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LAN of Opportunity

When the OPAL program was installed, in 1994, it worked well -- maybe too well. Soon people at headquarters were lining up to run reports on the lone PC running the OPAL program. Levinson says the obvious solution was to put in a network and give the dozen people who needed it simultaneous access to the system. But he dragged his feet for months. "I was afraid that instead of becoming a productivity enhancer, the network would become an expensive structure of its own," he says.

To keep costs down, Levinson toyed with the idea of using the peer networking features built into Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups, which was already installed on most of the company's PCs. But when he asked Peter Bybee, a network consultant in San Diego, for help in rigging up the system, Bybee wanted nothing to do with it. The software wasn't "robust" enough to go beyond two workstations, Levinson recalls Bybee's saying. Instead, Bybee recommended an 11-node LANtastic peer-to-peer network, from Artisoft, of Tucson, Ariz. For a license fee of $100 a user, plus the cost of adapter cards, wiring, and installation, WEC finally had its network.

There were growing pains in the first couple of months: some problem would bring the network down for an afternoon nearly every week. But Bybee worked the problems out, and now, says Levinson, "the network pretty much runs itself."

Already it has helped WEC cut its order-handling costs in half. And on the revenues side, Levinson says, the network enabled the company to devise a better system of monitoring its specialty-store business, which is up 20% over the last two quarters.

But that's only the beginning, says Levinson. "Once you have a network, you begin to see possibilities you couldn't have imagined before."

Including, perhaps, a network node in Arthur Levinson's office.

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Brian McWilliams (bmcw@aol.com) is a freelance business writer based in Durham, N.H.

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PEER-TO-PEER OR SERVER-BASED?

Choosing between a peer-to-peer and server-based operating system for your local area network (LAN) is akin to deciding whether to go Macintosh or IBM-compatible on your desktop. Although each has distinct advantages -- and loyal users willing to wage war over their favorite -- the systems increasingly resemble each other. Unless you are a technowizard, the choice is best left to your networking vendor. That said, here are some commonly held distinctions between the two:

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Peer-to-Peer Systems
InvisibleLAN, LANtastic, Windows for Workgroups, Personal NetWare

Pros

Less expensive

Easier to install and maintain

Cons

Poor performance with more than 25 users

Difficult to manage with more than 25 users

May be less secure

Individually administered

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Server-Based Systems
IBM LAN Server for OS/2, Novell NetWare, Digital Pathworks, Banyan Vines, Microsoft Windows NT Server

Pros

Expandable (can support hundreds of users)

Centrally administered

Powerful security

Cons

Complicated to install and maintain

More expensive

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RESOURCES

The list prices for the following operating systems cover software only and unless otherwise specified are per user.

InvisibleLAN A.I. Software Starter Kit (peer-to-peer): $269; $149 for each additional node. Invisible Software, 939 Longdale Ave., Longwood, FL 32750 (800-982-2962).

LANtastic 6.0 (peer-to-peer): $119; $499 for 5 users; $899 for 10 users; $1,799 for 25 users. Artisoft, 2202 N. Forbes Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85745

(800-233-5564).

Personal NetWare 1.0 (peer-to-peer): $99; $395 for 5 users. Novell, 122 E. 1700 S., Provo, UT 84606 (800-NetWare).

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (peer-to-peer): $149. Microsoft Corp., One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 (800-426-9400).

LAN Server 4.0 for OS/2 (server-based): entry version (for up to 80 users), $795; advanced version (for up to 1,000 users), $2,295. IBM, Personal Software Products Division, 11400 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78758 (800-426-2255).

NetWare 4.1 (server-based): $1,095 for 5 users; $2,495 for 10 users; $3,695 for 25 users; $4,995 for 50 users; $6,995 for 100 users; $12,495 for 250 users. Novell, 122 E. 1700 S., Provo, UT 84606 (800-NetWare).

Pathworks (server-based): $3,000 for 10 users; $5,625 for 25 users; $7,500 for 50 users; $11,250 for 100 users. Digital Equipment Corp., 111 Powdermill Rd., Maynard, MA 01754 (800-DIGITAL).

Vines 6.0 (server-based): $2,995 for 10 users; $7,995 for 50 users; $9,995 for 100 users; $14,995 for 250 users. Banyan Systems, 120 Flanders Rd., Westboro, MA 01581 (800-2-BANYAN).

Windows LAN Manager 2.2 (server-based): $1,329 for the server; $1,219 for client access (no user limit). Microsoft Corp., One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 (800-426-9400).

Windows NT Server 3.51 (server-based): $699 for the server; $39.95 access charge for each user. Microsoft Corp., One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 (800-426-9400).