[comp.protocols.appletalk] A Mac to Unix File System

unhd (Operator PRIVILEGED Account) (02/27/90)

Is there anything available today that would allow me to have a Mac file 
system on a Unix host.  My Mac is directly connected to ethernet, no 
Gatorbox or Kinetics Fastpaths involved.  I know that MacNFS will probably 
never be available and was wondering if anyone had considered making the 
functional equivalent.  I know vaguely of AUFS and CAP, but they require 
KIP, I believe.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

unhd (Operator PRIVILEGED Account) (02/27/90)

In article <1990Feb26.212826.13117@uunet!unhd> tjb!unhd!uunet (Thomas J. 
Baker) writes:
> Is there anything available today that would allow me to have a Mac file 
> system on a Unix host.  My Mac is directly connected to ethernet, no 
> Gatorbox or Kinetics Fastpaths involved.  I know that MacNFS will 
probably 
> never be available and was wondering if anyone had considered making the 
> functional equivalent.  I know vaguely of AUFS and CAP, but they require 
> KIP, I believe.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.
> 

I would also like to add that I don't want to give up my TCP/IP 
connectivity.  I read here that CAP does work without KIP, but I don't 
want to have my ethernet card doing EtherTalk all the time and not TCP/IP. 
 Can you do both at the same time?  What I need is NFS-like.  Again, 
thanks for any information possible.

________________________________________________________________________________
Thomas J. Baker                                     USENET: uunet!unhd!tjb
Computing and Information Services                  BITNET: T_BAKER@UNHH.BITNET
Kingsbury Hall, University of New Hampshire         Future: tjb@unhd.unh.edu
Durham, NH 03824                                    Voice: (603) 862-4490

                 "Some people like gym shoes, I like BMW's..."
________________________________________________________________________________

dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) (02/28/90)

[Apologies to all for the posted response... the article arrived here
 with no From: or Reply-to: header.]

In article <1990Feb26.212826.13117@uunet!unhd>  writes:
> Is there anything available today that would allow me to have a Mac file 
> system on a Unix host.  My Mac is directly connected to ethernet, no 
> Gatorbox or Kinetics Fastpaths involved.  I know that MacNFS will probably 
> never be available and was wondering if anyone had considered making the 
> functional equivalent.  I know vaguely of AUFS and CAP, but they require 
> KIP, I believe.

I believe that you can do this by using UAB... the Unix AppleTalk Bridge...
which enables certain Unix systems to speak EtherTalk without requiring
the services of a K-box.  You would then install the CAP libraries
(with a modified transport layer which speaks to UAB rather than
to the K-box), and build AUFS.

I haven't tried UAB here yet, since we do have a couple of K-boxen and
don't have any Macs directly on the Ethernet.  CAP and AUFS, on the
other hand, have been in use here for almost two years... they're
essential!

Both CAP and UAB can be FTP'ed from cunixc.columbia.edu, I believe.
I don't know where they live in the file-system, though.

-- 
Dave Platt                                             VOICE: (415) 493-8805
  UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt   DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com
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  USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc.  3350 West Bayshore #205  Palo Alto CA 94303

cohen@santa_fe.ebay.sun.com (Michael A. Cohen) (02/28/90)

> Is there anything available today that would allow me to have a Mac file 
> system on a Unix host.  My Mac is directly connected to ethernet, no 
> Gatorbox or Kinetics Fastpaths involved.  I know that MacNFS will 
probably 
> never be available and was wondering if anyone had considered making the 
> functional equivalent.  I know vaguely of AUFS and CAP, but they require 
> KIP, I believe.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

If your UNIX box is a SUN, you can use TOPS/Sun.  This allows a Sun to be 
a TOPS server.  It is similar in functionality to AUFS, except that it is 
a commercial product.

Hope this helps,
Michael

--- 
Michael Cohen
T_O_P_S
cohen@santa_fe.ebay.sun.com

disclaimer: my opinions! all mine!

liam@cs.qmw.ac.uk (William Roberts) (03/01/90)

In article <1990Feb27.130756.1343@uunet!unhd>  writes:
>I would also like to add that I don't want to give up my TCP/IP
>connectivity.  I read here that CAP does work without KIP, but I don't
>want to have my ethernet card doing EtherTalk all the time and not TCP/IP.
> Can you do both at the same time?  What I need is NFS-like.  Again,
>thanks for any information possible.

To clarify this (I hope):

1. KIP is about getting AppleTalk protocols around TCP/IP
networks and to hosts (unusally UNIX) that only understand IP.

2. CAP is software for UNIX boxes that implements the AppleTalk
protocol stacks, plus some applications such as being an
AppleShare file server.

3. EtherTalk is a registered Ethernet packet type, used by
Apple to ship AppleTalk protocol datagrams over Ethernets directly.


If your UNIX boxes need KIP, then CAP will be set up to send
and receive its AppleTalk datagrams via KIP (i.e. in UDP/IP
packets).

If you have the right UNIX boxes (Suns basically), then uab is
another chunk of software that will enable your UNIX box to
receive EtherTalk directly, and so you can build CAP on top of
that. KIP is then unnecessary and you don't need surplus
FastPath boxes etc.

As for TCP/IP from your Mac with an Ethernet interface: no
problem! EtherTalk packets drop out of the bottom of things
which use AppleTalk protocols (basically printing and
AppleShare), and the TCP/IP implementation sits alongside with
no conflicts at all. It makes no differences whose TCP/IP you
use either; MacTCP, TCPPort(?) or even then DIY stuff in early
NCSA Telnet.


Bottom Line(s):

* You can have both TCP/IP and EtherTalk on your Mac
* CAP gives you an AppleShare fileserver using UNIX filestore.

Does that answer your questions?


(PS for pedants: the code called KIP which loads into a FastPath
has another TCP/IP related function, namely to handle transfer
of IP packets over LocalTalk cables. If you have LocalTalk Macs
then you'll still need a gateway, but this is a separate issue
from how you arrange CAP).
-- 

William Roberts                 ARPA: liam@cs.qmw.ac.uk
Queen Mary & Westfield College  UUCP: liam@qmw-cs.UUCP
Mile End Road                   AppleLink: UK0087
LONDON, E1 4NS, UK              Tel:  01-975 5250 (Fax: 01-980 6533)

hpoppe@bierstadt.scd.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (03/02/90)

In article <1716@sequent.cs.qmw.ac.uk> liam@cs.qmc.ac.uk (William Roberts) writes:
> ...
>If you have the right UNIX boxes (Suns basically), then uab is
>another chunk of software that will enable your UNIX box to
>receive EtherTalk directly, and so you can build CAP on top of
>that. KIP is then unnecessary and you don't need surplus
>FastPath boxes etc.
> ...

Is UAB implemented as a kernel mod or otherwise require kernel mods?

Is CAP implemented as a kernel mod or otherwise require kernel mods?

--
Herb Poppe      NCAR                         INTERNET: hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu
(303) 497-1296  P.O. Box 3000                   CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET
		Boulder, CO  80307               UUCP: hpoppe@ncar.UUCP

liam@cs.qmw.ac.uk (William Roberts) (03/02/90)

In article <6467@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@bierstadt.scd.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) writes:
>
>Is UAB implemented as a kernel mod or otherwise require kernel mods?
>Is CAP implemented as a kernel mod or otherwise require kernel mods?

CAP is implemented on top of the Berkeley sockets stuff and so
needs no kernel modifications. UAB is written (for SunOS 4.0 at
least) on top of something called NIT (network interface tap)
which is a way that the superuser can receive copies of any
Ethernet packet addressed to thsi machine, into a user-level
process. This also requires no kernel modificiations by the
person installing UAB, but you do of course need a kernel which
has the network tap stuff which is why UAB only works on a few
machine types.

Technophiles may be interested to know that the Sun versions of
the network tap is a streams clone device, and useful streams
modules include a packet filter (presumably used to receive
only the EtherTalk packets and ignore all the IP and ARP
stuff), a buffering module with some annoying semantics, and a
"turn this stream back into packets" module! :-)
UAB requires SunOS 4.0 because the SunOS 3.x version of NIT
didn't work properly and was completely rewritten.

I believe that some kernel implementations based on the BSD
protocol switch mechanism are available: Kinetics do (did?) a
commercial one which was licenced by Sequent for the Balance
(but long before EtherTalk got properly sorted out), and I
think that there's even an academic licence one available
somewhere. Anyone out there got more details on these?
-- 

William Roberts                 ARPA: liam@cs.qmw.ac.uk
Queen Mary & Westfield College  UUCP: liam@qmw-cs.UUCP
Mile End Road                   AppleLink: UK0087
LONDON, E1 4NS, UK              Tel:  01-975 5250 (Fax: 01-980 6533)