Subject: Re: Mac <=> PC
To: Benoit MARTEL <magus@cs.mcgill.ca>
From: David Brownlee <abs@anim.dreamworks.com>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 04/02/1997 13:20:51
On Wed, 2 Apr 1997, Benoit MARTEL wrote:
> I have a Mac running NetBSD and a PC running Linux at home. Neither of
> them has a network card for the time being. I was wondering if it's
> possible to connect them with a cable directly to transfer files etc
> because right now I have to put the stuff on disquettes and reboot in
> MacOS then back in NetBSD and use hfs tools because the floppy does not
> work under NetBSD.
>
> I've heard of many people connecting 2 Macs or 2 PCs with cables but has
> anybody around here connected a Mac to a PC and if so how does one go
> about it? (what kind of cable).
>
> Actually, I've noticed that the cable I use from my Mac to my modem fits
> nicely on the LPT port of my PC. Can I fry anything by simply plugging
> that in and reading/writting to the devices in /dev on each side?
>
You should be able to connect the PC serial port to the mac serial
port & run either ppp or slip. (LPT is the PC parallel port, COM1
or COM2 will be the PC serial port).
> The followup question is can I set up ppp or some networking using the
> above method so that using 1 modem, both computers have internet access
> directly.
>
Yes - you'll probably need to use NAT (which comes with NetBSD
-current) or equivalent to ensure the outside world only sees
one address, or pay more to your ISP to route multiple addresses
form your connection (I'd go NAT for just two machines :)
> If someone tells me that I can do this, I'll go get myself a good UNIX
> administration book and try. The software does not scare me it's just the
> cable part since all I know about hardware is that I can fry it if I dont
> know what I'm doing.
>
Serial to serial should be fine - it would be a little easier to
setup if you had the same OS on both machines, but not massively
so. As for the correct cable to use.. hmm - I'm sure the
NetBSD/mac68k FAQ _should_ have an example, if not then someone
should add one :) (I dont have one to hand :(
David/abs abs@anim.dreamworks.com
.---- I've been too drunk to love ----.-- I've been too drunk to remember -.
| too drunk to care | the hell of the night before |
| looked like death, felt like hell | I've been drinking myself blind |
`------ been the worse for wear ------'-- and still I'll drink some more --'