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1983-05-04
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Connect Up with ENLAN-DFS 2.0
R. Shamms Mortier
At the start of my electronic design life, I was doing OK with my two Amiga
1000s. Then I got the idea that I could connect them together, so I purchased a
CVA2B-4 video amplifier from Radio Shack, which allowed me to connect two Ami-
gas, albeit in a rather primitive fashion. After all, those were the days before the fancier
hardware and software we take for granted now was even a dream. Eventually, after the
funeral rites were offered for my Amiga 1000s, I got two A2000s, an A3000 tower, and
(finally) an A4000. The work I began to do for clients in my graphic design business
called for more and more processing power, and I couldn't afford to be in a waiting
mode while a needed system was rendering. About the time that all of these systems
went online, I realized that each had its own hard drives and other peripherals, and that
there would be times when one of the systems would need the stored data that another
possessed. I opted for ParNet, but that had some serious flaws. I could only connect two
systems at a time for instance, and some attributes of data transfer (like read/writing an-
other system's RAM) was impossible. I decided to bit the bullet and go for it.
My first major step in this direction was to purchase four ASDG (now "Elastic
Reality") RoverNet boards, one for each system. Though these come with basic soft-
ware, it was nothing close to what I needed, so I began looking around for the software
component. I chanced upon Allan Brooks of InterWorks, and he lauded the potential of
his software: ENLAN-DFS. I took the plunge, and I haven't looked back since. Net-
working, especially "Local Area Networking", has been around for a while. It started
with the need to crunch numbers faster, and has now grown to the point where digital
video and computer graphics rendering tasks are hard pressed to continue without one,
since these tasks are commonly accomplished by addressing more than one system at a
time (known as "render farming"). Since the Amiga was built specifically for video-
graphic applications, it's only natural that networking Amigas together is a desirable
way to get the job (especially the big jobs) done. Networking allows you to use storage
devices and other peripherals much more efficiently, since any computer linked to the
network with the right software can tap into any other links hard drive, printer, or other
connected external devices. A whole office networked together represents a pretty big
savings over a collection of scattered systems.
I have seen ads for ingenious networking solutions that don't take up any pre-
cious card slots, but I know that the software that drives these alternate solutions is
nothing like ENLAN-DFS. In my business, I can't afford to save pennies at the expense
of less than the best solution. The EB920 LAN Rover hardware from ASDG (Elastic
Reality) are high quality boards, tested over time by hundreds of satisfied users. These
boards have DMA circuitry, and allow data to be passed from one to the other at speeds
up to 10Mbits per second. The boards are equipped to handle what is called "thin ether-
net" or "cheapernet" transfers. There is a BNC connector on the end of the board, and it
snaps easily into an empty slot (ZII or ZIII). A BNC "T" cable is connected, and the
boards are attached together with 50 Ohm or twisted pair cabling (available at Radio
Shack), while one end of the T-bars connected to the systems at either end of the net-
work have to be capped with 50 Ohm terminators. That's all there is to the hardware
part of it.
Quality, quality, quality
To make a network operation satisfactory, you need a software manual that will
guide you through the installation process as clearly and kindly as possible, and service
from the developer for those questions that your techno-brain can't yet grasp the answer
to. This is where InterWorks comes in. Interworks now markets the 2.0 version of EN-
LAN-DFS. The first version was easy to understand, the 2.0 version is ten times as
easy. A classic point-and-click graphic interface makes the learning curve a breeze.
A standard installation script takes you through the first step, including the selec-
tion of various hardware options (the Elastic Reality boards are listed as one of those
options). Next, it is important to run the ENLAN "IConfig" program. There are three
main aspects to IConfig: naming the present "Node" (the code name of the system you
are presently using, so it will be recognized by other nodes on the network), selecting
which "resources" (hard drives, printers, etc.) will be exported for use by other nodes,
and choosing which resources on the other nodes to import. Your first system, as an ex-
ample might have a hard drive and your second system might be connected to a laser
printer. The first system would export the hard drive and import use of the laser, while
the second system would be configured to do the opposite.
"Naming" the node allows you to select which one is the local system. Naming
conventions are up to you, though we use a simple numbering system at our facilities. If
any changes occur down the line, it's easy to go in and modify the node list again, delet-
ing, adding, and renaming specific units. A "server" is a system on the network that acts
as the central provider for other nodes. On our network, all systems act a servers for all
the others, though your needs might determine that only one system acts in this role.
There are several levels of file protection possible as well. You can select a resource (a
hard drive, for instance) to be a "read only" target, thereby making it impossible for an-
other node to write data to it.
By selecting a "Wait" state when importing other nodes, the targeted node will
wait until other nodes are running in order to connect to them. This might mean that in
a twelve node network, only five of your nodes might be up. When another one is
turned on, the whole network is automatically updated. If one is shut down, the network
compensates instead of crashing, though you are presented with a warning flag on the
other nodes that must be responded to
EID
EID (Export, Import, Deport) is a special optional program that allows you to
modify the network in real time. We keep it handy on the main WorkBench screen.
"Deport" means to remove a selected resource from the network. Unless "Script Modi-
fication" is turned off when using EID, the ENLAN script will be modified, so using
EID has to be done with care. There is a "NetCLI" command that allows you to actually
execute commands on another remote node. You could, for instance, read another sys-
tems directory in this manner, or even make a new directory. A separate "NetRexx"
module allows you to execute ARexx commands on remote nodes, opening up all kinds
of possibilities. There's even a special "SendNote" function that will send a note of up
to 200 characters to selected nodes (inter office memos). A "ShowSANA" program al-
lows you to see all of the technical specs that reference your SANA-II device
(hardware).
One of the things we have become quite used to with our ENLAN-DFS network
is the exporting/importing of every systems RAM drives. This means that at any time
we can save something to RAM on one node and have access to it on all the others.
What this saves in time and aggravation is inestimable. Quite often, rendering tasks are
greatly enhanced through use of this system. We can render and save out a LightWave
scene as an RGB file and preview it in OpalVision on another node. A large part of a
hard drive on a non-LightWave node is devoted to textures, while another node con-
tains hundreds of original 3D models. All of this data is easily accessible to LightWave.
This means that Toaster 4000 owners are not limited by the two IDE drive limit, even
though the local Toaster system may not have its own SCSI drives, it can make use of
storage devices on other nodes.
Just as a person can be judged by the company that they keep, so a product can
be assessed by the companies that it serves. A selection of sites that use ENLAN-DFS
includes NewTek, the U.S. Army, NASA, a long list of schools and libraries, SCALA
International, Innovatronics, the RoboCop TV series, Innovision, Blackbelt, LightWave
animators Lee Stranahan and John Gross, CEI in Florida, IBM in Rochester N.Y., the
National Geographic Society.. and many more well known sites. InterWorks also pur-
chased the license for development and distribution of TCPIP (Transport Control Proto-
col / Network Protocol) from Commodore, meaning that ENLAN based networking can
address and incorporate most other platforms in addition to the Amiga, all on one net-
work.
Other Considerations
An Interworks site license is available from InterWorks for ENLAN-DFS that
allows you to connect up to five nodes on one network with one software package.
Additional site licences are required if your network needs to expand beyond that limit.
How many nodes is the upper limit? Would you believe over 63,000 (how would that
be for a rendering farm?). Because it addresses all of the accepted networking standards
(SANA II compliant), ENLAN-DFS also allows you to connect diverse platforms, as
long as they address the SANA standard. ENLAN-DFS is my networking software of
choice. Interworks is busy at work developing a whole line of new products, including
a Toaster solution called ToasterNet.
Oh, in case you want a rundown on what my networked systems are capable of,
here's a brief description of what the ENLAN network connects: An Amiga 2000 '030
that has OpalVision, a Polaroid FreezeFrame, and my B&W HP LaserJet IV; an Amiga
2000 '030 that is used as a MIDI music station, and which contains the LIVE board, the
One-Stop-Music-Shop, the Triple Play-Plus connector from Blue Ribbon, and a huge
database of Amiga music software and samples; an Amiga 3000T with the Toccata,
MovieMaker, a Toaster, a Picasso, DCTV, a CD-Rom drive, a 14.4 modem, and is
loaded with 44 megs of RAM; and my trusty A4000 with an Emplant Mac/PC emula-
tor, a Primera-Pro color printer, and the Retina board. Each of these systems has at least
one fat hard drive, and each system can read any other systems drives (including a Ber-
noulli removable drive and the CD-Rom). Each system's RAM disk is also available to
any other for quick data transfer. The printers are both available to all systems. Because
of the ENLAN software, there is no task that a client requires that is too big or too
deadlined. I wouldn't dream of operating without the quality help of ENLAN-DFS and
my sweet Amiga network.
ENLAN-DFS 2.0
MSLP: $349.00 per five-node license
InterWorks
43191 Camino Casillas
Temecula. CA 92592
(909) 699-8120
(909) 699-8279 FAX
Figure 1. The IConfig program in ENLAN-DFS allows you to configure the names, and
the export and Import aspects of your network.
Figure 2. Exporting and Importing resources is accomplished through intuitive interface
design.