Method and apparatus for multiprotocol operation of a networked

Abstract

Method and apparatus for multiprotocol operation of an interactive network board which ties a peripheral to a local area network and which executes first and second peripheral servers for servicing jobs from respectively different operating systems. The first server checks its operating system job queue and receives job information from the operating system according to a first protocol. The first server seizes exclusive control over the peripheral and signals to other servers that the first server has control. In coordination with the first server, the second server checks its operating system job queue and receives job information from the operating system. When the first server relinquishes control over the peripheral, the second server can seize exclusive control over the peripheral so as to send its job information to the peripheral. Preferably, while each server has exclusive control over the peripheral, it checks with other servers to determine whether those other servers have pending requests for use of the peripheral. If there are pending requests, then control over the server can be relinquished at the end of a job, even though there are remaining jobs in the job queues, so as to allow alternate usage of the peripheral by each server. The interactive network board automatically and adaptively determines the frame packet types being used for LAN communication by the respective operating systems by prescanning broadcast requests on the LAN bus for predetermined header information corresponding to each of the operating protocol stacks (or towers) for the servers.