WHITE PAPER

THE OPTIMUM OFFICE AUTOMATION DESIGN USING UNIX AS THE COMPANY SERVER & WINDOWS AS THE CLIENT

copyright 2001 by Larry Hoover

Presented by Hoover Computer Services, Inc. 

2205 Silverside Rd. Wilmington, DE 19810  (302) 529 7050

    This paper attempts to explain in layman's terms the simplest, most stable, versatile, and cost effective method to set up an office with a computer system achieving state-of-the-art results. It outlines the advantages of employing the Unix operating system on the company server along with various other products that will optimize the efficiency of the small to medium sized company. The common alternative to this design is to employ a Microsoft NT server, an option that requires far more expense and overhead. The suggested blueprint uses Unix as the server, PCs running Windows as the clients, and TCP/IP as the network protocol. The steps to be taken to achieve this goal along with the products recommended or required are outlined. The benefits are discussed also.

THE DESIGN IN A NUTSHELL

    In our design, the offices of a company are wired with category 5 wire which all converge at a central location within the building: a wiring closet, ideally terminating at a wiring grid called a patch panel. The patch panel is a grid of phone jacks with each socket numbered to correspond to an originating wall outlet in the offices. Located near to the patch panel is a network device called a hub, or a more advanced version called a switch. A short wire called a jumper connects each port on the patch panel to a port on the hub. The hub is the "common denominator" for all the computers on the network. Within this hub, the computers all communicate with each other by means of a protocol called TCP/IP. This is the common language for all computers, for Apple, Unix, Windows, or other, and each operating system has it's own version of TCP/IP. 

    Every computer on the network must have a Network Interface Card (NIC) installed and a wire connected from this network card to the wall outlet which, in turn, runs back to the patch panel. Thus, with four components- wire, network cards, TCP/IP software, and a hub- the computers have the capability of sharing files, software functions, printers, and other devices among themselves. This whole arrangement is generically known as "networking".

    With networking, one computer can hold all of the important and shared files for the other computers. It can perform duties such as the pickup, delivery, and distribution of e-mail for the other computers. It can also perform processing tasks and send the results to the other computers. The more powerful computer is called the "server", and the less powerful computers are called "clients". The server is equipped more comprehensively than the clients since it is the most important node on the network. It gets the fastest processor, the biggest hard drive, and the best and most attended-to backup device. It usually has modems attached to it for remote access, and dumb terminals can be attached as well.

    The strategy that we recommend for optimum office automation is to use a computer running the Unix operating system as the server and computers running Windows 95 or 98 as the clients. The Windows-based computers are commonly known as personal computers or PCs. You can add as many PCs to the network as you wish; you can also add multiple servers to the network as need arises. Adding nodes to the network is achieved by simply plugging the computers into the hub. If the hub runs out of ports, you stack more hubs on top of the first and jumper them together.

    Unix is a mature, stable operating system. Mature, in that Unix has been around as a main frame operating system since 1969. It is now available on all types of computers from huge super computers to laptops. It has been improved and updated constantly since it's inception. The Internet consists of mostly Unix and Linux (a Unix derivative) servers networked together throughout the world. By stable, it is meant that the operating system continues to run without crashing on a regular basis. Unlike NT which is known to crash with regularity, Unix servers usually stay up until the system administrator takes them down purposely. Unix servers can accommodate hundreds of simultaneous users since Unix is a true multi-user, multi-tasking operating system. 

    Windows (95 and 98) computers serve well as clients. When they crash they do not affect the rest of the network- the user simply reboots and continues working. Users can enjoy all of their graphical applications right on their desktop. Most software products are written with versions for Windows. Windows has TCP/IP included within it's operating system but it takes someone with networking knowledge to set it up. Windows integrates well with Unix as a client, but it is not an option as a server since only a single user can work at a Windows PC at one time.

    With the combination of Unix, Windows, and TCP/IP, we have found and tested several products which add the ultimate touch of usefulness to the office network. These products offer the following particular benefits:

BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN

    The proposed design provides:

1.     A stable platform for the company's mission-critical data base. Accounting and data base applications are housed and executed from the Unix server, and graphical based applications such as word processors and spread sheets are run from the local PCs. The shared data files of word processors and spread sheets reside on the Unix hard drive, while the executable programs reside on the PC.

2.     A secure, regularly backed up system, company wide. The Unix server automatically backs up every night, and all of the important data files from the PCs will be saved on the Unix drive and backed up along with it. Most people do not bother to back up their PCs with any regularity.

3.     Super-fast connections by the PCs to the Unix data bases with multiple logons allowed to each user.

4.     Remote access to the Unix data bases via modem from home or from remote sites. 

5.     Company e-mail with desirable easy to remember e-mail addresses such as you@yourcompany.com for all company employees. The mail is retrieved automatically at set time intervals by your Unix system and distributed to the employees' Unix mailboxes using only one phone connection. Users can use Netscape on their PCs or a text-based e-mail agent from a terminal to send and read e-mail.

6.     Multiple PC connections to the Internet using only one modem and one phone line. As many users as an administrator wishes to allow can browse the Internet simultaneously using this single connection.

7.     Sharing of hard drive space and files between any of the PC's hard drives and/or the Unix server's hard drive.

8.     System-wide sharing of printers. Any user on the network can use any printer on the network.

9.     The ability to copy files from one PC to another, or from a PC to the Unix system, or from the Unix system to any PC by just dragging and dropping an icon.

10.     Faxing capabilities. The fax program resides on the Unix server, the fax modem is attached to the Unix server, and anyone can fax output from either the Unix data base or from their PC applications.

11.     Cost effectiveness. Affordable by most small and all medium and large sized companies.

STEPS IN ACHIEVING THE DESIGN GOAL

    The first four items in the following list are required to achieve the first level benefit of running the company data base on the Unix server and allowing clients to log into and use the data base either within the company walls or remotely via modem. The subsequent options add additional value and utility to your office network; these can be added one at a time or all at once:

1.     You must have a TCP/IP enabled UNIX server. Ideally, this machine would have a fast processor, lots of hard disk space, and will be running SCO Unix version 5.0.5 Enterprise or Unixware 7. Without the TCP/IP capabilities, the server will not connect to a network. The Unix server must also have a large enough tape drive to accommodate all of the data on the system, and a modem attached to a dedicated phone line for outside access and service.

2.     A terminal emulation program.  Clients to the Unix server can come in two varieties: (1) dumb terminals such as Wyse-60s attached to either a serial port or to a port server, or (2) Windows 95 or 98 computers with network cards and TCP/IP enabled. Apple, DOS, and Windows 3.1 computers will not suit this networking scheme. All PC clients must have a terminal emulation program installed in them which makes the PC behave like a terminal to the Unix server. The terminal emulation program that we recommend is called Anita and licenses are sold by the number of PCs on the network.

3.    A networking hub or switch. Hubs and switches come in a large variety, including 4-port, 8-port, 12-port and 16-port options, speed options of 10 or 100 megabits per second, and other considerations. Most hubs work without much configuration. Most hubs are stackable, meaning you can easily add another one when you fill up all of the ports on the current hub.

4.     Proper Wiring. There are various types of wire available. The only types to consider at this point is category 5 or category 6. Anything less will not allow for 100 megabit per second (mps) network connections. You can pull individual wires from workstations back to the server and plug them directly into the hub, but a professional job uniting all the wires at a patch panel is the neatest, most efficient, and most versatile option. Proper wiring will accommodate both dumb terminals and networked PCs. 

5.     Unix file and print sharing software. This option allows PC clients to save their files on the Unix server, thus permitting them to be saved with the Unix nightly backup.  Frequently, there is much valuable work stored on company PCs that never gets backed up since most people do not back up their PC with any regularity. This option also allows PCs to use the Unix hard drive for other reasons such as providing a common storage space for company word processing and spread sheet documents. It also makes any printer attached to any PC available to any other user on the Unix server. The product that allows for these features is called Fusion95 and installs on the Unix server.

6.     Internet connection. Most people in small companies access the internet directly from their PC using a browser (Netscape or Explorer) and a phone line connected to a modem in their PC. If two or more people need Internet access, they need two or more individual phone lines. A sensible alternative to this is to utilize your network and reduce the number of outside lines required to only one. This is achieved by installing a device known as a LanModem on to the network. A LanModem is a hub with four ports and a built in modem, and it connects into the network by simply jumpering it to the hub with a plug-in wire. Plug a phone line into the LanModem and any computer on the network can connect to the Internet with just this one phone connection.  Many users can simultaneously access the Internet with the one dial up connection.  The LanModem comes in two design types: 56K dial up using plain old telephone service (POTS), and ISDN for faster connections.

    You must also have an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to dial into that serves as the jumping off point to the Internet. An ISP is a company that pays for an actual hard-wired connection to the Internet. It in turn sells dial up connections to it's hard-wired computer. It's connection to the Internet is very fast since it is hard-wired, but yours will be relatively slow since you are dialing up with a modem over regular phone lines. A local ISP is best. America On Line and Compuserve will not work for our purposes.

7.     Company wide e-mail. With an add-on software package, you can turn your Unix server into your company mail server. This gives you several important features:

-It allows for flexible and desirable e-mail addresses such as you@yourcompany.com rather than assigned ones like jlfinch444@aol.com. 

- It allows you to limit the service that you buy from an ISP to only one mailbox rather than one for each employee.

- It automatically collects your mail and distributes it to your employees without any human effort.

- Employees can send and receive e-mail instantaneously without waiting for modem connections to be established.

    Your Unix server will do all of your e-mail collection, distribution, and sending for you behind the scenes. It will log on to your ISP at any interval you set (e.g., hourly, 4 times per hour, or maintain a constant connection), collect any mail waiting on your ISP, and send any mail that you have queued up. You can set up as many e-mail addresses as you desire as long as you have a corresponding login account set up on the Unix server. You pay one time for the program that does this service and it performs forever at no extra charge. You can even set up aliases so that mail addressed to "sales" will go to "john" and "techsupport" will go to "jim".

    Once e-mail has been collected and is sitting on the Unix server, users can access that mail in a number of ways. One is to use Netscape on the PC. Netscape will see the Unix server on the network as it's e-mail server. The PC, with a click of "GET MSG", will log into the Unix server, grab the e-mail addressed to that user, and display it in a graphical format, including attachments of any type. For users who don't have a PC, but instead are using a dumb terminal, there are a number of ways of displaying e-mail in a text mode.

    The program that does this e-mail magic is call Fineline Mail Manager and is sold on a per-user license. Thus, if you want 10 people in your company to have e-mail, you purchase a 10-user license. When someone leaves, you can re-assign their license to someone else.

    You must establish an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) as discussed above in item 6. Finally, you must have a domain name registered with the InterNic. It costs about $100/year to register this name and any ISP can hold your e-mail and web page files. 

8.     Faxing capabilities. A fax software package can be installed on the Unix server which will allow any user on the network to fax through the fax modem which is attached to a serial port on the Unix server. This includes output from Unix based software packages or from PC applications such as Word, Word Perfect, and Excel. The PC sees the fax as another printer available by selecting from the pop-up printer selection box.