powsner@csb1.nlm.nih.gov (Seth M Powsner) (09/28/90)
Anyone with experience bridging two small Localtalk networks over dial-up lines? We've got a dozen machines (pc's, ps2's, mac's, and a laserwriter) running Tops v2.1 and QuickMail throughout our office suite. We're bridged to a much larger LocalTalk network (Shiva NetBridge) and from that net there's a FastPath 4 hooking us to the campus ethernet. So far so good... Now we're going to have an 'outpost' a few blocks away. We're looking at using Shiva Telebridge's linked by some 2400 baud dial-up modems to allow QuickMail access and some word processor file sharing (exchange actually). Maybe we'd use the printers at each end fax style too. Will this work? I've seen notes warning about Appletalk via 2400 baud link (and maybe a patch). Anyone have direct experience with TOPS and or QuickMail over such a slow link (probably can't afford 9600 baud modems). Part of the "problem' is that the outpost's machines will be PC's. Dial-up access to the QuickMail server does not seem to offer (word processor) file enclosures from a PC. Otherwise we could "mail" the files around. Among the machines at the outpost, there will likely be a small TOPS network for word processor file sharing and printer sharing as there is here. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance, Seth Powsner, powsner@nlm.nih.gov powsner@yalemed.bitnet
mark@shiva.com (Mark D. Pesce) (10/15/90)
I hope this isn't too self serving (as I am an employee of Shiva corp.) but: 2400bps access will be fine for both QuickMail and TOPS. It won't be a speed demon, in any case, but it will work. There is a caveat though. If you have large enclosures in QuickMail, the protocol does seem to *burp* quite a bit at 2400bps. This means that you may have some trouble getting large (>50K) enclosures across on the first try. You should be able to use the printers on either side of the link without any problem at all. Printing does not seem to be bothered by low-speed links. AppleShare, (if you do intend to use it) doesn't work as well as either QuickMail or TOPS at 2400bps. The problem is somewhere deep within AppleShare, and while there is a workaround coded into the Telebridge alieviate the problem, its a solution we don't normally recommend. I have actually done all the things that you're planning to do and I'm speaking from experience when I say that they'll all work fine, with the exceptions as noted above. Hope this helps. --