At 7:18 AM -0500 8/24/98, Ulrich Hausmann wrote:
>We're using a PowerNexus (from GDT) localtalk-to-ethernet converter to
>connect an Apple IIGS and a Shiva NetSerial to an Ethertalk net. Now, that
>converter (there are also other brand ones) does not need any drivers,
>obviously it works simply translating the localtalk packages to ethernet
>packages (and can hook up up to 4 localtalk devices to the ethernet). Now,
>would such converter also work with a networked Mac running NetBSD (provided
>the ethernet card in the Mac is of the supported type)?
>
>TIA, Ulrich

I don't know what the PowerNexus supports, but I do have another LocalTalk
to EtherTalk bridge. On my network I only have AppleTalk and TCP/IP
traffic. On my bridge, only AppleTalk packets would transfer over the
bridge. If I wanted to send any TCP/IP traffic over the LocalTalk/EtherTalk
bridge, I needed to add a MacIP server that would encapsulate the TCP/IP
packets in AppleTalk packets. It is also my understanding (but I may be
wrong) that LocalTalk only supports AppleTalk traffic. If this is true,
then all LocalTalk/EtherTalk bridges can only transfer AppleTalk traffic.

So what this all means is that if you want a NetBSD computer on an Ethernet
network to talk to another device over on a LocalTalk network and the
networks are connected by a bridge, the NetBSD computer needs to use
AppleTalk. Running something like Netatalk on the NetBSD computer will
allow it to communicate with the Apple IIGS.


Eric Damien Berna
Thiel Visual Design
Phone: 414.271.0775
Email: eric@thiel.com