jpa@newcastle.ac.uk (John Aspden) (11/23/88)
We have here just a few (unfortunately) Macs, and they are currently not linked to each other, or to anything sensible (i.e. Localtalk or Ethernet). We're keen to get better connectivity, particularly since we just installed a campus ethernet. The current situation is that we have 7 Macs, four in one area and 3 in another (possibly only 2 here). I'd like them to all have access to the ethernet, and to a shared LaserWriter. Although the distance between the two areas is probably coverable by a single Phonenet segment, installing that quantity of "nonstandard" cabling is not very desirable. I expect that the number of Macs will grow, but I'm not sure when, or how. There seem to be a couple of possibilities: - Equip each Mac with its own ethernet connector (using something like the Kinetics EtherPort SE for SEs and EtherSC for the Pluses), and connect them all directly to the Ethernet. This leaves us with the problem of how to connect a printer. - Install a short LocalTalk network for the four Macs in one area with a Kinetics fastpath to the ethernet, and attach the laserwriter to that LocalTalk segment. For the other 2/3, either connect them directly as in the former suggestion, or use another LocalTalk/FastPath combination (expensive for just 2 machines). I'd like advice/comments from anyone about the pros/cons of these approaches. In particular, I'd like the answers to a number of questions: - What ethernet connection hardware is available for the Mac in addition to the Kinetics stuff that I've mentioned? (I know about the Gatorbox, and I'm aware that 3-Com make a Mac ether card, but have no details about it). - What software is available for the Mac in the ethernet area. What TCP/IP implementations are there, and what are their capabilities? What ether- connection hardware will the various software drive? - For Macs of the SE/Plus power, what speed differences are there in, say, NCSA telnet file transfers going the Fastpath route vs. the direct route (this assumes that NCSA telnet will *run* on some of the direct ether hardware.) Assume that the LocalTalk segment is lightly loaded so that has little or no impact on performance. - Would it be possible for someone with a direct-to-ether Mac to use a chooser-visible LaserWriter on a Localtalk segment via a FastPath? - If all the Macs were directly connected to the ethernet, is there a way for them to gain easy access to a LaserWriter (attached to some machine, maybe a Mac, maybe a Unix box), preferably in the standard, chooser-selectable, way? I know that's a lot of questions, but any answers or other general advice would be very welcome. Please respond via e-mail, and I'll try to summarise to the net later if others have a need for the same information. Thanks in advance. ----------------- John Aspden ARPA : jpa%newcastle.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk Phone: +44 91 222 8069 UUCP : ...!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!jpa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A satisfied customer - we should have him stuffed!" ... Basil Fawlty -- John Aspden ARPA : jpa%newcastle.ac.uk@nss.cs.ucl.ac.uk Phone: +44 91 222 8069 UUCP : ...!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!jpa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A satisfied customer - we should have him stuffed!" ... Basil Fawlty
verber@dinosaur.cis.ohio-state.edu (Mark A. Verber) (11/30/88)
> Equip each Mac with its own ethernet connector (using something like > the Kinetics EtherPort SE for SEs and EtherSC for the Pluses), and connect > them all directly to the Ethernet. This leaves us with the problem of how > to connect a printer. This would be my preference if you have the money. Speed is always nice. I would use the Liason software from Infosphere. Liason is a software bridge which will run on any Mac. It takes approx 20K in your heap. A very nice product. You could connect a Laserwriter via LocalTalk to a Mac running Liason that had one port for LocalTalk and an Ethernet board. I have heard good things about the Dove FastNet hardware. Using Dove might be better that Kinetics since all the Kinetics products have a problem when talking to very fast Ethernet hosts. > Install a short LocalTalk network for the four Macs in one area with a > Kinetics FP to the ethernet, and attach the laserwriter to that LocalTalk > segment. For the other 2/3, either connect them directly as in the former > suggestion, or use another LocalTalk/FastPath combination (expensive > for just 2 machines). > This is an OK solution. If you have mainly MacPluses, this is much more cost effective than having an Ethernet connection for each Mac. If you have mainly SEs or MacIIs I would go with the Ethernet cards. I would think strongly about the Cayman GatorBox rather than a Kinetics Fastpath. > > - What software is available for the Mac in the ethernet area. What TCP/IP > implementations are there, and what are their capabilities? What ether- > connection hardware will the various software drive? > For TCP/IP on the Mac there is: * NSCA Telnet (public domain) * Stanford MacIP (FTP, Telnet, Finger, and MH-Mail) for ~$100 * TCP/IP Connection for InterCon (a commercial version of NSCA with goodies such as client ftp, better terminal emulation, etc.). * MacNFS from Apple some day? * Ungerman-Bass TCP/IP (ftp, telnet, smtp, other goodies) > NCSA telnet file transfers going the Fastpath route vs. ether hardware? Most of the TCP/IP products will talk directly to Ethernet hardware. The is a great deal of preformace difference. > LaswerWriter via Chooser w/ EtherTalk If you have bridges running between an EtherTalk segment and a LocalTalk (bridges being a Fastpath, GaterBox, or Mac w/ Liason) will support the Chooser just fine. The only worry you might have is if your Ethernet us no one continuous cable and has a router between your two Macintosh clusters. Most routers don't know about AppleTalk.