The Transition towards Open Working

The computer centres of universities and research institutions in the United Kingdom are being connected together according to OSI principles. Users are already able to access a variety of computer systems from the same terminal and the implementation of non-proprietary standards to transfer files and jobs in progress. This paper outlines the motivation behind the project and its overall structure. It discusses the Choice of standards in advance of internationally ratified specifications and the mechanisms for getting implementations of than on a number of different types of computer. The process of transition towards the new standards currently in progress at a large national centre is also described.