Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!bpa!temvax!pacsbb!jlongen
From: jlongen@pacsbb.UUCP (joseph  longenecker)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: (none)
Summary: Hook up of multiple Apple IIgGS's to a SCSI Hard Drive
Message-ID: <493@pacsbb.UUCP>
Date: 5 Dec 88 05:16:41 GMT
References: <8812020516.aa00427@SMOKE.BRL.MIL>
Organization: PACS - Philadelphia Area Computer Society, Penna.
Lines: 48



>Path: ..!ALASKA.BITNET!FFDDO (David Oberhart @ The Internet)
>FFDDO@ALASKA> >CIS 72047,1004 
>Does anyone know if you can hook two IIGS's up to one SCSI hard
drive? 
>Can they share the data on the disk at the same time? 

Yes you can link up to three GSs' to a CMS hard drive from CMS
Enhancements Inc.  Telephone 714 259 9555.  To make the drive safe
for accessing without crashing, you will have to partition the
drive into as many volumes (drives) as you have computers
connected.  

With three computers on a 20 Meg CMS Drive, you could make the
first volume 10 Meg, and on this you would store the applications
for all three computers.  The second and third partitions would be
5 Meg each.  The first computer would able to read and write data
to the 10 Meg and read only from the first 5 Meg.  The second
computer could read and write to the first 5 Meg and read only from
the 10 Meg.  The third computer could read and write to the second
5 Meg and read only from the 10 Meg.  

Since there seems to be no protocol on the CMS hard drive for
locking out the other computers when one computer is writing to a
volume, it is imperitive that the system be set up so that each
computer can write to only one volume.  However, I'm not quite sure
just why each computer could not read from all three drives, but
the documentation seems to indicate that they can't.  One
limitation is that you can run the complete cable only about 20
feet before transmission breaks down.  In a modular office or in a
schoolroom, this probably would be OK. 

The 20 Meg CMS Hard Drive will set you back about $650.00 including
the SCSI Board.  I have a 20 Meg CMS, and it works like a charm,
but our other offices are too far away to network.  Rats! 
Incidently CMS Enhancements makes a model which can be taken abroad
and used on 50 cycle 220 Volts.  All that is needed is a simple
transformer down to 110 volts, the cycles are not critical.

Of course, if you have a few thousand clams to spend, Corvis used
to make a networkable Hard Drive for the Apple IIs.  I believe I
read recently that they are still producing them.  

Hope this helps.

Joseph Longenecker  
UUCP Path:  rutgers!cbmvax!temvax!pacsbb!member