Testing of PC and MAC Application Servers in DIS-II To: "E - All WRD Employees" Subject: Memo on PC/MAC software testing/support Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 07:24:50 -0500 From: "Gloria J Stiltner, Chief, DIS Suprv Hyd, Reston, VA" In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 445 MEMORANDUM November 3, 1995 To: All WRD Employees From: Gloria Stiltner Chief, Distributed Information System Program Office Subject: Testing of PC and MAC Application Servers in DIS-II The purpose of this memo is to provide information on the Distributed Information System Program Office (DIS) sponsored testing of MS-Windows and Apple Macintosh software servers, and to solicit your input as to what software to test and what functional needs should be considered for testing purposes and ultimately what personal computer (PC) and Macintosh (MAC) software should be supported in the DIS computer environment. The DIS Program Office has been investigating new technology to provide an interoperability solution for using popular PC and MAC third-party software with UNIX X-Windows. This solution for supporting PC and MAC software is being investigated to minimize the increasing number of hardware platforms and operating systems to be managed by Water Resource Division (WRD) computer support and to provide newer versions of the PC and MAC software to the users of this software. The solution will familiarize support staff and other personnel with PC and MAC software in order develop a policy on levels of WRD support to be provided to PC and MAC users. The WRD has a large investment in UNIX hardware and software applications developed in-house and designed to run with X-windows. WRD users have been purchasing PC and MAC hardware to run software not available on the UNIX platform. Also, cooperators often require specific spreadsheet, wordprocessing, and hydrologic programs that are only available on a PC or MAC. With a MS-Windows server in the DIS environment, users can keep their current UNIX workstation and access software developed specifically for the PC environment. MS-Windows and MAC servers can be application servers within an office environment and eliminate many of the costs associated with maintaining a large number of individual PC's or MAC's software configurations. This approach can provide maximum flexibility with minimum support. An example of how this technology might benefit WRD users is the use of spreadsheet software. Results of the recent DIS Survey of Spreadsheet Software Usage indicate that the most widely used package among WRD users is Excel, followed by Tactician, Lotus, and QUATTRO PRO. However, the only package currently supported on the Data General (DG) is Tactician. The use of PC and MAC application servers within the DIS-II system could provide users with convenient access to the popular spreadsheet packages without ever leaving their X-Windows seats. Current list of software to be tested on the MS-Windows NT server: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- PC SOFTWARE--current or appropriate revision ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Adobe Illustrator ArcView CorelDRAW FrameMaker Microsoft Office Pro (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) Netscape Navigator netViz (integrated diagramming & documenting tool) Perfect Office (QUATTRO PRO, WordPerfect) SAS If there are other software functional needs and PC software packages that you would like to have considered for testing purposes, please inform Chris Barnes by Geomail (clbarnes) or phone (703-648-5401). Additional detailed information regarding the Windows NT server and other Windows application solutions is available on the WEB. This will also include revision numbers of the software being tested. See the following URL: http://wwwqvarsa.er.usgs.gov/~clbarnes/NT/ntpage.html Current list of software to be tested on the MAC server: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- MAC SOFTWARE --current or appropriate revision ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Adobe Illustrator Aldus PageMaker Exodus FrameMaker Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel QUATTRO PRO WordPerfect If there are other software functional needs and MAC software packages that you would like to have considered for testing purposes, please inform Doreen Lucas by Geomail (adlucas) or phone (703-648-5626).