[HECnet] ANF10 network

[Johnny Billquist]

Peter probably remembers this much better than I do. But back in the 
80s, I was using ANF10 in Stockholm, and it was a network with more than 
10 nodes. But I understood it as not everyone had a direct connection to 
everyone. But maybe I misunderstood something? Otherwise I would try to 
figure out how that was working. There were definitely KS machines on 
there, along with some KLs, and I think one KI. :-)

   Johnny

On 2021-11-16 17:34, Robert Armstrong wrote:
>    Supratim and I (with some help and encouragement from Peter) have set 
> up an ANF10 network between the TOPS10 nodes VENTI and TWONKY.  If you 
> haven’t heard of it, ANF10 (short for “A Networking Feature” – yes, 
> really!) predates DECnet (I’m pretty sure, although I’m sure there will 
> be debate about that) and provides mostly the same functions – remote 
> terminals, file transfer, etc.  ANF10 also has remote RJEs with card 
> readers, line printers and terminal concentrators.
> 
> .net/anf
> 
> [ANF10 network: connected to VENTI(20), located at VENTI(20), 2 nodes]
> 
> Node    VENTI   (20)    SIMH KS10 VENTI 7.04 NET        14-Nov-21
> 
> Node    TWONKY  (37)    SIMH KS10 TWONKY 7.04NET        15-Nov-21
> 
>    It’s possible to run ANF10 and DECnet both, and that’s what we’re 
> doing so TWONKY and VENTI are also available on HECnet.  If anybody else 
> has a TOPS10 system and would like to connect it would be nice to add a 
> few more nodes, but there is a problem.  TOPS10 supports a maximum of 
> two KDP/DUP lines on the KS10, and you need one for DECnet and the other 
> for ANF10.  That means each system can talk to at most one other ANF10 
> system, which limits the network size to two nodes.   Bummer…
> 
>    There are a few options available –
> 
> ·DEC made some DNxx PDP-11 boxes that supported multiple ANF10 
> connections.  We could set up one of these as a router.
> 
> ·Somebody could hack TOPS10 to allow more than two DUP lines.
> 
> ·Somebody could write a pyDECnet type gizmo that speaks ANF10.
> 
> And there might be others that I haven’t thought of yet.  Any ideas?
> 
> Bob
> 

-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol