Meantime, back home in Alpharetta, Georgia, Digital Communications Associates Inc has announced MacIrmaLan, a new family of server gateways linking Apple Computer Inc Macintosh computers to IBM mainframes using local area networks. The MacIrmaLan 802.2 Gateway Server provides Apple LocalTalk and Apple TokenTalk local network users in the same building access to a mainframe over an IBM Token-Ring network. For those not in the same building as the host, the MacIrmaLan SDLC Gateway Server enables Macintosh users on LocalTalk or IBM Token-Ring networks to communicate with their company’s mainframe, wherever it is. Both products are based on the MacIrma WorkStation software, which includes a Distributed Function Terminal mode supporting more than one concurrent computer link to the mainframe at once. And the MacIrma Applications Programming Interface, which was originally designed for use with co-axial cables, can be used in network gateways with the new servers. The SDLC Gateway costs $5,000 for 16 users, rising to $6,500 for 64 users. The 802.2 Gateway Server costs $4,000 for 16 users, $6,000 in the 64-user version.
