Chaosnet
dspace.mit.edu
dspace.mit.edu
> Chaosnet was originally developed in 1975
> The Lisp Machine system is a multi-processor in which each active user is assigned a "personal" computer consisting of a medium-scale processor, a suitable amount of memory, and a swapping disk. Files are stored in a central file-system accessed through Chaosnet. This shared file-system retains the traditional advantages of a time-sharing system, namely inter-user communication, shared programs, and centralized backup and maintenance. At the same time, by giving each active user his own processor, the Lisp Machine system is much more capable than a time-sharing system at executing Lisp programs several million words in size efficiently and with rapid interactive response. Because Chaosnet is taking the place of the file disk in a conventional system, it must be fast (both in response and in throughput), it must be reliable (this is the reason why there is no centralized control), and it must allow connection of several dozen machines. However, it does not need to operate over long distances. Chaosnet is used to access other shared resources in addition to the file system; these include printers, tape drives, and one-of-a-kind specialized processors and I/O devices.
The code to add the PDF tag must be very, very simple.
There were other experimental LAN systems around as well, some commercial some not.
It was all superseded in the mid-late 80s by IEEE ethernet.
It's a little bit of a nostalgia trip for me but if you never used it there's not much to learn in retrospect.
In any case by 83 or so they were building out Athena which was ethernet based.
As I understand it, they just wanted to be connected to the rest of the world, which their RJE connection to NCARs' supercomputers didn't accomplish.