Article View: comp.arch
Article #10990Multi-User vs Network (was: Re: IBM AS/400 ...)
From: Keith Smith
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 03:27
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 03:27
59 lines
3705 bytes
3705 bytes
In article <1992Dec26.003022.25532@bilver.uucp> wbeebe@bilver.uucp (Bill Beebe) writes: >In article <id.HD1W.X03@ferranti.com> peter@ferranti.com (peter da silva) writes: > >>I'd hope it'd run pretty damn well, since we've had up to 10 users on a 286 >>doing software development... which is about 30 times slower than the 486, >>with more demanding users. >> >>Now I won't say I was happy with the performance on the 286, but the current >>systems with moderately old 386es are adequate, and our 486 box screams. > >Maybe I *really* am dumber than a box of dirt, but why, in this day of >networking, would anyone do team development on a single box when it would >appear that team development on networked single-user boxes would be a lot >more efficient? Why do we still need multi-user boxes except to support >obsolete business practices? What is obsolete about 32 people using dumb text terminals to query a customer database? What's obsolete about saving a small fortune doing it? Why network my office staff when the additional expense of equipment, and training will net $0 into the corporate coffers? What will networking get me that I cannot get with a Multi-User box (*BESIDES* the headaches with printing under NOVELL :) :) :) ). Why *NOT* do team development on a single CPU if it is quite capable of handling it? Why not go into my office, turn on my terminal & seconds later answer the login and go to work rather than wait for a PC to boot? Why not network the Multi-User box to another Multi-user box and share multiple resources on both. I've got a NOVELL site where the users all want to share a single modem (and phone line) for several different simple dedicated PC-DOS style comm packages. Under novell, I can get a bunch of redirector cards for all the PeeCees. Under Unix I do the same thing with Unlimited user VP/ix on wy-150 terminals. Net savings: Big bucks. Net hassle: MUCH less. Administration. Gimme a Multi-User setup. Mail for NOVELL. Costs extra. In fact all that DOS crap costs extra. And the APP for the NOVELL... Why it *REQUIRES* a VGA adaptor & 538K of available RAM, So forget the hot-key to mail. Oh, And those highlighted and colored *TEXT* windows, menu's and screens really take FULL advantage of the VGA adaptors and screens. *YEP*, true strides in productivity because of all that expensive *REQUIRED* hardware, And application shuffling. RIGHT. Meanwhile the wy150 folks can hotkey between 3 different sessions using mscreen (built in to SCO) and All the apps will let you shell up indefinately, If you can't hotkey straight over to where you wish to be. Oh, and the 20 DOS boxes and 5 other SCO boxes in the remote offices around NC and VA, could easily call in/out on a regular basis into the NOVELL network on the 7 HS modems I have attached without spending a small fortune on a modem server. Sure. So network a bunch of unix work$tation$? Assuming the 486DX2/66 will handle it, What are my advantages in networking? -- Keith Smith uunet!ksmith!keith 5719 Archer Rd. Digital Designs BBS 1-919-423-4216 Hope Mills, NC 28348-2201 Somewhere in the Styx of North Carolina ...
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<1992Dec28.032714.7781@ksmith.uucp>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!rde!ksmith!keithReferences:
<1992Dec21.141558.18626@rchland.ibm.com> <id.HD1W.X03@ferranti.com> <1992Dec26.003022.25532@bilver.uucp>Show Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.misc Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!rde!ksmith!keith From: keith@ksmith.uucp (Keith Smith) Subject: Multi-User vs Network (was: Re: IBM AS/400 ...) Organization: Keith's Computer, Hope Mills, NC Date: Mon, 28 Dec 92 03:27:14 GMT Message-ID: <1992Dec28.032714.7781@ksmith.uucp> Followup-To: comp.misc References: <1992Dec21.141558.18626@rchland.ibm.com> <id.HD1W.X03@ferranti.com> <1992Dec26.003022.25532@bilver.uucp> Lines: 59