rolfe@w3vh.UUCP (Rolfe Tessem) (11/09/87)
I'm brand new to the net, so I'll apologize in advance if this posting is to
the wrong group. I'll shortly be setting up a small network of Macintoshes,
probably about 6-8, for the television production company I've started
recently. Is there a relatively inexpensive way to set this network up
so that it can access the Internet for mail and netnews? I'll be using
Appletalk for the Macs, since it's built into the machines, so I guess I'm
really asking whether an AT Clone or something similar could be dedicated
to news and mail and networked with the Macs.
I'm sure I can't be the first to ask this question, can I?
--
UUCP: {uunet}!w3vh!rolfe | Rolfe Tessem
ARPA: w3vh!rolfe@uunet.UU.NET | P.O. Box 793
PACKET:W3VH @WA2PVV | Great Barrington, MA 01230ralphw@IUS2.CS.CMU.EDU (Ralph Hyre) (11/11/87)
Followup-to:comp.protocols.appletalk [please direct followups to comp.protocols.appletalk] In article <111@w3vh.UUCP> rolfe@w3vh.UUCP (Rolfe Tessem) writes: >I'm brand new to the net, so I'll apologize in advance if this posting is to >the wrong group. You might try comp.protocols.appletalk, which address Appletalk networking issues. You didn't mention how your Macs would connect to the DARPA Internet, but typically you need government sponsorship of research. USENET is a separate network, but it is connected to the Internet for mail and news. You will probably find it easier (and cheaper) to hook up USENET and uucp-based mail at your site. >... Is there a relatively inexpensive way to set this network [of Macintoshes],up An AT clone could work, but you will may want to run Unix on it to make software integration easier. None of this stuff is packaged, so you will want a C compiler and sources for things. An easy way to do news across networks is to run the NetNews Transfer protocol (NNTP) on top of the TCP/IP protocol, on top of the Appletalk protocols. Here's what you'll need for the news and mail server (AT clone on usenet) - an AppleTalk card - A USENET package (uucp + some utilities) - A TCP/IP implementation that runs over Appletalk - an NNTP (NetNews transfer protocol) server that talks to the above Here's what you need for the Macs - TCP/IP on Appletalk packages for the Macs. - NNTP clients for the Macs that uses the above. This all gets you news reading capability, I don't know what to recommend for mail. This could easily cost >$1K if you do it with commercial stuff. On the other hand, you should know about Phil Karn's KA9Q TCP/IP package for the PC. It is free for non-commercial use, and there are Mac ports of it as well. (don't know if they support AppleTalk, though.) People are planning to do NNTP implementations on top of Phil's package. -- - Ralph W. Hyre, Jr. Internet: ralphw@ius2.cs.cmu.edu Phone:(412)268-{2847,3275} CMU-{BUGS,DARK} Amateur Packet Radio: N3FGW@W2XO, or c/o W3VC, CMU Radio Club, Pittsburgh, PA
ron@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (11/11/87)
Internet is a little difficult for a random person, especially with such an underconfigured system as yours to get connected to for full news/mail. Perhaps you'd like to try UUCP instead? -Ron
rolfe@w3vh.UUCP (Rolfe Tessem) (11/12/87)
In article <16410@topaz.rutgers.edu>, ron@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) writes: > Internet is a little difficult for a random person, especially > with such an underconfigured system as yours to get connected > to for full news/mail. Perhaps you'd like to try UUCP instead? > > -Ron In my original posting, I asked whether there was any reasonably feasible way for my little network of 6-8 Macintoshes to connect to the net for the purposes of exchanging news and mail. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the phrase "connected to the Internet." That obviously has broader implications than I'd intended to convey. A UUCP connection to something like UUNET would be fine, but my question remains: what can I add to my little Appletalk network to make this work? I'm aware of the Kinetics products, but aren't they Appletalk/Ethernet gateway oriented? Can I hang a cheap UNIX box like a PC AT Clone on the network to do this? I realize that TOPS supports this kind of UNIX hardware on an Appletalk network, but my understanding of TOPS is that it's essentially for file sharing and transfer, and would be of no help in this kind of news/mail application. Since I haven't purchased the hardware yet, going with Mac SEs and Ethernet *is* a possibility, albeit an expensive one. Appletalk would certainly suffice from a performance standpoint in the environment I envision. I'm really a novice at networking -- can anyone help? -- UUCP: {uunet}!w3vh!rolfe | Rolfe Tessem ARPA: w3vh!rolfe@uunet.UU.NET | P.O. Box 793 PACKET:W3VH @WA2PVV | Great Barrington, MA 01230
usenet@saturn.ucsc.edu (Usenet News Account) (11/14/87)
Summary:RS232 and mail servers for AppleTalk DistributionWorld Organization: UC Santa Cruz; Division of Social Sciences Keywords: appletalk netnews From: wired@ssyx.ucsc.edu (Steve Orme,4582025) Path: ssyx!wired You might be able to use Tops to publish a directory of files downloaded from the internet...more elegant is to put a shared modem on the net and let people dial up as needed...there are several Net Serial X232 and NetModem V1200 from Shiva at 1-800-458-3550 MultiTalk from Abaton 415-463-8822 (3 ports) R-Server from Solana Electonics 619-566-1701 In addition 3'Com servers have mail server software - I don't know if this workswith Macs yet...408-562-6400 the last option is Lutzky-Baird, they make something called Ultra-Office which integrates macs into a Unix enviornment - I don't know if mail serving is included in their package...818-347-7791. A final resourceis Farallon Computing...They make an AppleTalk cabling system and network mangagement tools (AppleTalk) they also publish a list of AppleTalk developers that mentions all of the above companies and many more 415-849-2331