ELENA - Escritório eLEctrónico NAcional
ELENA - Escritório eLEctrónico NAcional
The need to gain experience in the design, implementation, and development of distributed systems in local networks motivated the launch of the Sistemas Modulares Distribuídos (SMD) project at INESC in 1981. In this project, a system was conceived and developed, consisting of modular multiprocessor stations connected by a local Ethernet network (standard published in 1980), featuring a distributed operating system and configurable for a wide range of applications, from "office automation" to the control of processes and complex equipment.
The SMD project continued with the ELENA system (Escritório eLEctrónico NAcional), which became the foundation for automating postal stations and for CODITEL, the last switching center for Marconi's international public telegram service before this service was decommissioned.
These projects—Escritório Electrónico and Post Office Automation—are iconic milestones in the computerization and modernization of services in Portugal.
Micro ELENA station, INESC, SMD, CENTREL, circa 1987, CTT, Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações