3.1 Introduction to HELIOS Base
HELIOS Base is a new concept in the modular HELIOS product line. It builds the platform for all HELIOS products. The HELIOS Base software is indispensable because it contains libraries, installer programs, etc. without which no other HELIOS product could work stand-alone.
It comprises the LPR printing system, printer drivers, the HELIOS Installer, Unicode support, ICC profiles, utilities, libraries, the "license" program which lets you enter software licenses for all HELIOS products, the HELIOS Service Controller, the
Service Location Protocol (SLP) server, the HELIOS Update Installer, and HELIOS tools ("start-helios", "stop-helios").
A brief description of the HELIOS Base services is provided in the following section,
3.2 "Features of HELIOS Base 1.1", where you can also find references to the respective chapters in this manual.
3.2 Features of HELIOS Base 1.1
3.2.1 LPR printing system
The HELIOS LPR system has been improved and supports more features than the original BSD-UNIX LPR.
3.2.2 HELIOS Update Installer
The HELIOS Update Installer enables the user to download HELIOS product updates and to install them.
3.2.3 TCP/IP Service Location Protocol (SLP)
Our software supports the Service Location Protocol (SLP), which allows users under UNIX systems to find available services without any knowledge of host names. Under Mac OS X, SLP is preferred over the old
AppleTalk Name Binding Protocol (NBP) and will replace it in the future.
3.2.4 HELIOS Service Controller
The HELIOS Service Controller controls and monitors a separate process per service, and also a separate process per active user. This offers considerable advantages, e.g.:
- Server fail safety, i.e. if one or more processes fail, the other running processes are not affected
- Much faster starting and stopping of all products
- Easier stopping/starting of a single service
- Complete logging of all errors
- Third party applications can integrate their services into the HELIOS Service Controller (via Preferences)
3.2.5 Central "start-stop" script folder
- Custom scripts which will be executed automatically during startup/stop of the HELIOS server
3.2.6 Unicode conversion utility
"uniconv", HELIOS' new Unicode conversion utility, allows the conversion of text files or strings (e.g. file names) from one encoding to another. For more details see
6.4 "uniconv".
- Macintosh character set support (MacRoman)
- PC character set support (PC-850)
- Korean character set support (EUC-KR)
- Japanese character set support (SJIS)
- Additional encodings can be added via HELIOS SDK
3.2.8 Easier HELIOS product installation with the HELIOS Software Installer
HELIOS Installer installs all selected products in one step. This means:
- You will benefit from a much faster installation
- No server rebooting is required
- The user is not asked any questions during the installation process
- The HELIOS Services start automatically after the installation has been completed
3.2.9 New HELIOS directory structure
The new HELIOS directory structure offers:
- Central configuration of files/meta data
- Full configuration compatibility between all HELIOS platforms
- Possibility to copy the "HELIOSDIR/var" directory, which contains all product settings. So it can be copied between different servers, e.g. Mac OS X and Sun
- Preserving of all settings, including:
Volume settings, Printer settings, OPI settings, ICC settings, Font settings, PPD settings, Printer Inits, etc.
Starting the server anew ("start-helios" script) will then automatically use the new settings from the directory
"HELIOSDIR/var".
3.2.10 HELIOS Preferences
HELIOS software products are configured by means of EtherShare Admin or PCShare Admin. Both configuration tools affect the "HELIOSDIR/var/conf/Preferences" file, which is binary and can be viewed with the "prefdump" command.
There are several different ways of connecting workstations and printers together to build a network. If you want to build e.g. a Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet network you may have to install appropriate interface cards in some or all of the workstations and servers.
Ethernet is a hardware and network protocol standard which has found worldwide acceptance by a large number of computer manufacturers. Ethernet interface cards are available for most Windows computers, high-end printers, and all UNIX hosts. Many UNIX hosts, all new Macintoshs and some newer Windows computers have an Ethernet interface already built-in.
Ethernet networks can simultaneously support several network protocols such as TCP/IP and AppleTalk.
The various junctions, routers, bridges and devices on the network are called nodes, and the way they are physically connected together is called the topology of the network. On the one hand, the topology is dependent on usage requirements (the required position of the workstations within an office building). On the other hand, it is also necessary to take account of physical limitations imposed by the chosen hardware (e.g. maximum cable lengths) and by network standards.
Ethernet is logically characterized by a linear bus topology. However, nowadays the 10Base-T Ethernet and 100Base-T Ethernet - also called
Fast Ethernet - have, from the physical point of view, a star-shaped topology. This means that all workstations and printers etc. connected to the network are attached to a hub in the logical center of the "star".
When installing the network cable, it is important to make sure that it is not installed with sharp bends or under tension. It should be laid in such a way that it cannot be damaged, and it should be routed as far away as possible from powerful electrical fields. Please observe the exact specifications of the hardware manufacturer. The manufacturer's documentation contains all required information on allowable cable lengths, types of connectors to be used and other points to be noted.
The TCP/IP protocol allows a number of physically separated networks to be linked together. The separate networks can use either the same or different hardware standards. The connection between two networks is implemented with so-called routers. The special software that runs in routers is called
router software.
Each separate network is assigned a unique network number. A workgroup is a group of one or more logical networks with the same symbolic (logical) name. A device on the network is a member of a particular workgroup. However, a router between two networks (e.g. between FDDI and Ethernet) is a member of at least two logical networks. Furthermore, in some cases two logical networks can co-exist on the same hardware cable (provided, of course, that they use the same hardware standard).
