[Coco] Driverwire server

[Boisy Pitre]

On Mar 11, 2009, at 3:46 AM, Bob Devries wrote:

> As a further thought to that...
>
> Would it be feasable to allow the whole hard disk on the server coco  
> be used as the file system for the client coco? I'm thinking /H0@  
> here.
>
> Needless to say, there's a chance that only one hard (or virtual)  
> drive could be used in this manner.

Bob,

The only technical hurdle that I can see in your idea is that the  
server CoCo would have to respond to requests from a client CoCo at  
115,200bps under NitrOS-9 at a moment's notice.  The DriveWire  
protocol is designed to expect a server which will not loose any  
incoming data from the CoCo when *it* wants to get a sector, write a  
sector etc.  Another CoCo running OS-9 would have to spend a lot of  
time watching the bit banger to see when data would arrive, and that  
would slow NitrOS-9 on the server CoCo down considerably.  Writing a  
server in assembly for BASIC would probably work better since there  
would be no expectation for multi-tasking in that environment, and the  
server CoCo could spend all its time waiting for the client CoCo to  
send requests.

I'm not trying to discourage you from writing something, just be aware  
that this would be an issue that you would have to find some way to  
work around.

On a related note, an OSK machine would probably have enough hardware  
and software horsepower to act as a server, assuming its serial ports  
can attain 115,200 bps.  I don't recall the MM/1 being able to drive  
its ports that high, but the AT306 certainly can.

Good luck, and let us know what you come up with.

> --
> Regards, Bob Devries, Dalby, Queensland, Australia
>
> Isaiah 50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me
> the capacity to be his spokesman,
> so that I know how to help the weary.
>
> website: http://www.home.gil.com.au/~bdevasl
> my blog: http://bdevries.invigorated.org/
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Devries" <devries.bob at gmail.com 
> >
> To: <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 6:42 PM
> Subject: Driverwire server
>
>
>> Boisy,
>>
>> Have you ever considered writing an OS9 driverwire server, so that  
>> a hard disk based coco can be a file server for a diskless coco?
>>
>> I'm sure a few of us have multiple coco's of various types, and  
>> would maybe be able to set them up this way.
>>
>> Hmm, maybe I need to study the protocol, and see if I understand it  
>> enough to write a server in OS9 C.
>>
>> --
>> Regards, Bob Devries, Dalby, Queensland, Australia
>>
>> Isaiah 50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me
>> the capacity to be his spokesman,
>> so that I know how to help the weary.
>>
>> website: http://www.home.gil.com.au/~bdevasl
>> my blog: http://bdevries.invigorated.org/
>
>
> --
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