Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!MTE.NCSU.EDU!paisley
From: paisley@MTE.NCSU.EDU (Mike)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: RE: laser names in Chooser
Message-ID: <8909161639.AA24572@ncsuvx>
Date: 16 Sep 89 16:39:24 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 47

John Kupec (jwk@scripps.edu)  writes:

> Problem 1:  Farallon's NodeHint doesn't work for me.  I've tried it on
> 	    an SE/30 and a Mac II.  I'm using ATview to get the node info.  
> 	    Maybe ATview gets it's node information from a different place 
> 	    than that set by NodeHint?  I don't have CheckNet or TrafficWatch.
> 	    My first guess is that I would see the node hint set by
> 	    "NodeHint" only if I were using the Farallon DA's.  ATview
> 	    seems to provide good info otherwise.  Farallon could only say 
> 	    that "it should work". 

John doesn't say what he means by doesn't work, so I'll ramble on about a few 
things that it COULD be:

1.  AT View gets the node number that it displays from the node number that is
    broadcast by a named object on each machine.  For Macs, this requires that
    either Responder or some equivalent INIT be running, or some other network
    service like e-mail, etc. be running on the machine you want to see.  
    Things like LaserWriters and anything else that shows up as a service 
    under Chooser also broadcast a named object that can be seen by AT View.
    Other network monitoring software will display info on unnamed nodes, but
    AT View won't.  If you're not running one of those INITs/services, AT View
    will not see it.

2.  NodeHint and the PD SetNode set the same section of parameter RAM that the
    Mac uses to take its first guess for its node number upon booting.  Using
    either one requires that (a) you set it with the utility, (b) there is no
    other named or UNNAMED device with that number, (c) you must reboot the 
    Mac for it to use the new hint.

3.  For reasons that I don't understand, SOMETIMES a Mac will ignore the 
    parameter RAM hint, and pick a new number.  I (and others) have seen this
    occur on very small and stable networks (5 SE's and a LaserWriter).  This 
    does not happen, of course, if the machine is left on all the time.  
    Perhaps it picks a new number if there is much (or any) traffic on the net
    when it tries to boot, I don't know.  Would anyone from Apple care to 
    comment?  At any rate, nets where machines go up and down constantly, WILL
    NOT have very stable node numbers, only reasonably stable.

If this doesn't address your specific problems, I'm sorry.  Good luck.

Michael J. Paisley			PAISLEY@MTE.NCSU.EDU
Materials Science & Engineering		PAISLEY%MTE@NCSUVX.NCSU.EDU
229 Riddick Laboratories		PAISLEY@NCSUMTE.BITNET
Campus Box 7907				Office: (919) 737-7083
North Carolina State University		Messages: (919) 737-2377
Raleigh, NC 27695-7907			FAX: (919) 737-3419