A lot of LANs have been setup in the campus recently. Most of them are running Novell Netware, which requires one or more dedicated servers. Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, however, provides networking services in another form, known as "peer-to-peer networking". It is cheaper and simpler than Novell Netware for members within a small workgroup to share data files, applications and printers. In her first release, the product has a number of bugs and shortcomings. The following sections will probably help you to figure out whether you are a potential user.
In a peer-to-peer network, there is no dedicated file server. Every machine on the LAN can be the client and/or the server. Applications and data files can reside on any machine and can be made accessible by others. Thus, John may use the copy of WordPerfect which is on Mary's machine to edit a document and print it to a printer connected to Peter's machine. At the same time, Peter may be using PageMaker to merge the documents residing on John and Mary's machine. He may later choose to print to the color laser printer connected to Mary's machine for a high quality output.
Information like price lists, meeting agenda and company records, which are usually maintained by one person, can be shared among the workgroup members easily and flexibly.
Printers can be shared in a similar manner. Windows for Workgroups will handle queuing of print jobs and allow users to check the status of their jobs.
And that's not all! Fax modem can be shared using appropriate software such as PureFax or WinFax Pro. Theoretically, CD-ROM drive can be shared, but I experienced a machine crash when the CD-ROM was being accessed from another machine. The sharing of CD-ROM drive seems to be more stable in Windows NT, even in the March 93 Beta version.
Schedule+ helps you to schedule group meetings. You can browse the schedules of other members in the workgroup to find a common empty time slot. The schedule is maintained in the form of a filofax (figure 4). It is easy to maintain the task list and the daily schedule. But it might take you some time to learn the mechanism of scheduling workgroup meeting. Do not expect Schedule+ to replace your filofax. Features like project planning, personal notes & expenses, and telephone directory have to rely on other utility programs, such as MS Project, Notepad and Cardfile. Nevertheless, Schedule+ is one of the first workgroup schedulers available in the competitive market, and more features would be expected.
Another really interesting application is Chat. It allows users exchanging messages in real time, just like conversing over a telephone. If you have a sound card installed, you will hear your 'telephone' on the screen rings when someone calls you using Chat.
A tool called WinMeter is provided to monitor the loading of resources sharing; users can use Control Panel to modify the priority of resource sharing (figure 5). According to my experience, files and applications sharing does not place a huge loading on the machine since there should be only a few users requesting data from your own machine at a time.
As a product in her first release, it is already quite reliable. All the applications that run on Windows 3.1 can run on Windows for Workgroups. Several times I experienced system hang up with a message showing that there is a problem in sharing files. So remember to save your documents regularly.
The file server in a Novell Netware LAN must always be turned on so that users can be connected to it. The same holds true in Windows for Workgroups. The shared directories, data files and applications on a machine will be available to other users only if that machine is powered on. Since that machine is not a dedicated server, someone may be running applications on it. If the machine hangs up, the connections from other machines will be broken and data may be lost. Fortunately Windows for Workgroups is clever enough to reduce the risk by re-establishing the connections once the machine is restarted. Generally speaking, Windows for Workgroups is quite stable and reliable.
For a small workgroup (around 20 members, not geographically separated), Windows for Workgroups is an economical choice that allows you to share applications, files and printers. The cost of buying Windows for Workgroups licenses is much lower than buying Windows licenses, Novell Netware and a dedicated file server PC.
DOS users who do not use Windows applications can access the shared directories using Microsoft Workgroup Connection. As Windows is becoming a desktop interface standard, the need for Workgroup Connection will considerably be low.
For environments that involve lots of users, where user accounting, disk quota and security issues are important, Novell Netware or Windows NT may be a better choice as a server for central administration. If you are planning to go for Windows NT, current investment on Windows for Workgroups will still be worthwhile since Windows NT allows Workgroups connections.
Anton Lam