Microsoft Windows for Workgroups V.3.1

 

Connection = Sharing

Local Area Network (LAN) is now an essential component in office computing. Along with connection of different machines comes sharing, may that be of files, printers or CD-ROM drives.

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.

 

Workgroup Computing - More Than Sharing

Connecting machines not only enables files and printers sharing, communication among workgroup members is also improved through the use of electronic mail and scheduling software. You neither need to walk ten kilometres away to stick a memo on the desk of your colleague who is temporary away from the office, nor waste a lot of time finding a common empty time slot for a group meeting. Communication and sharing are the two basic functions towards collaborative workgroup computing.

 

Dedicated Server vs Peer-to-Peer

In a Novell Netware network, one or more PCs must be setup as file servers. They are dedicated to serving requests from other machines (clients) on the LAN. High capacity hard disks are attached, with all user applications stored. Each user on the LAN must have an account in order to connect to the servers, use the applications and printers, and access data files.

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.

 

Sharing Files, Printers and Other Peripherals


In Windows for Workgroups, files are shared on a per directory basis. In figure 1, the directory C:\PUBLIC and all its subdirectories are shared. To access shared directories, a user simply browses through all the available shared directories in the File Manager and selects the one he/she wants (figure 2). The selected directory is then mapped to an available drive letter (F: in this case) and the user can access it as a local disk drive.

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.

 

Mail, Schedule and Chat

Simplified versions of Microsoft Mail and Microsoft Schedule+ are included in Windows for Workgroups. Mail lets you send electronic messages within the workgroup (figure 3). However, you cannot send to or receive from networks through other mail protocols such as SMTP. With appropriate hardware, and software such as Sound Blaster and Microsoft Excel, you can embed voice, graphics files and worksheets in one single message.

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.

 

System Administration

Since there is no central file server, the system administration work has to be done on individual machines. Fortunately, the software configuration of the network, printers and shared directories are quite simple (at the cost of lacking sophisticated administration tools and methods found in Novell Netware). A user with some experience will be able to maintain his/her own machine.

 

Security, Performance and Reliability

Windows for Workgroups employs a primitive approach to enforce security in accessing shared directories. For example, it cannot selectively share files under one directory tree. What you can do is to share all or none of the files under that directory tree. Moreover, the messages in Mail can be accidentally deleted by anyone on the LAN. This is a common pitfall found in non-client-server mail system such as Lotus cc:Mail. Nevertheless, Windows for Workgroups enforces the basic security measures needed by a small workgroup.

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.

 

Connecting Other Networks

Windows for Workgroups can be run with or without Novell Netware and Microsoft LAN Manager. That is, you can simultaneously connect to a Netware or LAN Manager server while other machines run Windows for Workgroups. You can also access Internet using PC/TCP (a separate product from FTP Inc.) in Windows for Workgroups.

 

Conclusion: Opening More Windows

Windows for Workgroups is Microsoft's strategic move towards a Windows network with a Windows NT server. Windows 3.1 provides the graphical environment, Windows for Workgroups 3.1 provides simple networking functions and Windows NT 3.1 provides sophisticated server and distributed processing functions.

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
anton-lam@cuhk.edu.hk