Lisp Machines were usually networked machines. Their were two branches:
* Interlisp-D from Xerox were smaller machines, networkd with a server + printer. PARC developed networked collaborative software for them, the first remote GUI was written for Interlisp, the first IMAP client was written for Interlisp-D, ...
* the MIT Lisp Machines were developed with CHAOS, an Ethernet-based protocol. TCP/IP was available early. Many of the TCP/IP protocols were implemented for them (often client and server): chat, terminal, mail, RPC, NFS, X11, DNS, HTTP, remote printing, remote booting, ... They also ran DECNET and some IBM network protocol. Actually the networking code from Symbolics was quite sophisticated in some respects...
BBN (the Internet company at that time) also used a lot of Lisp Machines. They had some distributed remote object networking substrate, which also ran on Lisp Machines.
Lucent had developed an ATM network switch, which first versions were based on multiple embedded Lisp Machine boards for the switching code and another Lisp Machine for the control and administration. They ran all kind of fancy networking code on them in a zero downtime fashion with live software upgrades. They were for example thought as large network and telephony switches.
One small correction: the D machines weren't all smaller; there was the Dandelion (later sold as the Star), the Dolphin and the Dorado (which was a full rack, the size of a 32-bit CADR machine, and built of ECL logic). There were at least three different standard microcoded environments you could boot with, Interlisp-D, Smalltalk and Mesa. When I was at PARC if I worked late I could connect to a Dorado, but most of the time I used a Dolphin (plus my group had some Dandelions which ran some custom microcode). They could also run Alto microcode by the way.
I preferred the MIT lispm environment better because I grew up with it. For a while I had a job where I had both a dandelion and a 3600 in my office; later I had two 36xx machines, one with a color display.
They were pretty fast for their time. The late, hyper-dynamic window system was probably too heavyweight for its time, especially when later translated over X, but I generally used the simpler base window system because it was faster.
It was the most productive (in terms of amount of useful code generated per unit time) system I have ever used and I still miss it. The Interlisp D, though quite different to use (and in some ways better), is a close second.
Right, but the large one weren't sold, IIRC. Xerox sold the smaller ones, not the Dorado. That was also why some users upgraded to the Lisp Machines from LMI, Symbolics and TI: they had larger address spaces and could run larger software.
* Interlisp-D from Xerox were smaller machines, networkd with a server + printer. PARC developed networked collaborative software for them, the first remote GUI was written for Interlisp, the first IMAP client was written for Interlisp-D, ...
* the MIT Lisp Machines were developed with CHAOS, an Ethernet-based protocol. TCP/IP was available early. Many of the TCP/IP protocols were implemented for them (often client and server): chat, terminal, mail, RPC, NFS, X11, DNS, HTTP, remote printing, remote booting, ... They also ran DECNET and some IBM network protocol. Actually the networking code from Symbolics was quite sophisticated in some respects...
BBN (the Internet company at that time) also used a lot of Lisp Machines. They had some distributed remote object networking substrate, which also ran on Lisp Machines.
Lucent had developed an ATM network switch, which first versions were based on multiple embedded Lisp Machine boards for the switching code and another Lisp Machine for the control and administration. They ran all kind of fancy networking code on them in a zero downtime fashion with live software upgrades. They were for example thought as large network and telephony switches.