Regarding DOS networking: Before Windows Server was a thing, I implemented a Novell Netware network. I networked DOS and Windows 3.1 machines. Netware was lightweight, fast, easy to deploy and manage. I loved it. My boss hated it (I won't go into why...). So, in came Windows Server (blech!). Resource hungry hard to implement and difficult to secure for someone without training. But I still had to put DOS machines on the network! So, I did. You know what? Once configured, the DOS boxes required zero maintenance while the Windows boxes... well they tended to be a headache. Why do you think that the Internet is built on Linux?
Regarding DOS networking: Before Windows Server was a thing, I implemented a Novell Netware network. I networked DOS and Windows 3.1 machines. Netware was lightweight, fast, easy to deploy and manage. I loved it. My boss hated it (I won't go into why...). So, in came Windows Server (blech!). Resource hungry hard to implement and difficult to secure for someone without training. But I still had to put DOS machines on the network! So, I did. You know what? Once configured, the DOS boxes required zero maintenance while the Windows boxes... well they tended to be a headache. Why do you think that the Internet is built on Linux?