🚀 go-pugleaf

ATK/VMS is available through Apple (just the base product) as a developer
product (ie you can't get it straight off the shelves of your local
Computerland). I'm not sure exactly HOW available it is, but to get that
information, a product description, and the basic architecture documents,
contact:
Bob Wohnoutka
Apple Computer MS/27-C
20525 Mariani
Cupertino, CA 95014

and ask about the Appletalk/VMS product.

For additional services other than the base product, contact:
Alisa Systems
221 E Walnut St, #230
Pasadena, CA 91101
(818) 792-9474
TLX  88-1268 ALISA SYSTEMS

Alisa offers, in addition to the appletalk implementation licensed from Apple,
laserwriter spoolers, printing directly from the Vax to the laserwriter via
a print symbiont, an "experimental" appletalk terminal package (connecting
via CTERM) and an MFS file server using the VAX as the disk.

The software supports connections via hayes half bridge, ddcmp, and ethernet.
The best way to connect macs is also to have the Kinetics Fast Path
Appletalk/Ethernet bridge, which encapsulates appletalk packets into
ethernet and deals with the addressing issues.


We have much of the Apple campus connected using this software, Phonenet,
standard appletalk cable, ethernet, and through the phone switch, and
are working on other connections as well. 

The basic architecture is that of a bridge process, which supports multiple
"ports", each port being a different i/o mechanism (ethernet, ddcmp, etc),
a VMS driver, which is responsible for actual reception/delivery of packets,
and which creates the virtual network. This implementation differs from some
other appletalk implementations on hosts in that a process can "attach" to
the virtual network and become a node on an appletalk, completely transparent
to other nodes, real or fake. In addition, many different "transport" layers
are supported. No polling is necessary from the application as everything
is driven by queues and AST's.  
 
The software is, i think, quite reasonably priced, and works very well.
Hope this helps

-- 
peterz
--------------------------------------------------------
I demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!

CSNET:   pz@apple
UUCP :   {sun,voder,nsc,dual}!apple!pz
SNAIL:   20525 Mariani MS/4Z Cupertino CA 95014
BELL :   (408)973-2920 / (408)280-5153