The lab contained 15 Macintosh SE 20MB workstations connected to a Mac SE 30 80MB server, using AppleTalk networking software and Farallon
PhoneNet connectors.
With the wide area router and
PhoneNET connectors, Ferneding provides 168 school buildings with more than 3,000 LocalTalk connections, giving everyone the chance to explore the Internet and use its services.
One of the Macs is at the far end of our of building and the distance exceeds LocalTalk's limitation of 1,000 feet, so we connected this Mac to the network using plain Belden cable and Farallon's
PhoneNet, which has a limit of 3,000 feet and can coexist with LocalTalk.
"Long distance costs bite hard into the pocketbooks and profits of ordinary Canadians and businesses," says PhoneNet Communications CEO Marc Serre.
Using existing telephone and Internet lines, PhoneNet permits customers to make long-distance calls at a rate lower than other telephone providers because the calls are placed over the World Wide Web.
The Apples are served by a Macintosh Server that runs AppleShare and Aristotle, a menuing system for easy access to all the programs, over a Farallon Phonenet system comprising 1,200 feet of cable and two concentrators.
Phonenet; Farallon Computing, Inc., Alameda, Calif., (800) 959-7761.
Software used by Risk Management includes Excel, Fourth Dimension, Microsoft Word, and Appletalk Network using
PhoneNet.
On the data side, three wires would be connected for the terminal users and two wires for LocalTalk connections (actually, we use Farallon
PhoneNet connectors).
Brown has standardized on the IBM broadband PC Network (on BRUNET), PhoneNET (for AppleTalk) and Ethernet, is evaluating the IBM Token-Ring Network, and may install fiber-optic cable in sections of the campus.
AppleTalk monitoring tools include Farallon's PhoneNet utilities (CheckNet, StarCommand DA, Traffic Watch), Peek, NetWatch and InterPoll.
LocalTalk and
PhoneNet are variations on the original AppleTalk theme.