[comp.sys.sgi] interfacing a PC to a 4D machine

S090726@UMRVMA.UMR.EDU (Bob Funchess) (02/15/90)

The information you need to connect your PC to one of the serial ports on
the Iris is located in the owner's manual (of all places...) which is the
one that looks different from all the rest, or the ONLY one you get if you
don't buy the development system (or so I have heard).  It's towards the back.
Essentially you need a null modem cable to physically connect the computers,
then set up /etc/inittab properly (documented in the manual), at which point
you should be all set up for file transfer (use Kermit, it's free for both
machines and has worked well for us... MS-Kermit also is a terminal emulation
package).  9600 baud works fine, I don't think 19200 does, but I could be
wrong about that.  HOWEVER... trying to back up a file system over this is
going to be an overnight affair at 9600 baud, even if you're only filling one
Bernoulli cartridge.  40 MB will take approximately 8 hours at 9600 baud,
ignoring protocol overhead. :(

                             < Bob | S090726@UMRVMA.UMR.EDU | Funchess >
                                    University of Missouri - Rolla
Be reasonable:  if the university shared my opinions, would I have an ID
like S090726 ???

buck@drax.gsfc.nasa.gov (Loren (Buck) Buchanan) (02/15/90)

We use Sun PC-NFS on a pair of PC clones, and on an Amiga all running over
ethernet.  The hard disk of the IRIS appears as one (or more) disk drives
on the clone or Amiga.  I haven't done any timing tests, but the NFS drives
seem slightly slower than the local hard disks.

The single biggest problem (aside from never having enough disk space :-) is
the PC wants <CR><LF> and the IRIS uses only <LF>.  I just wish the other
problems we have were as easy to solve.

I have no finacial interest in Sun, any other PC-NFS vendor, SGI, Commodore,
IBM, clone manufacutures, ...

B Cing U

Buck
Loren "Buck" Buchanan | internet: buck@drax.gsfc.nasa.gov | standard disclaimer
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