From: Dave Coder (dave@nucleus.immunol.washington.edu)
Date: Tue May 17 1994 - 12:44:04 EST
In addition to Eric's overview of file transfers, some additional footnotes}: (i) Data written to three and one-half inch diskettes can be read on DOS computers using commercial software. This method is too slow and cumbersome for routine use, and the software is expensive. }The file transfer programs are slow and not inexpensive and you are limited to the storage capacity of a single 3.5" floppy disk. This aside, it works. It requires not complex networking (hardware and software) and can run from the time you install the program. }The Oswego transfer program has, in fact, been able to transfer data from damaged disks that the HP computer was unable to read. This has salvaged some unrepeatable experiments. (ii) Data can be transferred using serial ports and public domain software. This is also very slow; several dozen data files take hours to transfer; but the software is free (and available from the same anonymous ftp site as MFI, /pub/flowcyt/hp2pc). }True, very slow, but how soon do you need the data? What is your computer doing at night? It's probably not out drinking (but you could be!). A batch transfer during the small hours of the night may be adequate for many. (iii) Data can be transferred from the IEEE-488 GPIB of the Hewlett Packard (the thick cable which connects each subunit of the H-P computer) to an IEEE-488 card installed in the PC bus. HPPCLINK programs for managing the transfer were written at Becton-Dickinson and contributed to the public domain. This method requires about 20 sec to transfer a 50K file. Our card model GPIB-PC2 came from National Instruments (12109 Technology Blvd., Austin TX 78727). Further information generously provided by David Coder is available by anonymous ftp from flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu in a file HPPCLINK.PS (or, if you don't have a postscript printer, HPPCLINK.TXT) in /pub. The software is free, but the PC card can set you back up to US$500. }Faster, but not fastest. If you do not have HP Pascal version 3.2 (this is required for ethernet) then this is your fastest option. Again, batch transfers at night may be perfectly adequate. }Remember, the key point in data transfers is getting the data files on any computer that is on your network. Once the files are on a networked computer, then access is fast. Furthermore, adequate archival storage is then possible. (iv) If your Hewlett-Packard computer is equipped with a network interface, data files can be transferred by FTP. This is the fastest method. Once the data files are on an MS-DOS computer, they can be moved to other MS-DOS computers efficiently by network FTP, or less efficiently by floppy diskettes, backup tapes, etc. }Requires HP Pascal 3.2 on your HP (see note above). The best solution (cost aside). Importantly, having the data archives on a network-accessible computer makes later retrieval much more convenient. For example, on our somewhat outdated 4mm DAT system, we can store at least 2GB of data and retrieve files at the rate of 10-15MB per minute. Dave Coder dcoder@u.washington.edu Dept. of Immunology Univ. of Washington
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