Hardware
An Apollo workstation resembled a modern PC, with base unit, keyboard, mouse, and screen. Early models were housed in short (about 2ft high) 19" rack cabinets that would be set beside a desk or under a table. The DN300 and later DN330 were designed as integrated units with system and monitor in one unit and fit easily on a desk. Every Apollo system (even standalones) had to include at least one network interface. Originally the only option was the 12 Mbit/s Apollo Token Ring (ATR). Over time, 10 Mbit/s Ethernet was added as an option. It has been stated that the IBM Token Ring was an option - this was never available. The ATR was generally the best choice, since it was extremely scalable; whilst the Ethernet of the time suffered serious performance loss as extra machines were added to the network, this was not true of ATR, which could easily have over a hundred machines on one network. One drawback was that, unlike Ethernet, one machine failure (which could easily happen given a single faulty connector) stopped the entire network. For this reason, Apollo provided an optional (but strongly recommended) network cabling system of bypass switches and quick connect boxes which allowed machines to be disconnected and moved without problems. Apollo Token Ring networks used 75 ohm RG-6U coaxial cabling.
Read more about this topic: Apollo/Domain
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