A network operating system from Banyan Systems. VINES (a contraction of Virtual Networking Software) is based on a special version of the Unix System V operating system.
The following illustration shows the internal organization of VINES. The Unix layer is hidden from view by VINES and is not available for other applications. VINES provides all server functions, including those of a communications/modem server, and offers many options for connecting to minicomputers, mainframes, and other network file servers. VINES automatically manages protocol binding and translations required between the network interface cards for routing to different LAN segments. A complete set of network management tools is also available.
Workstations can run MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Unix, or OS/2, and they can store native-form files on the server. Macintosh computers can also attach to the network. VINES offers special support for very large LANs and WANs with multiple file servers. VINES also allows PCs that support multiple processors to use multiprocessing to divide the file-server processing load.
See also Enterprise Network Services; StreetTalk.