Changes

The growth of [[CP/M]] and then [[DOS]] based [[personal computer]] meant that a single site began to have dozens or even hundreds of computers. The initial attraction of networking these was generally to share disk space and laser printers, which were both very expensive at the time. There was much enthusiasm for the concept and for several years from about 1983 onward computer industry pundits would regularly declare the coming year to be “[[the year of the LAN]]”.  

The growth of [[CP/M]] and then [[DOS]] based [[personal computer]] meant that a single site began to have dozens or even hundreds of computers. The initial attraction of networking these was generally to share disk space and laser printers, which were both very expensive at the time. There was much enthusiasm for the concept and for several years from about 1983 onward computer industry pundits would regularly declare the coming year to be “[[the year of the LAN]]”.  

In reality the concept was marred by proliferation of incompatible [[physical layer]] and network [[Protocol (computing)|protocol]] implementations, and confusion over how best to share resources. Typically each vendor would have their own type of network card, cabling, protocol, and [[network operating system]]. A solution appeared with the advent of [[Novell NetWare]] which gave: (a) even-handed support for the 40 or so competing card/cable types, and (b) a much more sophisticated operating system than most of its competitors. NetWare dominated the personal computer LAN business from early after its introduction in 1983 until the mid 1990s when Microsoft introduced [[Windows NT]] Advanced Server and [[Windows for Workgroups]].

In reality the concept was marred by [[proliferation]] of incompatible [[physical layer]] and network [[Protocol (computing)|protocol]] implementations, and confusion over how best to share resources. Typically each vendor would have their own type of network card, cabling, protocol, and [[network operating system]]. A solution appeared with the advent of [[Novell NetWare]] which gave: (a) even-handed support for the 40 or so competing card/cable types, and (b) a much more sophisticated operating system than most of its competitors. NetWare dominated the personal computer LAN business from early after its introduction in 1983 until the mid 1990s when Microsoft introduced [[Windows NT]] Advanced Server and [[Windows for Workgroups]].

Of the competitors to NetWare, only [[Banyan Vines]] had comparable technical strengths, but Banyan never gained a secure base. [[Microsoft]] and [[3Com]] worked together to create a simple network operating system which formed the base of 3Com's 3+Share, Microsoft's [[LAN Manager]] and IBM's [[LAN Server]]. None of these were particularly successful.

Of the competitors to NetWare, only [[Banyan Vines]] had comparable technical strengths, but Banyan never gained a secure base. [[Microsoft]] and [[3Com]] worked together to create a simple network operating system which formed the base of 3Com's 3+Share, Microsoft's [[LAN Manager]] and IBM's [[LAN Server]]. None of these were particularly successful.