DEC's PCSA Disk Server and Windows 3.0 (63038)

SUMMARY

Testing by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) has shown Pathworks version 4.0 and Microsoft Windows 3.0 (and Windows-based applications) to be compatible.

NOTE: This information is not valid for later versions of Microsoft Windows. Later versions of Windows ship with drivers for the Pathworks network (version 4.0 and 4.1) provided by DEC.

MORE INFORMATION

DEC produces a mainframe communication package called PCSA that allows PCs to access mainframes. The PCSA network is composed of two different servers, a disk server and a file server. This network is not a supported network and Microsoft does not make any claims as to its compatibility.

Windows cannot be installed on the PCSA Disk Server because Windows must be able to create, read, and write to temporary files to swap its applications. Because DEC's PCSA Disk Server is a removable media device, Windows cannot install.

Supported networks include the following:

Microsoft Networks (or 100-percent compatible)
Microsoft LAN Manager 1.00
Microsoft LAN Manager 2.00
3Com 3+Share
3Com 3+Open LAN Manager
Banyan Vines 4.0
Novell NetWare 2.1 or later
Novell NetWare 386

Users of DEC PCSA versions earlier than 4.0 should consider investigating the upgrade to the later version because this later version is more compatible with Windows 3.0.

PCSA (now called Pathworks) is DEC's client software loosely based on the LAN Manager redirector that allows DOS and OS/2 machines to access DECnet. DECnet is DEC's enterprise network that includes SNA connectivity and integration of Macintosh machines (also a Pathworks product; although no Microsoft software is involved.)

The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.