A self-service PC-LAN-or-how many ways are there to insert a diskette in a drive?
Alan N. Federman · 1988
Indiana University - Purdue University at Fort Wayne has established a self-service PC-LAN for use by faculty, students, and staff. The cluster consists of 15 IBM PS/2 Model 30's, 6 IBM XT's, and two IBM Proprinters. The machines all have IBM token ring cards with auto-boot ROMs from Novell. As in most public institutions, it is much easier to get funding for equipment than it is for personnel. We simply do not have the staff to check-out diskettes. The PC's are connected to a AT type server running Novell Netware. The auto-boot feature eliminates the need to supply boot disks. A student can come in at anytime to do a class assignment or word processing. The server truly is just that; it dishes out the software to the user via a menu. Students who wish to save data must use their own diskettes.