planting@sun6.cs.pittsburgh.edu (Dr. Harry Plantinga) (08/17/88)
I would like to share files between a Sun and a mac plus. I understand that Tops is a good package for that. What do I have to do to connect the mac to the sun, besides ordering Tops? Is appletalk required? Is localtalk available for the Sun? Is an ethernet connection available for the mac +? Or would I need some sort of localtalk/ethernet gateway box? --------------- Harry Plantinga planting@vax.cs.pittsburgh.edu
postmaster@mailcom.UUCP (Bernard Aboba) (08/23/88)
SUN will tell you to connect via EtherNet cable, and get a Kinetics box for the Macintosh. You can then transfer files over TOPS via EtherTalk, the EtherNet implementation of AppleTalk. To me this sounds like overkill because a two machine EtherNet will NOT be significantly faster than a two machine AppleTalk network, especially if the Mac is an SE or Plus. My timings indicate that speed increases of only 20-30% are observable in file transfer when comparing small ethernet vs. appletalk networks with low loading. There is an alternative to the Kinetics box called the Gatorbox, but I have no experience with it. Unfortunately, an AppleTalk card for SUN will probably run you as much as a Kinetics or Gator box, unless it's a 386i, in which case you MAY be able to utilize a TOPS PC Card. --- * Origin: MailCom -- EchoMac Info Here, Palo Alto (415) 855-9548 (Opus 1:204/444) SEEN-BY: 161/444 204/444 -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FidoNet: 1:204/444 UUCP: ...!sun!sunncal!mailcom!bernard INTERNET: sunncal!mailcom!bernard@Sun.COM US MAIL: Bernard Aboba, FaAA, 2225 East Bayshore Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303