16 Nov
2021
16 Nov
'21
5:45 p.m.
Peter probably remembers this much better than I do. But back in the
80s, I was using ANF10 in Stockholm, and it was a network with more than
10 nodes. But I understood it as not everyone had a direct connection to
everyone. But maybe I misunderstood something? Otherwise I would try to
figure out how that was working. There were definitely KS machines on
there, along with some KLs, and I think one KI. :-)
Johnny
On 2021-11-16 17:34, Robert Armstrong wrote:
? Supratim and I (with some help and encouragement
from Peter) have set
up an ANF10 network between the TOPS10 nodes VENTI and TWONKY.? If you
haven?t heard of it, ANF10 (short for ?A Networking Feature? ? yes,
really!) predates DECnet (I?m pretty sure, although I?m sure there will
be debate about that) and provides mostly the same functions ? remote
terminals, file transfer, etc.? ANF10 also has remote RJEs with card
readers, line printers and terminal concentrators.
.net/anf
[ANF10 network: connected to VENTI(20), located at VENTI(20), 2 nodes]
Node??? VENTI?? (20)??? SIMH KS10 VENTI 7.04 NET??????? 14-Nov-21
Node??? TWONKY? (37)??? SIMH KS10 TWONKY 7.04NET??????? 15-Nov-21
? It?s possible to run ANF10 and DECnet both, and that?s what we?re
doing so TWONKY and VENTI are also available on HECnet.? If anybody else
has a TOPS10 system and would like to connect it would be nice to add a
few more nodes, but there is a problem.? TOPS10 supports a maximum of
two KDP/DUP lines on the KS10, and you need one for DECnet and the other
for ANF10.? That means each system can talk to at most one other ANF10
system, which limits the network size to two nodes.?? Bummer?
? There are a few options available ?
?DEC made some DNxx PDP-11 boxes that supported multiple ANF10
connections.? We could set up one of these as a router.
?Somebody could hack TOPS10 to allow more than two DUP lines.
?Somebody could write a pyDECnet type gizmo that speaks ANF10.
And there might be others that I haven?t thought of yet.? Any ideas?
Bob
--
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol