Virtually all peer LAN products use DOS to access files on the server's hard disk, but DOS won't be with us forever. Microsoft has even hinted that it may not develop new versions of DOS in the future. Although the products reviewed here add peer networking to a DOS or DOS-and-Windows environment, the future of peer LANs may rise or fall with the success or failure of OS/2 and Windows 95 (formerly known as Chicago).
IBM includes a peer-to-peer feature in its new OS/2-based LAN Server 4.0 product, Microsoft promises peer networking in Windows 95, and Artisoft should soon release LANtastic for OS/2. (Windows NT offers peer-to-peer support, and a combination of Unix and NFS (Network File System) can be used to create a peer arrangement. But Windows NT and Unix remain too large and resource-hungry to be considered desktop operating systems.)
The
peer-to-peer feature of LAN Server 4.0 lets OS/2 workstations easily access each other's hard disks and printers with just a click of the mouse on the Workplace Shell-aware LAN Server icons. Similarly, Windows 95 offers GUI-driven resource sharing, but it emphasizes the ability to browse the LAN to find a resource to which to connect. LAN Server, with an attitude that's a bit more conservative and staid than Windows95's, is based on the principle that you should connect to the LAN resources when you first log on to the LAN--browsing is discouraged. Windows 95 will be able to network right out of the box, but you must buy both OS/2 and LAN Server to achieve IBM peer networking.
LANtastic for OS/2 was in beta test as I wrote this article. Code-named Sidewinder, the LANtastic for OS/2 product will enable DOS, DOS-and-Windows, Macintosh, and OS/2-based workstations to connect to a file server that's running OS/2. You'll be able to add LANtastic for OS/2 to an existing LANtastic LAN, as long as the worksta
tions use version 5.0 or later of LANtastic. The combination of LANtastic and OS/2 should let you create interesting and useful client/server environments.
Peer into the Future
