[comp.sys.mac.comm] MacTCP over serial line?

tjfs@tadtec.uucp (Tim Steele) (11/30/90)

Can MacTCP support serial line (SLIP?) communications?

I know it supports LocalTalk and EtherTalk.

Please reply by e-mail

Thanks!

Tim
-- 

tjfs@tadtec.uucp        ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!tadtec!tjfs
Tadpole Technology plc, Science Park, Milton Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB4 4WQ
Phone: +44-223-423030   Fax: +44-223-420772   Telex: 817316 TADTEC G

MAUKONEN@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu (12/03/90)

I too would be interested in this. Will it be in the next release of MacTcp ?


Thanks

Chris
maukonen@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu
Chris Maukonen
Sr. Systems Programmer
Univ. Central Florida
Orlando, Fla.

kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann) (12/04/90)

In article <TJFS.90Nov30154559@tadtec.uucp>, tjfs@tadtec.uucp (Tim Steele)
writes:
> Can MacTCP support serial line (SLIP?) communications?
> 
> I know it supports LocalTalk and EtherTalk.
> 
> Please reply by e-mail
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Tim
> -- 

Umm, not to my knowledge.  We had some information about how to do this,
but we (InterCon) has not done anything with this yet, because there currently
is just not a good way to do it (SLIP).  I am unaware of any other efforts
in this area at this point in time.

--
Kurt Baumann                       InterCon Systems Corporation
703.709.9890                      Creators of fine TCP/IP products
703.709.9896 FAX               for the Macintosh.

kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann) (12/04/90)

Argh, let me correct a bit of what I said.  You could do what you want a
couple of ways.  Since you can use MacTCP over AppleTalk you could use one
of several ways to connect AppleTalk over serial lines to do the actual connection
and then connecting using MacTCP.  It's worth a try.

Shiva's NetModem products (EtherGate as well), or Farrallons Liason might
do the trick for you.

--
Kurt Baumann                       InterCon Systems Corporation
703.709.9890                      Creators of fine TCP/IP products
703.709.9896 FAX               for the Macintosh.

jln@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (John Norstad) (12/06/90)

I too am eagerly awaiting SLIP support in MacTCP.  In particular, we would 
very, very much like to be able to support the use of MacTCP-based 
applications by Mac users who use a modem to connect to our Cisco terminal 
server.  For every Mac on the Northwestern campus which is directly 
connected to our campus internet, there are ten more which have only modem 
access.  

I know that there are various free and commercial Mac software packages 
which do support SLIP TCP/IP (the serial version of Eudora, KA9Q, 
Intercon's TCP-Connect II, etc.), but I really don't want to have to 
support two completely different parallel sets of Mac TCP/IP application 
software, one set for directly connected Macs, and another set for dialup 
Macs.  SLIP support in MacTCP seems like the natural and obvious solution 
to our problem.

From various conversations and reading of postings, I understand that SLIP 
support cannot simply be "tacked" on top of the existing MacTCP 1.0.1 
implementation, but would have to be done by Apple as part of MacTCP 
itself (or at least more "hooks" would have to be implemented in MacTCP).  
I'm not an expert on this though, so I could easily be wrong.

In the past I've heard rumors that SLIP support in MacTCP was coming REAL 
SOON NOW :-), and now I hear in this thread that there's no activity in 
this area right now.  

I know that companies don't usually let their employees comment on 
"unannounced products", but couldn't someone from Apple or elsewhere at 
least let us know if this is a "planned future direction"?  This is 
important to us here at NU and to many other people.

John Norstad
Academic Computing and Network Services
Northwestern University
jln@casbah.acns.nwu.edu

MAUKONEN%ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu (12/17/90)

I would like to echo John's comments. We are planning to have SLIP
support here at UCF real soon and would like to be able to support
the growing number of Macs that are not netorked. SLIP in MacTCP
would most difinately help.


Chris Maukonen
Univ. Central Flori

kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann) (12/18/90)

In article <1627@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>, jln@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (John Norstad)
writes:
> I know that companies don't usually let their employees comment on 
> "unannounced products", but couldn't someone from Apple or elsewhere at 
> least let us know if this is a "planned future direction"?  This is 
> important to us here at NU and to many other people.

Well, we have never kept the fact that we want to do SLIP/PPP for MacTCP
a secret.  But we need to have a few more hooks put into place before we
can easily do so.  We have a fair number of people who are interested in
the samething that you are, but...

--
Kurt Baumann                       InterCon Systems Corporation
703.709.9890                      Creators of fine TCP/IP products
703.709.9896 FAX               for the Macintosh.