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60 A loose confederation of LANs w/ computer center data circuits. 48 Administrative and academic computing on separate networks.
Typology: Summaries
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DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 363 220 HE 026 830
TITLE Challenges and Opportunities of Information
Technology in the 90s. Track V: Managing
Telecommunications and Networking.
INSTITUTION CAUSE, Boulder, Colo.
PUB DATE 91
NOTE 60p.; In: Challenges and Opportunities of Information
Technology in the 90s. Proceedings of the CAUSE
National Conference (Miami Beach, FL, Novemb2r 27-30,
1990); see HE 026 825.
AVAILABLE FROM CAUSE Exchange Library, 737 Twenty-Ninth Street,
Boulder, CO 80303 (individual papers available to
CAUSE members at cost of reproduction).
PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS College Administration; *Computer Networks;
Dormitories; Higher Education; *Information
Management; *Information Technology; Management
Information Systems; Technological Advancement;
*Telecommunications
IDENTIFIERS Access to Computers; CAUSE National Conference; Image
Transmission
ABSTRACT
Six papers from the 1990 CAUSE conference's Track V,
Managing Telecommunications and Networking are presented. Topics
address such subjects as network funding, support services, access to
networks, improvement of instruction through networks, and image
transmission. Papers and their authors are as follows: "What's New in
Telecommunication?" (Gene T. Sherron); "Computer to Computer
Communications: When E-Mail Is Not Enough" (Daniel J. Oberst);
"Marketing Principles Extended: Creating a Statewide Network" (Robert
E. Zimmerman and Sandra M. Statham); "Networks Beget Networks" (Gene
A. Kemper); "Networking in Residence Halls: Participation and Impact"
(Mary Simoni and Elaine M. Hockman); and "The Integration of Voice,
Data, and Video Services via a Wide Area Network: Technical and
Organizational Issues" (Jan A. Blatzer). (GLR)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
1990CAUSENationalConference
FontainebleauHiltonResortandSpa
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MATERIALHASBEENGRANTEDBY
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UALDEPARTMENTOfEDUCATION
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EDUCATIONALRESOURCESINFORMATION
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0000110119
941norchanOttahavebeanmadetoImprove
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WHAT'SNEWINTELECOMMUNICATIONS?
GeneT.Sherron,DBA
AssociateVicePresidentofComputer&Information Resources
AssociateProfessorinInformation&ManagementSciences
FloridaStateUniversity
Tallahassee,Florida
ABSTRACT
PBXs,LANs,CSMA/CD,ISDN,FO,FDDI,andthe listgoeson.How'sa
personsupposetokeepupwithalltheadvancesincomputing,muchless
telecommunications?Thefactiswedon't!But,thislayman's terms
presentationisdesignedtoprovide youwithanupdateonthetypicalissues
andtechnologiesfacingusintelecommunications today.
Thedataforthispresentationwascollectedfrom asurveyof128college
anduniversitytelecommunicationsdepartments whichmakesit"realworld"
andcurrent.Highlightsinclude:Howdoes afiberopticbackbonefitthe
campusnetworkingstrategy?WhatdoesISDNmeanstome?WhichLAN
configurationismostpopularoncampuses?
Inadditiontothenationaldata, casebriefsofFloridaState'swillbe
interspersedinthepresentation.
INTRODUCTION
Theyearis1984.TheplaceistheU.S.DistrictCourtinWashington,D.C.The
judgeistheHonorableHaroldH.Greene.Thedecisionistoderegulatethe
teleconununicationsindustryandAT&Tconsentedtodivest.Sincethatdate,lifeonthe
campushasnotbeenthesame.Slowlyatfirst,butnowlikealocomotive,collegesand
universitiesacrossthislandaretakingcontroloftelecommunications.
Mostofusinthetechnologybusinesshaverealizedthatitisalonelyworldin
whichwelive.Weseeopportunities.Wetrytosell"management"onthem.Yetthese
areexpensivedecisionsthatwearetryingtogetthemtobuyinto.Andthetechnology
changessofastthattheyworrywhetheritwillbeobsoletebeforewegetitinstalled.
Yes,blesstheirhearts,ourbossesareuneasyabouttechnologydecisionsbecause
theysimplydidnotgrowupintheelectronicage.AndIamoneofthem.Thinkonus
kindly.We,thoseofuswhoareinmanagementpositionsincollegesanduniversities
today,grewupwiththefollowinghandicaps--ourphonenumbersweresomethinglike
"39W"andwereachedpartiesthroughanoperatoronourdial-lessblackphones;when
wevisitedGrandpa'sKentuckyfarm,weanswered"twolongsringsandashort"onthe
oak-cased,party-linephone;andthemostsophisticatedtechnologyinthehomewasa
vacuumtuberadioandwedidn'teventhinkaboutitbeingAMonly.
Isitanywonderthatyouyoung"whipper-snappers"havetroublesellingnew
telecommunicationssystemsoncampus?
THESURVEYMETHODOLOGY
TheFirstSurvey
Realizingthatourmanagersrespondwelltopeerinformation,Idecidedtoask
ourACUTAcolleaguesforsomehardevidencetoadvanceourcause.And,sincemost
ofuswanttoprogressasbroadafrontasisfeasible,Idevelopedasurveythatwould
collectdatathatcouldbeusedtodemonstratetomybossthatweshoulddothese
wonderful,new,innovativethings.Thus,intheSummerof1988,Iconductedmyfirst
surveyoftwenty-fourACUTAmembers.
The1990Survey
TheresponsetothefirstsurveywassoencouragingthatIdecidedtoseek
anotherlevelofmanagementdataaboutcampustelecommunicationsoperations.
Aseven-pagesurveyinstrumentwasdevelopedinSpring1990andsentout
somewhatrandomlyto151ACUTAmembers.Itachievedanoutstandingreplyrateof
60percent,or90respondents,andgeneratedthedataforapresentationatarecent
ACUTAnationalconference,resultsofwhichCAUSEpublishedasaProfessional
Paper.(1)
CENTREX CAMPUSPBX
49% Northern'sDMS- 34% AT&Ts25,75,85,&
DimensionPBXs
46% AT&TsSESS 29% Others:NEC,InteCom,GTE,
Ericsson
5% Others:Nova&"other" 27% Northern'sSL-1&SL-
10% Rolm'sCBX&Model
However,basedonthesepercentagesofcampusmarketshare,asafechoice
wouldhavetobeNorthernTelecomorAT&T.Andbothhavebeeninthebushiness
longenoughtogiveconfidencetothenotionthattheywillbearoundforyearstocome.
TheIntegrationofVoiceandData
WhetheritisCentrexserviceoranownedPBX,itissafetosaythatthe
overwhelmingnumberofthemaredigitalswitches.Thismeansthatalloftheinternal
circuitryishandlingsignalsinbinary,justlikeanothercomputer.Further,itcanbesaid
thattheyweredesignedtohandledataaswellasvoicecommunicating.And,thishas
beensoforadecadeandahalf.Thesalespitchhasbeentobuyoneswitchthathandles
both.
Butinfact,vendorshavehadfewtakers.Intheearlyyears,campusesacquired
dataswitchesfordatacommunicatingandaPBXforvoiceneeds.Eventodayvendors
stilltalkabouthoweasyitistorunvoiceanddatathroughthesamePBX,butthosewho
doexploitintegratedvoice/data(IVD)arefewinnumber.
DuringtheFall'88surveyprocess,itwaslearnedthatNorthernTelecomtriedto
sellcustomersonintegrationbutinpracticelessthan2percentofit'scustomersactually
acquiredtheIVDinstruments(makethat"phones").Theuniversitiesreportedaneven
lowernumber.ThetwelveuniversitieswithNorthernTelecomPBXsreportedthatonly
about1percentoftheproprietaryphoneswhichtheyacquiredweretheIVDtype.
So.howdowehandledata?
Itseemsthatwecangeneralizeourdataoptionsintothreecategories--modems,
dataswitches,orvoice/dataPBX.Fordecades,campuseshaveusedmodems
(modulator/demodulator)toconnectworkstationstocomputersviatelephonelines.
Wehavethemthatrangeinspeedfrom300bitspersecond(bps)onupto19,200or
19.2Kbps.
Inthelate'70s,thedataswitches,suchasthosemadebyGandalfandMicom,
gaverisetotheestablishmentofseparatedatanetworks.Thesesystemsusetwisted-pair
cablingandachieveddataratesof9.6Kbpsto19.2Kbps.
Finally,the"digitation"oftheswitch/PBXbroughtanimportantcapabilityto
users.WithadigitalPBX,usersgainedtheabilitytobeconnectedsimultaneouslyto
datasignalsandvoiceoravoice/dataPBX.
Now,againstthisbackground, wecanseewhatcampt.sesaredoing.
Low-speedDataviaModems 44%
SeparateVoice&DataNetworks 39%
IntegratedVoice&DataviaPBX 19%
Low-toHi-SpeedDataviaPBX 14%
Low-speedDataviaPBX 9%
Notethatthesepercentagestotalto morethan100percem.Thisoccursbecause
manyofthecampusesreportseveraldifferentwaysofhandlingtheirvoiceand data
needs.Fromthesedata,twoflingsleapto ourattention.First,thereisstilla
considerableamountoflow-speedmodemuseoncampusestoday--44percent.And,
secondly,thedataswitchesthatweresopopularfifteenyearsagoarestillverymuch
presentonthecampus --39percent.Thebighopeisthatmoreandmorecampuseswill
movetotheintegratedvoice/dataswitch,whichisacapabilitythatismoving upinto
thirdplace,or19percent.
NETWORKING
Networking.Whateverthatis!
Doingsomenetworking?Whether wecallitnetworkingorlocalareanetworks
(LAN),selectingtheschemefor yourcampusisnosimpletask.Today's
networking/LANmarketplaceiscrowdedwith atleastfiftydifferentvendors,all
claimingthattheirproductisthe oneyouneed.Further,confusionoccursbecausethere
arefewfixedstandards,defactoorotherwise.Nonetheless,
youmaybesurethatthe
simple,smallLANyouinstalltodaywillturninto alargemultifloor,multibuilding,or
multicampusnetworkatsometimeinthefuture.
TheCampusCommunicationsPicture
NotsureofhowtoasktheLANquestioninordertogetadefinitiveandclear
pictureofcampusnetworking,thequestion wasposed,"Whatbestdescribesyour
campus?"Notethefrequencyofresponsestotheleftof thefollowingdescriptions.
80Acampusbackbone
60AlooseconfederationofLANsw/computer centerdatacircuits
48Administrativeandacademiccomputingonseparatenetworks
16Integratedvoiceanddatanetwork
Asmentionedearlier,themostcuriousresponseisthatthevastmajorityofthe
campusesseethemselveswitha"campusbackbone."Yet,fromthe responsesaboutdata
rateandtheuseofdifferentmedia,thesearemostlikelycoaxial networksormaybe
evensomeusingtwistedpairs.Probablylessthanadozenofthecampusessurveyedare
usingfiberbackbone.
eachdevicetoacentralcablecalledthebackbone.Aringtopologynetworkconnects
eachstationtothoseonitsleftorright.Regardlessofthe topology--ring,bus,star,or
hybrid --everymessagecontainsadesignationaddressandeachstationonthenetwork
"listens"foritsaddressineachmessage.
LANProtocols
ALANprotocolisthesetofrules,procedures orconventionsthatrelatetothe
formatandtimingsothattwoormorepointscancommunicatewithoneanother.
Associatedwiththeprotocoldecisionisoneconcerningwhetherthesystemwillbe
baseband(onemessageatatime)orbroadband(multiple messagepassing).
Toascertainwhatwasbeingusedby campusestocontroltheirnetworks,the
surveyquestionwas,"Whatprotocolswereusedmostprevalently oncampus?"And,we
mustconfessedthatnotallpossibleprotocoloptions werelisted,inanefforttokeep
thingssimple.
ThemostcommonlyreportedprotocolisTCP/IP(Transmission Control
Protocol/InternetProtocol),withafrequencyof campuses.Itisprobablytheoldest
networkingstandardandallowsreasonablyefficientand error-freedatatransmissions.
Recallthatitcomestousthroughdevelopment attheDepartmentofDefense's
AdvanccdResearchProjectAgencynetworkprojectknownasARPANet.
WithanabundanceofIBMhardware oncampuses,itshouldnotsurpriseyou
thatIBM'sSystemsNetworkArchitecture(SNA)has asignificantpresence.TheIBM
protocolusedunderthisArchitectureisSynchronousDataLinkControl(SDLC)
protocol.Yet,whenoneasksaboutcampusLANprotocols,itiscommontorefertoit
asSNAratherthanSDLC.Recognizingthatoption,SNA wasreportedasthesecond
mostpopularoptionwith38campusesreportingits use.
Again,consideringtheamountofDigitalEquipment Corporation(DEC)
hardwareoncollegecampuses,itshouldnot comeasashockthatDECnetisthethird
mostpopularprotocolwith8campusesrepo:ting.
LANOperatingSystems
Asmentionedearlier,thetechieswhoworkonourLANsystemsdonothavea
commonvisionofthehierarchyassociatedwithLANs.So,when weaskedaboutthe
mostprevalentLAN"OperatingSystems"on campus,wewerereallyaskingaboutthe
"LANsoftware"or"LANapplicationsoftware."Oneofthesedays,wemaybeableto
usearchitecture,protocols,andsoftwareasdistinctcategoriesandpeoplewillknow
whatwemean.Inthemeantime,let'sreportthefindings on"operatingsystems."
Novell'sNetWareistheclearchoiceofLANOperating Systemswith94outof
128campusesreportingthatitisthemostprevalent oneused.
AppleTalkisinsecondplacewith62votes.Again,Digitalis inthirdplacewith
VMS/DECNet(45).Theothersinclude:DOSLANManager (18),3COMPlus(13),
andBanyanVINES(10).
ORGANIZATIONALANDMANAGEMENTISSUES
ANewFunction--Telecommunications
Priortoderegulation/divestiture(1984),campustelephoneservice wastypicallya
smalloperationdownatthePhysicalPlantDepartmentthatcoordinatedthephoneand
datacircuitrequestswiththelocalphonecompany.Atelephoneadministratorand afew
clerksrantheshow.
Duringthepastsixyears,amajorityofourcampuseshavetakenadvantageof
deregulation'sfreeeomofchoicetocreateTelecommunicationDepartments,establish
DirectorofTelecommunicationspositions,anddevelopcommunicationsoperationsthat
repr:sentthefastestgrowingorganizationonthecampus.
OrganizationalGeneralizations
Thelastpageofthesurveyinstrumentcontainedarequestfor acopyofthe
organizationalchartforthecampusdepartmentoftelecommunications.The most
challen*ingpartofthedataanalysishasbeendrawin&conclusionsandmaking
generalizationsfromthesehundredorsocharts.Anindicatorofthe newnessof
telecommunicationsonourcampusesisthefactthatlessthanhalfprovide a"printed"
organizationalchart.Theothersusedthemulti-purposeformprovidedandfilled-inthe
blanks.
Next,itwasnecessarytoseparatethecampusesintothosewiththeir own
switch/PBXversusthoseservedbyCentrex(thelocaltelephonecompany).Ratherthan
commentoneachobservation,pleasenotethesegeneralizations.
A.sindicatedearlier,thesizeofthecampusesandinturn,thesizeofthetelecom
operationfollowedtheoftencited"bellshapedCurve."Giventhisdiversity,thedata
fallsintofairlyneatgroups.Thus,thefollowinggeneralizationsrepresent statements
thatyoucanbankonasbeingthenorm.
TelecommunicationsDepartmentswithCentrexService
--Staffsizerangedfrom2to85people(anaverageof19)
--SpanofControlaveraged
--Staffsof5andlargerhadanaverageof5Operators
--20andlargerstaffsalsohadanaverageof5Installers
--Mostdepartmentheadswere"Director"Smallerones were"Manager"
--75werenamed"DepartmentofTelecommunications"
--Noconsisten9oftechnicaltitles
--Typicalorganizationwas"Business/Finance,""CustomerService,"and
"Installation&Maintenance"
TelecommunicationsDepartmentswithitsownSwitch/PBX
--SmallDepartments--Stafffrom2to
-Typicallyorganizedin2to3groupsOperator,Accounting,&Technical
-Averageof2Operators
-Directoriscalled"Manager"
(1)GeneT.Sherron,"AnInformationTechnologyManager'sGuideto
CampusPhoneOperations,"CAUSEProcessionalPaper#3,January1990,pp.26.
(2)AlanSimpson,"TheStateoftheOpticalArt,'Telephony,August27,1990,p.40.
(3)JerryFitzGerald,BusinessDataCommunications,3rded,(NewYork:JohnWiley
8icSons,1990),p.347.
(4)GeneT.Sherron,"ISDN--TakeAnotherLook,"CAUSE/EFFECT,Summer1990,
pp.3-4and"TheScopeofISDN,"Procomm,October1990,pp.41-42.
ComputertoComputerCommunications:
WhenE-MailisNotEnough
campus
networkinterconnections,permits
isinvestigatinghowcom-
puter-basedmessagingsystems
tributionlists,examinesthestrengthsandweaknesses
sourcescanplayinmeetingthisneed.
Thefirstimportantpracticaluseof aCMCSwasEMISARI(/ieEmergencyManagement
InformationSystemandReferenceIndex)developedbyMurrayTuroff fortheU.S.Officeof
EmergencyPreparednessundertheNixonadministrationin1971.This systemallowedthegovern-
menttomonitorwagesandpricesaroundthecountry,rapidlydisseminate wageandpricefreezesto
regionaloffices,andelectronicallydiscussissuesrelated toeconomicpolicy.
EMISARIformedthebasisfortheElectronicinformationExchange System(EIES)thatTuroff
wentontodevelopattheNewJerseyInstituteofTechnology.The systemoriginallyranonaPerkin
Elmermini-computerlocatedatNJIT,and wasmadeavailablenationwidethroughEDUCOM's
EDUNET,aneducationalresource-sharingnetworkusingpublicdata networksforremoteaccess.
Educationalandresearchorganizationsandindividualsmadeeffective useofthesystemforevery-
thingfromdistancelearninganddistributedcollaboration toworkbyindustrystandardsbodies.
TheEIESsystemprovedtobe arichdevelopmentenvironmentforotherCMCS's.Participate was
prototypedontheEIESsystem,usingitspowerfulINTERACT
programminganddevelopmenten-
vironment,byC.H."Harry"Stevens.Itwaslatermadeavailable onthecommercialinformation
utility,TheSource,andalsoasastand-alonesystemforuselocallybyorganizationontheirown
computers.Itsfeaturesincludedaveryrichbranchingstructureforitsconferences.
AtWayneStateUniversity,CONFER wasdesignedbyDr.RobertParnesin1975.Itisnowwidely
usedattheUniversityofMichiganwhereithas growntobecomeanintegralpartoftheuniversity
experienceformanyofthestudents,staff,andfaculty asaforumfordiscussionandinformation.
DevelopmentofaunixportofCONFERisunderway,butitcurrentlyonlyrunsundertheMTS
(MichiganTimesharingSystem)mainframeoperating system.
In1977,attheUniversityofStockholm'sQZComputingCentre,
JacobPalmecreatedtheCOM
system,apowerfulmessagingandconferencingsystemthathasbeenusedinthat countryandinter-
nationallyforuniversityandcommercialapplications.Originally designedtorunonDECsystem
10/20computers,COMwasrewritteninaportableversioncalledPortaCOMtorunonavarietyof
operatingsystems.
CaucuswasdevelopedbyCharlesRoth asaveryportableconferencingsystemmodeledlargely on
theConfersystem.ItrunsonawiderangeofmachinesfromsmallPC'stomainframesandpowerful
unixservers.Theuserinterfaceisdictionary-drivenmakingforeign languageadaptationsofthesys-
temeasytoimplement.
AttheUniversityofGuelph,AlastairMayerworked ontheCoSysystemin1983.Theresultingsys-
temwasusedextensivelythereandlateradaptedfor useinBYTEComputer'son-lineBIXsystem.It
isnowacommerciallymarketedproductrunning onunixandothermachines.
MailingDistributionListsandCMCS
AboutthesametimetheseCMCS's wereunderdevelopment,theUnitedStatesDepartmentof
Defence'sAdvancedResearchProjectsAgency(ARPA, nowcalledDARPA)wasexperirr ;ngwith
awide-areadatacommunicationsnetwork.Computers atuniversitiesandmilitarysitesvveecon-
nectedtowhatbecametheARPANET.Electronic mailsystemsoneachcomputerallowed re-
searcherstoaddressmessagestocolleagues atanyoftheotherinterconnectedcomputer systems.
2BrockN.Meeks,"AnOverviewof ConferencingSystems,"BYTE,December1985,p.169.
-2-
Theydidnotneedtologintothecolleague'scomputer,andthusdidnotneedtorequestanaccount
orlearnhowtousetheremotesysteminordertocommunicatewithusersthere. Electronicmail
soonbecameadominantuseofthenetwork,moresothanthe originally-expectedservicessuchas
remotelogin.
Mostelectronicmailsystemsallowuserstocreatepersonalizedlistsoffrequently-addressedrecipients
thatcanbecalledupinsteadofhavingtotypeintheindividualaddresses.ACMCS-like"mailing
distributionlist"facilitycanbesetupbycentralizingtheselistsofaddresses.Researcherswhowishto
keepeachotherinformedoftheirworkcancreateacentralizedlisttowhichallthemembersdirect
relevantmail.Userssendmailtoanaddressthatlookslikeauseridatthelist-maintaininghostcom-
puter(e.g."[email protected]").'Whenthehostreceivesthemailit"explodes"itoutto
eachoftheremoterecipientsonthatparticularlist.
Today'sdescendantoftheARPANET,theInternet,consistsofinterconnectednetworks,suchasthe
NationalScienceFoundationsponsoredNSFNETanditsmembernetworks,whichusethe
TransmissionControlProtocolandInternetProtocols(TCP/IP).Electronicmail,muchofitfrom
suchmailingdistributionlists,remainsanactivepartofthenetwork.Some250listsarewidelyad-
vertisedontheInternet,andmanymoreprivateonesexist.Somearetechnical,likethe"unix-wiz-
zards"listthatdatesbackto1977.Othertopicsrangefromthepractical(arecipieslist)tothe
frivolous(asciencefictionloverslist).InterconnectionswithBITNETandUUCPnetworks(see
below)provideaccesstosimilarfacilitiesonthosenetworks.
In1985,theauthor,thendirectoroftheBITNETNetworkInformationCenter(BITNIC),andIra
Fuchs,whoheadedtheBITNETDevelopmentandOperationsCenter(BITDOC),proposeda
mechanismforaddingmailinglistcapabilitiestoBITNET.Theresultingsoftware,LISTSERV,was
developedbyRicardoHernandez,anddistributedtoseveraldozenBITNETsites.Itssuccesswas
suchthatLISTSERVtrafficsoonbegantoswampthemorecongestedBITNETlinks.Inresponse,a
revisedLISTSERVwascreatedbyEricThomasoftheEcoleCentraledeParisinFrance.Whereas
theinitialLISTSERVusedasimplemail"exploder"(onein,manyout)mechanism,Thomas'sim-
provedversionmadeuseofasetofpeerLISTSERVcomputers,whichcommunicatedamongeach
othertomoreefficientlydistributethetraffic.AmessagegoingfromtheUStoseveraldozenusersin
France,forexample,wouldtransittheAtlanticonce,andbe"exploded"onlyafterarrivingata
FrenchpeerLISTSERV.Thomas'sversionalsoaddedfeaturessuchasautomatedlistsignupandre-
trievalofarchivedpostings,informationfiles,andprograms.ThecombinedBITNET/NetNorth/-
EARNnetworksonwhichLISTSERVoperateshavenearly1,700listsworld-wideinactiveuse
today.
Thesenetwork-based"distributionlist"systemsdevelopedinparallelwithcentralizedCMCSsys-
tems.Functionally,bothtypesofsystemsprovideforone-to-many(andbyextensionmany-to-
many)communications.CMCS'sprovidespecializedtoolsandfacilitiestodealwiththissortof
communication.Distributionlists,ontheotherband,arehandledbyprogramsdesignedprimarily
forelectronicmail,whichispredominantlyone-to-onecommunications.
Bothprovidetheabilityforusersatdifferent,andoftengeographicallydispersed,locationstoform
groupsbasedoncommoninterests.CMCS'susuallyrequireremoteaccesstoacentralizedCMCS.
Mailingdistributionlistsallowuserstodothiswithinafamiliarenvironment(theirlocalcomputing
environment)usingthesametools(electronicmail)usedtosupportcommunicationwithindividuals
attheirownorotheruniversities.
AnimplementationsofnetnewsfortheIBMVM/CMSopemingsystem,developedbyIrwin
TillmanatPrincetonUniversity,providedbothanetnewsreaderfortheenduseraswellasamech-
anismforreceivingandsendingnetnewspostings.TillmanalsomadeitpossibleforLISTSERVlists
tobepostedtonetnews.ThisallowedusersofLISTSERVdistributionlists,whosepersonalelec-
tronicmailboxeshadbecomeinundatedbyLISTSERVmailinglistitems,tomonitorthelists
throughnetnews.
EIES2,thecurrentimplementationoftheEIESsystem,hasbeendesignedtooperatewithinadis-
tributedenvironmentaswell.Itsso-calledUserandGroupAgentscanrunwithinthesamephysical
computerortheUserAgentcaninteractwitharemoteGroupAgentonanothercomputer,whichin
turncaninteractwithotherGroupAgentsoverTCP/IPorX.25(internationalpublicdatanetwork
standard)networks.
AtIBM,tworesearchers,RobertFlavinandJackWilliford,developedaninternaldistributedconfer-
encingsystemcalledGRAND(itspredecessorwascalledPALTRY).Thesystemwasbuilttobedis-
tributed,andhaveahighlytailorabieuserfrontend.4LikenetnewsandEIES2,GRANDisadis-
tributedsystem,andprovidesameansforcooperatingGRANDsystemstokeepeachotherinformed
ofnewarticlessubmittedtoalocalsystem.TheGRANDsystemwasbasedonIBM'sNetworkJob
Entry/RemoteSpoolingCommunkationsSubsystem(NJE/RSCS),thesameprotocolthatunderlies
BITNEThosttohostcommunications.
GRANDallowedseveral"notificationstyles"forendusersthatrangedfromaninterfacetolocalor
remotecopiesofGRANDconferenceentries,todeliveryofitemsaspersonalmail.GRANDthus
functionedasbothamailingdistributionlistexploderaswellasaconferencingsystem.
PortaCOM,aportableimplementationoftheCOMconferencingsystem,hasaNetworkInterfaCE
(NICE)thatallowsittobothsendandreceivemailfromexternalmailsystems.Inthisway,external
mailingdistributionlistscanbedirectedtoaPortaCOMconferences,oruserscanhaveitemsfrom
listssenttotheirownmailbox.PortaCOMattemptstominimizeduplicationofitemsbyattaching
uniqueidentifierstoeachmessagehandledbythesystem.PortaCOMconferencescanalsohaveex-
ternal"members,"sothatremoteusersormailingdistributionlistscanparticipateinPortaCOM
conferences.
RoleofPersonalWorkstationsinCMCS
ThedominantmodelofaCMCSisacentralcomputeronwhichthedataanduserprofilesreside.
Usersarerequiredtologintointeractwiththesystem.Thisstyleoftime-sharedcomputingpredom-
inatedwhenmostcomputerconferencingsystemsweredeveloped,andmostsystemshaveretained
thismodel.Usersofsuchsystemswereoftenlimitedtoprintingorsimplevideoterminalsatslow
(300bitspersecond)speeds.Theuser-interfacesandtexteditorsavailablehadtoconformto,orat
leasttakgintoaccount,suchauserenvironment.
ManyCMCS'susemenusthatconstantlyrepeatthechoices(somevideoterminalshadonly24lines
thatscrolledirretrievablyoffthescreen),orcommandinterfacesthatrequireuserstoremember(or
callupamenufirst)andthentypetonavigatearoundtheconferencingsystem.Editorsinmost
CMCS'saretheline-orientedstyleofeditorassociatedwithprintingterminalsthatrequireusersto
4RobcrtA.FlavinandJackD.Williford,"TheNctworkApplicationManager,"BYTE,December1985,p.203.
-5-
memorizecommandsforchangingtext,insertingtext,etc.Reflowingoftext(adjustinglinelengths
aftertextinsertionsanddeletions)canbedifficultifpossibleatall.
Aslongasthiswastheonlywaytoaccesscomputing,suchinterfaceswereatbesttolerable.Since
usershadtoaccesscentralizedcomputersforotherapplications(suchasstatisticalanalysis,on-line
administrativesystems,etc.)theyneededtobecomefamiliarwithsomeoftheaccessproceduresand
editorsanyway.Thelearningcurveforthesystems,while steep,wasatleastusefulforothercomput-
ingactivities.Todayhowever,mostusershave accesstopersonalcomputersthatprovidefarmore
flexibleeditingenvironmentsanduserinterfaces.On many,bitmapgraphicsandmouse-driven
menusprovideafarmoreintuitivemeanstoaccessprogramsanddata.
SomeCMC'sdevelopedwaystomakeuseofthegrowingpowerandintelligenceofpersonalcom-
putersthatwerebeginningtobeusedasterminalstoaccessthesesystems.OntheEIES system,a
programwaswrittenfortheApplenthatattemptedtolocallymimictheEIESsystem,andthen
buildasetofbatchedcommandsthatcouldin turnbeexecutedontheEIESsystem.Theresults
werethenrett.medforlocalperusalonthemicrocomputer.Thiswasviewedboth asacost-saver
(sincebothsystemandtelecommunicationscosts weretime-based)andanaidtotheuser(since
someofthefeaturesofthelocalmicro,itseditors,etc.couldbeusedinpreparingthetext tobe
submitted,aswellasinprocessingitlater.)
AlaterversionofEIEScalledTEIES(TailorableEIES)allowedpersonal computerstolocallycreate
itemsforuseinthesystem,includingpictures,graphics,andformattedtext5.Other "Personal-
TEIES"userscouldthenviewtheseitems, orcreatetheirownforsubmissiontotheTEIESsystem.
AccessandnavigationwasaccomplishedthroughPF-keys onthePC.ThePortaCOMsystemhas
bothaMacintosh(MacKOM)andPC(VIDAKOM)interface toitssystemthatprovidesalocalized
environmentinwhichtointeractwithPortaCOM.
Anotherapproach,takenbytheUniversityofMichigan'sInfoDisk, istobuildafrontendtohost
systemsthatinturncommunicatewitharemoteworkstationsusingadefinedprotocol.In
Michigan'scase,mailandacalendarof eventswerefront-endedwithaMacWorkstationprogram
thattranslatedsystemcommandsandstructuresintopull-down menusand"dialogboxes"ona
Macintosh.Thecomplexityofthesystemwasmaskedbehindaseriesofmenusandfill-inboxesthat
allowtheusertointuitivelyexploreandmake useofthepowerofthesystem.Totheenduser,the
systemappearedlikeaMacintoshapplicationrunninglocally.
Ineachofthesesystems,theuserisabletousealocalwordprocessortopreparetextforsubmission
tothesystem.SomeoftheinterfacesincludetheirownWYSIWYG("WhatYouSeeIsWhatYou
Get")editors,orareintegratedwithexistingtexteditors.Windowedpersonal computerenviron-
ments(suchasMicrosoftWindowsonPC's,theMacintoshinterface, orX-Windowsonunixwork-
stations),with"cutandpaste"capability cansimplifytheuseofsystemsevenwithsimple"dumb-
terminal"interfaces.
Alocalfront-endtoaCMCSallowsalogicalsplitofresponsibility.The centralizedcomputerdoes
whatitdoesbest,centrallystoreandmanagethedataoftheconferencesaswellastheinformation
abouttheparticipants.Theuser'spersonalcomputerdoeswhatitdoesbest,provideabetter,more
5StarrRoxanneHikzandMurrayTuroff,"Tew:hingComputers andSocietyinaVirtualClassroom[TM],"Proceedingi
oftheConferenceonComputersandtheQualityofLife,Auk,.iationfor ComputingMachinerySIGCAS,Volume ,
Number3,October,1990, P.70.
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