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From: eirikur@ranger.enet.dec.com (Eirikur Hallgrimsson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Re: DEC LanWORKS for Macintosh
Message-ID: <15542@shlump.nac.dec.com>
Date: 24 Sep 90 19:54:40 GMT
Sender: newsdaemon@shlump.nac.dec.com
Distribution: comp
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Lines: 33


In article <25472@muvms3.bitnet>, mcguffey@muvms3.bitnet (Michael McGuffey) writes...
> 
>Will the DEC LanWORKS product allow Appleshare / DECnet print and file
>services throught the use of a DECrouter as a serial link, or do all
>Macs (including Plus, SE, SE/30) have to have an Ethernet adapter or
>a Fastpath-like device attached to the Localtalk network?

You have to be able to route Appletalk from the Mac to the server.  Any
solution that extends Appletalk will work.  File and Print services over other
transports are not supported, but are under study for the future.

Before considering a FastPath or other Appletalk routers, I strongly recommend
that you look at the rapidly dropping prices of Ethernet boards.  You get much
more speed, and you remove an item that requires management. A Mac Plus will
still require this kind of solution.

That said, there's another mechanism that might be of some use: DECnet
tunneling.  You can tunnel Appletalk via DECnet, but it requires a VAX (could
be a very small one) at each end.  This is typically used between geographicall
distributed Ethernets.

For performance reasons, you really don't want to be using file server volumes
or print spoolers that are linked to you by a serial line unless it is a really
fast one.   19.2 Kilobaud is the bare minimum, and I would not expect you to be
satisified with that.  That is *much* slower than LocalTalk.


"I came to discuss plastic surgery, but I could wait."
					-- Martha Frankel

Eirikur Hallgrimsson
eh@ranger.enet.dec.com