Simtel
Encyclopedia
Simtel is an Internet
-based archive of shareware
for various operating systems, particularly Microsoft Windows
and MS-DOS
. The Simtel archive has been available on the public Internet since 1993, when its older ARPANET
host was shut down.
The Simtel archive has had significant ties to the history of FreeBSD
, as archive distributor Walnut Creek CDROM
helped fund FreeBSD development and hosted the main Simtel archive on FreeBSD servers. The original website and long-time primary mirrors were located at www.cdrom.com, www.simtel.net, and oak.oakland.edu at Oakland University
.http://groups.google.com/group/bionet.software/browse_frm/thread/fb3be7f8cd6eb708/3eb9411b7e1b993e In July 1998, the Simtel FTP server set a record for overall traffic with a total transfer amount of 417 GB of data in one day.http://www.freebsd.org/news/1998/press.html#story19987:1http://ezine.daemonnews.org/199809/news.html In May 1999, the Simtel FTP server surpassed its own record by transferring, in one day, a total of 873 GB. http://www.freebsd.org/news/1999/press.html#story19995:5
. The original archive consisted of CP/M
software for early 8080-based microcomputer
s. The software was hosted on a PDP-10
at MIT
that also ran a CP/M mailing list Mr. Petersen subscribed to. When access to the particular MIT computer was removed in 1983, fellow CP/M enthusiast Frank Wancho, then an employee at the White Sands Missile Range
, arranged for the archive to be hosted on a DECSYSTEM-20
computer with ARPANET
access, accessible via FTP at simtel20.arpa, later known as wsmr-simtel20.army.mil.http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html At this time, Simtel began archiving MS-DOS software in addition to its archive of CP/M software.
Over time, the SIMTEL20 archive added software for other operating systems, user groups and various programming language
s, including the Ada Software Repository, the CP/M User's Group, PC/Blue, SIG/M(icros), and the Unix
/C
collections.http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html In 1991, Walnut Creek CDROM was founded by Robert A. Bruce, which helped distribute the Simtel archive on CD-ROM discs for those not wishing to access the archive online.http://www.freebsd.org/news/press-rel-4.html
In 1993, the SIMTEL20 archive at White Sands Missile Range was shut down due to budget constraints.http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc/browse_frm/thread/504c1cfe7d4fb045/6f1bc70f72308c80 From 1993 on, the Walnut Creek CDROM FTP
server and (later on) Web site became the focal point for online Simtel access. Due to a mirror licensing dispute situation with Coast to Coast Telecommunications in 1995 (now Allegiance Telecom, part of XO Communications
), archive maintainer Keith Petersen left his employment with CCT and moved on to Walnut Creek CDROM.http://www.softouch.on.ca/rc/simtel1.htm In October 1999, Walnut Creek CDROM was purchased by Digital River
for US$1.0 million and 143,885 shares of common stock. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article47.html Mr. Petersen contracted with Digital River, along with small business owner and son Kurt Petersen of Petersen Business Management, to manage the Simtel collections and continued to do so until January 15, 2001. http://www.petersen.net/petersencontract.html
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-based archive of shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
for various operating systems, particularly Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
. The Simtel archive has been available on the public Internet since 1993, when its older ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
host was shut down.
The Simtel archive has had significant ties to the history of FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, as archive distributor Walnut Creek CDROM
Walnut Creek CDROM
Walnut Creek CDROM was an early provider of freeware, shareware and free software on CD-ROMs. The company was founded in August 1991 by Bob Bruce and was one of the first commercial distributors of free software on CD-ROMs...
helped fund FreeBSD development and hosted the main Simtel archive on FreeBSD servers. The original website and long-time primary mirrors were located at www.cdrom.com, www.simtel.net, and oak.oakland.edu at Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
.http://groups.google.com/group/bionet.software/browse_frm/thread/fb3be7f8cd6eb708/3eb9411b7e1b993e In July 1998, the Simtel FTP server set a record for overall traffic with a total transfer amount of 417 GB of data in one day.http://www.freebsd.org/news/1998/press.html#story19987:1http://ezine.daemonnews.org/199809/news.html In May 1999, the Simtel FTP server surpassed its own record by transferring, in one day, a total of 873 GB. http://www.freebsd.org/news/1999/press.html#story19995:5
History
Simtel originated as SIMTEL20, a software archive started by Keith Petersen in 1979 while living in Royal Oak, MichiganRoyal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
. The original archive consisted of CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
software for early 8080-based microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
s. The software was hosted on a PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
that also ran a CP/M mailing list Mr. Petersen subscribed to. When access to the particular MIT computer was removed in 1983, fellow CP/M enthusiast Frank Wancho, then an employee at the White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
, arranged for the archive to be hosted on a DECSYSTEM-20
DECSYSTEM-20
The DECSYSTEM-20 was a 36-bit Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-10 mainframe computer running the TOPS-20 operating system.PDP-10 computers running the TOPS-10 operating system were labeled DECsystem-10 as a way of differentiating them from the PDP-11...
computer with ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
access, accessible via FTP at simtel20.arpa, later known as wsmr-simtel20.army.mil.http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html At this time, Simtel began archiving MS-DOS software in addition to its archive of CP/M software.
Over time, the SIMTEL20 archive added software for other operating systems, user groups and various programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
s, including the Ada Software Repository, the CP/M User's Group, PC/Blue, SIG/M(icros), and the Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
/C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
collections.http://www.cni.org/docs/farnet/story149.NM.html In 1991, Walnut Creek CDROM was founded by Robert A. Bruce, which helped distribute the Simtel archive on CD-ROM discs for those not wishing to access the archive online.http://www.freebsd.org/news/press-rel-4.html
In 1993, the SIMTEL20 archive at White Sands Missile Range was shut down due to budget constraints.http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc/browse_frm/thread/504c1cfe7d4fb045/6f1bc70f72308c80 From 1993 on, the Walnut Creek CDROM FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
server and (later on) Web site became the focal point for online Simtel access. Due to a mirror licensing dispute situation with Coast to Coast Telecommunications in 1995 (now Allegiance Telecom, part of XO Communications
XO Communications
XO Communications is a telecommunications company owned by XO Holdings, Inc...
), archive maintainer Keith Petersen left his employment with CCT and moved on to Walnut Creek CDROM.http://www.softouch.on.ca/rc/simtel1.htm In October 1999, Walnut Creek CDROM was purchased by Digital River
Digital River
Digital River is a U.S. e-commerce outsourcing company. The company’s platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, reporting and strategic marketing services...
for US$1.0 million and 143,885 shares of common stock. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/article47.html Mr. Petersen contracted with Digital River, along with small business owner and son Kurt Petersen of Petersen Business Management, to manage the Simtel collections and continued to do so until January 15, 2001. http://www.petersen.net/petersencontract.html