Newsgroups: comp.parallel
From: Tim Eccles <Tim@tile.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Announcement: Control Network for Network of Motherboards
Organization: Tile
Date: 5 Sep 1995 14:43:56 GMT
Message-ID: <42hnnc$7il@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu>

This may be interesting to comp.parallel:

Announcing Stringer - A Multicomputer Connection
------------------------------------------------

Tile has announced Stringer, an Ethernet solution for controlling
arrays of PCs, workstations, and motherboards.

Stringer is basically a PC-on-a-card (a small card) with an attached
Ethernet controller. Stringer implements all the functionality
required for multicomputer applications:

    - Reset Control. Stringer can hard reset an attached
      PC or motherboard. It can also intercept the front-panel reset
      switch and block or pass-through the operator's reset, which
      can also be logged as a message over the network.

    - Keyboard Control. Stringer implements a full PC-AT virtual
      keyboard. By connecting Stringer's keyboard port to the PC's
      keyboard port, Stringer can drive any application software
      with no special programming. Stringer also implements a second
      keyboard port, to which a optional real keyboard can be attached.
      Keypresses from the real keyboard can be blocked or passed
      through, and can also be logged in messages over the network.

    - Mouse Control. Stringer implements a virtual Mouse, for
      attachment to a serial port on the PC, plus a second Mouse
      port for connecting a real Mouse. Mouse messages from the net
      can be sent to the application and, as with the keyboard ports,
      input from a real Mouse can be blocked, relayed, and logged.

    - Boot Program Control. Stringer implements a programmable Boot
      space which can be optionally mapped into the PC or
      motherboard's memory space at boot time, allowing a Stringer
      network unlimited control of the underlying hardware.

For network connectivity, Stringer implements a PC-compatible parallel
port which will support a commodity Ethernet adapter; low-cost adapters
are readily available for twisted-pair and co-ax networks.

Stringer is also compatible with commodity software and development
tools. The on-card processor is an 80x86 and on-card memory includes
512 KBytes Flash EPROM and 1MByte DRAM. Built-in software includes a
bootstrap, an embedded DOS, and a small Flash-File system.

The embedded DOS can load files over a net to the Flash memory, and
load and execute the files under the control of familiar CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files.

For more complex application development, Stringer supports standard
PC-oriented remote debugging tools, plus hardware debugging
assistants:

      - an on-card programmable tone generator

      - an on-card programmable numerical LED

Stringer cards typically implement NetBIOS or TCP/IP stacks, plus a
small application-specific program.

A Stringer control program typically runs under some variant of
Windows, communicating with the Stringer cards via the chosen
protocol. Custom Stringer control programs can be built in any common
language, including C, C++, Visual BASIC, and Delphi.

The standard Stringer card is in 16-bit ISA format, compatible with
almost all PCs, PC motherboards, and Power-PC and Alpha motherboards.

There are no special hardware requirements for the control host.

Stringer is supplied with utility programs, demonstration software,
and a guide to using commodity networking software to build a
multicomputer control system.

Stringer costs $299, qty 1.

For more information, contact sales@tile.demon.co.uk

--
Regards
Tim Eccles

