UNIX as a PC file server

[jc at cdx39.UUCP]

In article <111 at eli.UUCP> geller at eli.UUCP (David P. Geller) writes:
>Has anyone crafted a simple fileserver mechanism using a fairly
>generic version of UNIX and one or more PC's. I'm looking for
>something that is close to being functionally equivalent to
>Suns NFS-PCNFS environment without a LAN - using serial lines.
>This would require, I imagine, the following:
>
Well, a few years ago, I worked briefly with some people who had
one of those cute little floppy drives that talks across a 9600
baud serial line, plus a PC whose BIOS understood such a floppy.
I wrote a Unix daemon that talked on a serial port and acted like 
the floppy, so that a file on the Unix system could be used as a
"disk" on the PC.  Inserting a new disk was easy; you just killed
the daemon and re-started it with a different file name on its
command line.  Given a manual that described the floppy's line
protocol, it was quite easy to write.

You asked if anyone has crafted such a thing.  It's a good thing
that you didn't ask if I could send you a copy, because I'd have
to disappoint you.  That was a while ago, and for a different
employer.  But if you can get ahold of the PC interface for such
a serial-line disk drive, and a readable manual for it, there
should be few problems writing it yourself (after you learn how
to do raw I/O on the serial port :-).

-- 
	John M Chambers			Phone: 617/364-2000x7304
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