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Networking
Long ago (at least in terms of the history of electronic data processing)
having two computers at the same time was something you read about in science
fiction novels. As systems became more common, the time eventually arrived when a company
or university would have two computers. The need then arose that data be
exchanged between the two machines. This was the beginning of
SNEAKER-Net (Slow, Non-Electrical Activity, Keeping
Everyone Running), which was developed in the 1950s. With SNEAKER-Net, the
technician copied data onto a tape or other media and, using his sneakers,
ran the tape over to the other machine to be loaded. In many organizations,
SNEAKER-Net is still employed today as this is often the
only type of network some people think they can afford.
In 1976,
researchers at AT&T Bell Laboratories came to the rescue. This was the
development of a serial line protocol
to exchange data between UNIX
machines, which came to be known as UUCP, for
Unix-to-Unix Copy. Over the years there were several changes, upgrades
revisions, etc. In 1983, AT&T released a new version that came to be known as
Honeydanber UUCP, as it was
developed by Peter Honeyman, David A. Nowitz and
Brian E.Redman.
Although, UUCP
was a good thing, system speed was limited by the serial line
connecting the two computers, the slowest component of the system. Since the system could only be as fast as its
slowest component, there needed to be a way to speed up that slowest component.
Well, serial line speeds increased, but that still was not enough. In the 1970s,
Xerox came out with Ethernet, which made high speed communication
between computers possible. It was now possible for users to access remote
computers and expect response times comparable to being logged in locally, rather
than experiencing delays as was common with the serial line communication of the
day. (We'll get into more details on Ethernet later.)
Today, both are still widespread. Although prices have dropped to the point
that Ethernet networks are commonplace (I even have one in my house),
UUCP is still used regularly when
distances prevent other types of connection, or when the connection is going to
be quick or short term and the administrator
doesn't want the added hassles of first installing the Ethernet
cards.
Unfortunately, going into details about UUCP
is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
Therefore, I leave it to you to take a look at the UUCP
HOWTO
if you are interested in configuring UUCP.
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