MHSnet

MHSnet is a wide area network message handling system developed by Piers Lauder and Bob Kummerfeld at the University of Sydney and commercialised by Message Handling Systems in Australia. A "commercial" description follows......

MHSnet provides an efficient and flexible store-and-forward message system for wide area networks and has an extensive range of message-oriented services with emphasis on network integrity, superior performance and ease of use.

MHSnet can be used to set up your own private network message network utilising any carrier network such as the internet, X25 and leased or dialup lines. It offers an efficient networking facility with inbuilt security and reliability for expanding multi-user, multi-node environments.

MHSnet has demonstrated performance and reliability and has become the system of choice for many private networks throughout the world.

ANY DATA ... MHSnet places no restriction on the type or size of data it can transmit. Messages can be formal business documents such as EDI, multimedia (containing text, image and voice), file transfers, program-to-program communication and simple mail messages.

...OVER ANY VIRTUAL CIRCUIT... MHSnet provides a truly flexible wide-area-networking solution because it can operate over any virtual circuit. Irrespective of the connection (i.e direct asynchronous serial line, dial-up, ethernet, TCP/IP, X.25, OSI transport layer etc) MHSnet is able to connect all Unix systems into a single network with the maximum data transmission capacity.

...ON ANY UNIX SYSTEM MHSnet has been ported to virtually all versions of Unix and even some 'Unix-like' systems. The gateway facilities allow message traffic with UUCP and other environments such as X.400, facsimile, MS-DOS and proprietary networks. In multi-vendor Unix environments MHSnet is the ideal choice for wide-area-network connectivity.

BUT DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT...

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade chose MHSnet for their world-wide messaging system. Linking over 96 sites with major hubs in Canberra, London and Washington, the system transmits all formal communications between federal government agencies overseas.
Brokerlink uses MHSnet for their private insurance network linking eight underwriters and some 150 brokers around Australia. The network has over 300 computer systems and transfer policy information including EDI documents, Email and remote printing.
Mayne Nickless, with over 50 sites in Australia, the United States and Canada, uses MHSnet to transfer documents as well as file and program transfer for software testing.

KEY FEATURES

Store and Forward Architecture

Each message or message part is stored on each host on a route both before and during transmission to the next node. Each system has a complete copy of each message or message part safely intact before the previous node deletes its copy. This technique ensures safe and error-free transmission across networks.

Multiple Message Transfer Protocols

MHSnet supports multiple protocols for any given link. Sometimes one protocol is more suitable than another and careful choice between protocols can increase both reliability and performance.

Dynamic Routing

Dynamic routing allows each node to determine the most suitable route to each message's destination. The network automatically monitors link reliability and will adjust to a more suitable route based on the actual performance. A message can also be routed depending on throughput, delays in transmission or on cost of transmission.

Multi-Channel and Full Duplex Transmission

MHSnet is highly efficient because it allows several messages to be transmitted over a link at once (multi-channel) as well as simultaneous transmission in both directions (full duplex).

Automatic Topology Management

Changes to the network configuration are broadcast to the appropriate network subsection. This prevents routing via links which no longer exist, or that have changed addresses and ensures that each node is aware of how to reach every other node in the network. There are thus no restrictions on how nodes can be linked together.

Broadcast, Multicast and Individual Addressing

MHSnet allows messages to be sent to every node in a group (broadcast), selected nodes in a group (multicast) or to individual nodes only (individual addressing).

Fault-Tolerant Network Reconfiguration & Error Recovery

If a link fails, the network is informed automatically and queued messages are rerouted via another node. When a link recovers from a failure, it will automatically restart from the last packet. A message is never lost unless it is explicitly removed or is corrupted due to system problems.

MHSnet is now owned by Personis Pty Ltd and licences are still being sold. Contact enquiry@personis.oz.au or fax +61-2-8080-8120 for more information.