In one area, however, DESQview was a lasting success: many multiuser bulletin board systems were based on it, thanks to its modest hardware requirements, robust multitasking, and superlative handling of multiple communication ports. Most free or inexpensive BBS software of the time ran as a single-node, single-tasking DOS program. Normally, only one copy of the BBS software could run at once, limiting the host PC to running one node. DESQview allows multiple copies of these single-task programs to run at once on the same computer, allowing anyone with even unimpressive hardware to run a large, powerful, multiuser BBS out of their home.