This is a copy of a query that I have sent to the SPSS Web support with only acknowledgment but no response. I now have less that 48 hours to respond to users here some of whom are quite prepared to move to another package - or go back to our old DOS version of another package which is all rather alarming - but they have teaching requirements and networking cannot go ahead without knowing this information.

(When I first posted the queries I assumed that the answers would be fairly straightfoward but here I am 2 months later and still none the wiser).

If anyone can provide any useful information I would really appreciate it. If you would prefer to reply direct my email is : clarke@cc.und.ac.za Here are the queries: "We have a university wide site licence for SPSS for Windows and would like more information on the following:

We want to run the full suite (or just BASE) of SPSS for Windows ver 6.1.3 on a Novell 4.1 network. Approx. 50 machines running all at once with Windows 3.1

This is for a student computer lab. Some with 8Mb RAM some with 16 Mb RAM.

To date we have only run with machines that have hard-drives but now are looking at the possibility of running also on the networked machines WITHOUT hard-drives.

My understanding is that there may be problems because of all or any of:

- WIN32S (e.g. it clashes with resident virus checkers on the machines with hard-drives - we use F-Prot virus protection). - Virtual memory /Memory - this may also be to do with Win32S? Further: - If 10 Mb swap file is required on a stand-alone machine does this mean 500 Mb required for 50 networked machines without hard-drives?.

- Also does it create a great deal of traffic on the Lan if 50 users are using it simultaneously as would be the case in a classroom situation?

- Our students are only given write rights to a specific directory on the LAN for their own data etc. Do they require write rights to any other specific directory?

- It has been suggested that we may also have problems if the server has insufficient memory or 'record locks'.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Unfortunately I am not the network consultant so I hope I have expressed the question in terms that make sense. The reply can be as technical as required as I shall be passing it to more technical colleagues."

Should anyone require further information from me to assist with this query, please let me know and I will provide it. This is now rather urgent. Regards Patsy Clarke ---------------------------------------------------------- Homepage:http://www.und.ac.za/users/clarke/patsycl.html Academic Computing Consultant (Statistical) Computer Services Dept. University of Natal Durban 4041 South Africa Tel: 27-31-260-1435 Fax: 27-31-260-2125 email: clarke@cc.und.ac.za