FLOPPY DISK PORT BASED AMIGA NETWORK Sent By Floozie By Douglas J. Nakakihara Spectronics International U.S.A. is now shipping a terrific product called AmigaLink that allows Amigas to be networked using the floppy drive port! Now even slotless models like the A500, A1200, and CDTV can be part of a network. Although networking usually involves multiple users, single users can also benefit. Each step in the evolution of the Amiga has meant some incompatibility or another. As a result, many Amiga owners continue to hang on to them, even after purchasing a newer model. By networking them, peripherals can be shared, allowing maximum use of all hardware. PARNET Of course, many Amiga owners already rely on the freely-distributable ParNet software to network Amigas. Like ParNet, AmigaLink is also a so- called peer-to-peer network because all of the nodes (i.e., networked computers) are equals, and any one of them can access another's storage devices. A4000-Toaster owners will appreciate the fact that AmigaLink also doesn't use an expansion slot. However, as wonderful as ParNet is, it's just a toy compared to AmigaLink. A downside of using ParNet is that only two Amigas can be networked, AmigaLink can have up to 20. Furthermore, because ParNet monopolizes the parallel port, it can be a real pain using other peripherals that use this port, like a printer, scanner, or audio digitizer. ParNet also provides no access-security between nodes. Although, 20 is the recommended maximum number of nodes, that number can be exceeded, as can the recommended cable length limit of 330 feet. Apparently, the amount of interference at the network's location determines the actual maximums. But this can only be determined by trial and error. For example, using shorter cabling between nodes, may allow you to exceed 20 Amigas. INSTALLATION Although the manual provides adequate step-by-step instructions, they are spread over several chapters and the process takes longer than it should. Because installation is fairly involved, it would have been much better if the installation steps were consolidated and preceded by a brief overview of the procedures. In spite of this, I had two nodes up and running in about one-half hour. HARDWARE HOOKUP To install AmigaLink, you must first physically connect the computers. The petite AmigaLink adapter is basically a 23-pin connector with a BNC T- connector protruding from where a cable would normally exists. A removable terminating cap is attached to one end of the T-connector. AmigaLink will work with pass-through connectors and you can still have up to three floppy drives on each Amiga. Each Amiga must have its own adapter and 50-ohm RG-58 coaxial cabling is supplied to connect the them together. By removing the terminating cap, you can daisy-chain multiple computers together; however, there must be a terminating cap on the first and last nodes. The procedure is easy and you don't even have to open a computer case! The T-connector portion of the adapter is removable and you can disconnect or reconnect nodes without powering down. Connections will be re-established once nodes are reattached. However, you should never add or remove an AmigaLink adapter while the computer is running. SOFTWARE INSTALLATION The software is installed in three steps. First you must install the device driver on each Amiga. This is accomplished by merely clicking an icon and following the instructions. The manual provides detailed instructions on what AmigaDOS commands must be available for the installation script to work properly (e.g., Run, NewCLI, Copy, etc.). If the software is being installed on a floppy disk, you must delete some files to make room for the AmigaLink software. A handy list of deletable files is provided for Workbench 1.3 and 3.0 disks. Between the two, you can come up with a list for a 2.x Workbench disk. Obviously, you should use a copy of your original Workbench disk. The second step is to install the file system software on each computer. Again, this is a click-and-go procedure. During this process you will be asked for a "host" name. Each node must have a unique name, like "Dougs4K", or "CDTV1." I'd recommend that you keep names as short as possible for reasons you'll see later on (I was surprised to find that the AmigaLink device driver is SANA-II compatible (Standard Amiga Network Architecture). This means that ENVOY or other SANA-II compatible networking software can be used instead of the AmigaLink file system software.) CONFIGURING NODES Once the device driver and file system are installed on all Amigas, the third step is to run the configuration programs on each node. These programs do not have to be installed on each node and can be run from the AmigaLink floppy disk. However, I found it more convenient to copy them to my hard drives for possible future configuration changes. There are two configuration programs: Import and Export. EXPORT Export allows you to identify which devices are available to other nodes. Remember, AmigaLink is a true multi- user network. As such, you can keep certain devices private and not allow remote access. This covers all storage devices including RAM: and removable media, like floppy drives (a disk must be present). The Export settings can be saved as a default or just used for the current session. The settings file is saved in the ENVARC: directory under Networks. (ENVARC: is a standardized storage area for configuration information.) You can also save multiple settings. IMPORT Running the Import program brings up a list of the other nodes on the network, called "hosts." By selecting one of the hosts with the mouse, a list of all of its available (i.e., exported) devices appears. You can then select which devices should be mounted on this particular node. (Normally, the Export program should be run on all nodes before running the Import program.) To avoid name conflicts, Import automatically appends the name of the Host to the front of the device and volume names (Remember, every Amiga storage device has both a device and volume name, which are usually different.) For example, the device and volume names "HD1" and "Work" on host "A3000" become "A3000-HD1" and "A3000-Work", respectively. So if a node already had a HD1 device called Work, a similarly named device on a remote node could be accessed without conflict. The default names can be changed, however. The Import settings are saved in a file in the WBStartup drawer. Although this is a logical location, booting up without all nodes active will yield a slew of annoying error requesters. You can drag the Import icon out of the WBStartup drawer, but you'll have to move it every time new settings are saved. I remedied this by adding some lines to my Startup-Sequence that checks for the Import files in the WBStartup drawer and then moves them to another drawer. This works because the Startup- Sequence is executed before WBStartup programs are run. I don't know why the Import settings aren't saved in the ENVARC: directory just like the Export settings. This would allow the Import startup icon to be placed anywhere. UTILITIES Diagnostic utility programs are also supplied. One is a self-testing program which identifies hardware problems. Two other programs test the receiving and sending abilities of computers on the network. The Statistics program monitors and displays network performance information. NETWORK PRINTING AmigaLink comes with a utility program called Spooler, which allows multiple nodes to "print" to the same printer. Spooler is run on the node with the printer, referred to as a "print- server." The program monitors a user- specified directory for activity. When a file is completely "printed" to that directory, Spooler sends it to the printer port, usually PAR:, and then deletes the file. All other nodes must run the AmigaDOS CMD command, usually found in the Tools or Utilities drawer. Generally, CMD is used to redirect printer output to a file in RAM:. However, the output it intercepts can also be redirected over the network to the monitored Spooler directory. You should be able to set up multiple print-servers, each running its own Spooler. Nodes could then print to any of these servers by simply changing the CMD redirection. Do not run CMD on the print-server, however. Doing so will create an endless loop: CMD redirects data headed for the parallel port to the Spooler directory, Spooler then sends this back out to the parallel port - you get the idea. OS1.3 Although, AmigaLink was developed for OS2.0+ users, it functions fine using OS1.3 (reportedly even on an Amiga 1000). It's not as automated as under OS2.0+, so you'll have to use some CLI commands. However, you can modify your Startup-Sequence to automate the process. Remember to include the StartServer command, as the installation process does not do it for you. MY NETWORK My test network consisted of an Amiga 3000, 4000, and CDTV. The CDTV required using a pass-through external floppy drive. Since many external floppy drives, like the "official" black CDTV ones, do not have a pass- through connector, Spectronics will be releasing an inexpensive T-connector providing pass-through capabilities. An adapter for CD32 is supposedly in the works too (Note: If you don't have a keyboard for your CDTV, there are a few public domain utility programs that emulate keyboard input using a mouse.). I was extremely impressed with the AmigaLink. The network is professional and well implemented. Remote devices function just like local ones and their icons appear right on the Workbench, including "left out" icons (OS2.0+)! The network is virtually invisible. Here is where my earlier suggestion for short Host names comes into play. Volume names that display wider than their icon, will make for a real ugly Workbench! This is not a functional problem, but could become aesthetically annoying. To network a CDTV, you'll need to have a non-booting CD inserted into the unit so it will boot off the floppy drive. I was happy to find that AmigaLink handled changing the CD's. Although the volume name didn't change, I could still access it. To get the name to change you must unmount and remount the device. When I rebooted a node, I found that on remote nodes, I had to unmount and then remount any devices imported from the rebooted node. This was so, even though the Import program indicated the devices were mounted. You can click the "mounted" button twice or do it from the CLI. When there are a lot of devices, a script file to unmount devices works great. I also found a conflict between by Goldengate 486 board and AmigaLink. However, as long as I didn't try to access a device on the Amiga with the GG486 while it was emulating, all was fine. PERFORMANCE Since Amiga floppy drives are no speed-burners, I was very interested to see what kind of performance a floppy port network could achieve. The manual states that the data transfer rate is 450,000 bits-per- second, which translates to about 55 kilobytes-per-second (kbps). My best case was a disappointing 40kbps on my network, while ParNet achieved around 61kbps. However, this is only half of the story. During transfers, ParNet hogged CPU time, while AmigaLink barely required any. So although AmigaLink is slower than ParNet, it uses substantially less system resources, which could be a factor when multitasking. Still, AmigaLink is just fast enough not to cause an anxiety attack. VIDEOTOASTER FARM Spectronics is also considering releasing software to do simultaneous Lightwave rendering on multiple Amiga/Toaster systems. This is an excellent application for AmigaLink because a fast transfer rate is not a requirement. "Rendering farms" - just like the big boys (i.e., Amblin Imaging (seaQuest DSV) and Foundation Imaging (Babylon 5)) - are now within the reach of smaller 3D studios. WORTH THE PRICE This is an extremely important product for the Amiga and one that I am very excited about. At $260 for a two-node network, AmigaLink may seem a little expensive, but a functionally equivalent Ethernet-based network would cost you many times that. AmigaLink performs like a full-fledged network - albeit a little slower - and is well worth its cost. AmigaLink, $259.95 for two computers $124.95 for each additional Spectronics International U.S.A., Inc. 34 East Main St. #3, Champaign, IL 61820. Tel: (217)352-0061 . END ===