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- Path: sparky!uunet!stanford.edu!agate!ucbvax!GILBERT.YCC.YALE.EDU!Howard
- From: Howard@GILBERT.YCC.YALE.EDU (Howard Gilbert)
- Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ibm
- Subject: NETBIOS from/to VM possible? PVM/PC?
- Message-ID: <9207282035.AA0069@gilbert.ycc.yale.edu>
- Date: 28 Jul 92 18:12:00 GMT
- References: <9207281934.AA0036@gilbert.ycc.yale.edu>
- Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
- Reply-To: BITNIC IBM-NETS List <IBM-NETS%BITNIC.BITNET@cmsa.Berkeley.EDU>
- Distribution: world
- Organization: The Internet
- Lines: 34
-
- >Has anyone seen any IBM NETBIOS implementations from VM or MVS?
- >Or know what "PVM/PC" is?
- >Or what the "PSCA device driver" for PVM is?
- >Does this product(?) offer NETBIOS PC to Mainframe communications?
-
- PVM/PC is an obscure PRPQ developed by IBM at Yorktown
- Research. It provides communication between CMS users and PC programs
- through the PVM program product. While it may at first look like
- "NETBIOS on the mainframe" there is a stronger argument that it is "IUCV
- on the PC." It does run on NETBIOS (the client PC communicates NETBIOS
- to the 8232 which then talks to PVM as a simulated CTCA). However, this
- requires a dedicated 8232 processor (ie one of the two AT boxes that
- make up an 8232 CU) since the PVM/PC code does not coexist with other
- (usually TCP/IP) uses of the same unit. However, one AT can run PVM/PC
- while the other supports TCP/IP, both within the same 8232 rack.
-
- The PCCA (sic) was the prototype of the 8232 control unit which in turn
- was the predecessor of the 3172 control unit. This device driver allows
- two VM mainframes to communicate PVM to PVM using a LAN. It also allows
- a CMS user to communicate with a PC using the PVM/PC API.
-
- While the function works, this is strategically a dry hole. In current
- usage one would either use TCP/IP or APPC (CPIC) for communications.
- At this late date I would have expected PVM/PC to have been withdrawn.
-
- Several IBM research projects at Yorktown and Raleigh have explored
- multi-transport arrangements. Although the primary thrust might be
- sockets-over-SNA and SNA-over-sockets, NETBIOS is ususally grandfathered
- in to such designs. No product has been produced. The simple fact is
- that there are relatively few PC based clients or servers which were
- written which depend on the NETBIOS program interface. Generally LAN
- Manager/LAN Server is the only important NETBIOS user, and its SMB
- control blocks could be (and are) just as easily transmitted over
- sockets, APPC, DECNET, Appletalk, or OSI.
-