Software Bridge Between Mac and UNIX Solves University's LAN Dilemma

Universities have traditionally enjoyed the best of both worlds by using Macintosh computers and Sun Microsystems UNIX workstations. Both have emerged over the last decade to become the platforms of choice on most campuses; Sun, for example, outsells its nearest competitor by a two-to-one ratio. Each system offers distinct advantages to the student, faculty or staff user. The UNIX system boasts power and speed. The Mac offers unrivaled ease-of-use, thanks partly to widespread use in primary and secondary schools. The Macintosh and the UNIX workstation clearly represent disparate computer environments. In essence, these two systems speak different languages. Their peaceful co-existence on campus used to be taken for granted, with the popular attitude being "a Mac is a Mac, a Sun is a Sun, and never the twain shall meet." New Demands However, that approach has been replaced recently by a new philosophy as university network administrators grapple with decreasing budgets and increasing demand. Priority is on finding cost-effective, powerful software solutions that permit maximum utilization of existing systems. Educators now ask: "What if we could interface our Macintoshes with our UNIX workstations into a single system?" Money would be saved, the network would speed up and expensive equipment would not have to be replaced. Administrators are anxious to have UNIX and Mac systems speak the same language. This is particularly true in the development of a client/server system, where all computing services are merged onto a specific network. The server is the central data storage center; access is granted to users based on need. However, the university server is not just a "dumb storage center," but rather a computer capable of heavy-duty distributed processing, including database services for a network of heterogeneous clients, or 3D rendering of geometry created on client workstations. The UNIX server, which has earned a reputation as the ideal file server due to its fast throughput and multi-processing capabilities, has become the standard by which others are compared. Leading database companies -- Oracle, Sybase and Informix -- run on UNIX. The problem comes down to this: How d'es a university keep its fast UNIX file server and link the user-popular Macintosh into it? University Solves Dilemma The University of California at Santa Barbara has successfully mastered such client/server computing in the school's Life Sciences Instructional Computing Facility. The building has two 4/670 MP Sun systems, serving approximately 80 Macintosh clients, and also provides printer-sharing capabilities. Larry Murdock, who works in the facility, judges the marriage between Mac and UNIX a success. "Our users can print from their Macintosh systems to UNIX printers as well as from UNIX-based applications to their local Apple or Hewlett-Packard printers," he explains. "In my view, the result is savings as well as ease of access for users." UCSB has realized the benefits of redesigning their computer networks. They have seen an increase in productivity and a decrease in the cost of maintaining separate, expensive systems. Software Bridge The key factor in a successful merging of Macintosh and UNIX is selecting appropriate software. Cost-conscious universities must choose between commercial programs and that which is available in the public domain. The temptation, not surprisingly, is to go with the latter. But those tend to lack the more sophisticated and comprehensive capabilities. Two commercial offerings, uShare and Partner, by Information Presentation Technologies (IPT) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., are popular choices and are found in a diverse array of academic settings nationwide. The uShare package, first introduced in 1984, embraces client/server computing by permitting SPARC workstations to function as fully compatible AppleShare file servers. Mac users in the network, acting as clients, can access UNIX resources transparently through a native Macintosh GUI front-end. Murdock selected uShare after exhausting other options. "We needed to do file-sharing and there was no good product out there. I looked at everything, including CAP (Columbia AppleTalk Protocol). Choosing uShare was an early decision in the game." IPT also plays a dominant role in peer-to-peer networking, which is dependent on bi-directional communication. The only established way of mounting files on Macintoshes and UNIX workstations is through IPT's Partner software. A significant advancement in network services, Partner is a seamless process. The software integrates Sun's Network File Systems (NFS) with the Mac's Apple Filing Protocol (AFP). The Macintosh, in turn, views the Sun's files as if they are AppleShare volumes. Data sharing is accomplished without making copies or translating files. The result is a true peer-to-peer, bi-directional network where a user can be completely oblivious to the location or creator of data. Of special interest to educators is Partner's uMail component, which provides connection between Macs and the UNIX mail system and, in turn, the worldwide Internet. Support Issues A recent survey published in the Wall Street Journal found that schools typically spend thousands of dollars annually on support costs for each personal computer. IPT offers comprehensive support, an edge that many schools find attractive and makes the commercial package actually cheaper than its public domain counterpart in the long term. Murdock believes that was the case when UCSB picked uShare for its network. "They're very good about answering any questions." Critical Acclaim SunWorld, the magazine for advanced systems computing, did a major study in 1992 of five Mac-to-Sun connectivity systems. The study concluded: "Only IPT's Partner offers the capability for Sun users to access Mac files." IPT outranked Alisa, Sitka, Pacer and Cayman. After comparing five vendors' approaches to Macintosh/Sun integration, General Electric of Syracuse, N.Y., reached a similar conclusion. On bi-directional printing, the GE authors concluded, "This is a hands-down win for IPT. A Macintosh user can easily print to any printer in the Sun LAN as well as any Sun user can take advantage of the printers in the LocalTalk domain." Final Thoughts Speaking English or Japanese, UNIX or Mac, the goal remains communication and understanding. Software acts as the bridge. The result is more than academic. Larry Murdock believes the right software made all the difference at UCSB. For both the software and the company, he says, "I'm really quite impressed."

Featured

  • blue AI cloud connected to circuit lines, a server stack, and a shield with a padlock icon

    Report: AI Security Controls Lag Behind Adoption of AI Cloud Services

    According to a recent report from cybersecurity firm Wiz, nearly nine out of 10 organizations are already using AI services in the cloud — but fewer than one in seven have implemented AI-specific security controls.

  • stacks of glowing digital documents with circuit patterns and data streams

    Mistral AI Intros Advanced AI-Powered OCR

    French AI startup Mistral AI has announced Mistral OCR, an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) API designed to convert printed and scanned documents into digital files with "unprecedented accuracy."

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.