DEC VAXmate Service Manual page 18

1.1 Introduction
Chapter 1
Overview
The VAXmate Workstation (Figure 1-1) is a desktop computer.
It
can be used
as a standalone personal computer or, more often, as a node on a network to a
VAX, MicroVAX II computer, or even to another VAXmate that has network
server software. The VAXmate computer is compatible with industry-standard-
personal computers and runs both industry-standard- applications and applica-
tions designed by DIGITAL.
As
a node on the Personal Computing System Architecture (PCSA) network, the
VAXmate computer system is the user's interface into the applications and
services that the PCSA family of products provides.
As
part of a network, the
VAXmate computer communicates with other computers on the network, as
well as shares the various resources and services offered by DIGITAL com-
puters and servers.
- The computer industry recognizes two open architectures as industry standards. The
first is the IBM-pe-AT bus structure. The second is the MicroSoft disk operating
system (MS-DOS). The term industry-standard refers
to
compatibility with these
architectures. To support MS-DOS requires a defined set of ROM-BIOS (basic I/O
system) services, which the VAXmate workstation offers.
1-1