BOS, Chapter 1 - System Introduction

Branch Office System
Chapter 1 - System Introduction

The Cubix Branch Office System (BOS) 100 Family consists of desktop units designed for installation in small, remote LAN environments. A corporate branch office would be an example. BOS systems provide single or multiple network workstations in small and controlled environments well-suited for remote communications, fax servers, e-mail servers, mainframe gateways, and NLM servers.

A BOS system is a stand-alone enclosure that contains one or more AT-style computers. Each BOS contains an ISA backplane with six slots. The BOS's backplane can be separated into individual groups of PC slots, and is usually used to house a number of communication servers. A communications server typically consists of a Cubix BC processor with integral Ethernet NIC (Network Interface Controller), and other controllers such as asynchronous, X.25, 3270 or fax. The 6 slot ISA backplane in the BOS system can be configured in many variations, as described in Appendix A.The Branch Office Systems are available in several I/O configurations. These systems resemble one another in that they are used to house Cubix BC and QL processors, floppy and hard disk drives, network interface controllers, and a variety of other ISA based controllers. In addition, an optional Intelligent Environmental Sensor module (IES) may be added to provide monitoring, alarming, and supervisory control. Each BOS system offers: 1) an electronic multiplexor permitting a number of processors to share a single VGA monitor, keyboard, mouse, floppy disk drive, and reset pushbutton; 2) a multiplexed front panel display showing the serial port, LAN and disk status of Cubix BC processors and the port status of multiport controllers; and 3) a front panel display of the optional Intelligent Environmental Sensor (IES) module status.Table 1-1 summarizes of the capabilities of three BOS systems: the BOS 110, the BOS 120, and the BOS 130.


                              Table 1 - 1 
                BOS Systems - Summary of Features

                                  BOS     BOS   BOS 130  
                                  110     120            

ISA Backplane Configuration:                             

  2Å1Å1Å1Å1 (6 slots)             yes     yes     yes    

Floppy Drives:                                           

  Shared Drive -                  yes     no      yes    
  one 3.5" TH per BOS                                    

  Dual Shared Drive -             no      yes      no    
  one 3.5"/5.25" HH per BOS                              

Hard Drives:                                             

  Maximum number of 3.5 TH         5       5       4     
drives                                                   

CD ROM Drives:                                           

  One 5.25" HH CD ROM             no      no      yes    

Accommodates IES Module           yes     yes     yes    

Other Features:                                          

  172 Watt Power Supply           yes     yes     yes    

  Integral Electronic MUX with    yes     yes     yes    
  Front Panel Console                                    

  Multiplexed Serial Port         yes     yes     yes    
Status                                                   
  Display

* The symbol "Å" means a shunt can connect adjacent groups.

TH = Third Height HH = Half Height

Cubix Processors and Multiport Products The Cubix processor (QL and BC Series) and multiport (MP Series) products provide complete solutions on single plug-in boards. Each processor board contains a CPU, system memory, VGA video support, keyboard controller, serial & parallel ports, IDE hard drive controller, line busy unit, and optionally on the BC Series, an Ethernet 10 Base-T NIC. When installed into a Cubix passive backplane, the Cubix processor boards become network workstations. The multiport board provides the means to connect up to 8 modems to a processor board via the ISA backplane.

Passive Backplane All BOS systems contain a 6-slot passive backplane. The backplane is simply a row of standard 16-bit ISA expansion slots. Adding a Cubix BC Series processor to the backplane creates a single workstation. Refer to Figure 1-1.

Segmented Passive Backplanes All slots in a passive backplane are interconnected with traces, creating a bus. If these traces are broken between slots, the backplane can be separated into smaller independent backplanes or groups. Refer to Figure 1-2.

The BOS backplanes may be configured to accommodate one to five groups. Segmentation of the backplane is controlled by shunting boards. When the shunting boards are installed, the traces between the slots are enabled, thus joining the slots into one group. The backplane is constructed as 2Å1Å1Å1Å1, where "Å represents a shunting board. If all shunting boards are removed, the backplane is configured with one group of two slots and four groups of one slot each; if all shunts are installed, the backplane is configured with a single group of six slots.For information on the systems, refer to Chapter 2. For installation information, refer to Chapter 3.Troubleshooting tips are found in Chapter 4 and information on Field Replaceable Units is in Chapter 5.The appendices contain detailed information on power supply loading, specifications, and multiplexor operation.

Table of Contents

Introduction