on the MicroChannel machines that run PC-NFS; however, until it shows greater robustness for having at least some of its components loaded into memory other than the "conventional" 640K, it is probably too demanding of memory for broader usage, despite the attractions of using the same network-support arrangement on every micro in the lab.
Although the documentation for these 2 systems does not seem to show them as related, their availability in the same archive package suggests the possibility.
Alternate Vendors
"FTP" and Beame&Whiteside are two possible alternate vendors for NFS-compatible PC networking. Ideally, if pursuing alternate vendors, the support group for microcomputer networking should be consulted through the Office of Academic Computing, to coordinate with them and take advantage of whatever services they can offer.
Educational Technology Center,
Department of Information and Computer Science,
University of California, Irvine
Irvine CA 92717-3425