VTS supports an unlimited number of networked workstations using the TCP/IP communications protocol. Any standard VTS system can take advantage of additional workstations added later without requiring additional configuration work. Systems can therefore be expanded with minimal effort. Full multiple hot-backup with automatic switching is also supported.
VTS supports a client/server architecture with the ability to set multiple servers for any given task and set different servers for different tasks. For example, the I/O drivers are typical servers. Any workstation may be a client or server for the driver. A client will receive data from the server via a TCP/IP socket connection. A server workstation will access data directly from the I/O device and make it available to any client workstation that wishes to receive this data. A client workstation will also act as a server to another client if required. If the server fails for any reason, each client may have a list of alternative workstations to use as backup servers.
All of the workstations on the network can share an identical configuration file set. This simplifies system maintenance. Further, settings specific to a workstation can be set in a file that has the same name as the workstation.
Changes made on one workstation are automatically propagated to all others on the network. While changes are being made to one component of the application, other workstations are prevented from modifying that same component but are free to modify other parts of the system. Changes made while a workstation is off-line are automatically sent to the workstation in incremental stages when it next starts up. This is useful in a remote modem connection environment, where a laptop computer dialing into the system will be automatically updated with the latest configuration changes without reloading the entire application. It is also very convenient when adding a new workstation to a network. All that is required is to specify the name of the configuration server, and the new workstation will load the application and keep updated with that server from that point forth.