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From: bschmidt@bnr.ca (Ben Schmidt)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: MacTCP, Appletalk, and Fastpath 3s
Message-ID: <1990Oct15.194831.8540@bnrgate.bnr.ca>
Date: 15 Oct 90 19:48:31 GMT
References: <1990Oct12.134447.29673@ra.src.umd.edu>
Sender: news@bnrgate.bnr.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Lines: 48

In article <1990Oct12.134447.29673@ra.src.umd.edu> jaya@ra.src.umd.edu 
(Jaya Kanal) writes:
> 
> Any MacTCP experts out there:
> 
> We have recently started using MacTCP and products that use it (Telnet 
for 
> MacTCP, etc.) on some of our Macintoshes.  We have had success with the 
> Macs that have an ethernet connection, but no success with the 
Appletalked 
> ones.  We think the problem may be due to our use of (old) fastpath 3s, 
> because the 3s do not support ddp-ip routing, I believe.  I got a speedy 
> answer from Shiva when I wrote to them about the problem (thanks), and 
> they thought that the etalkgw software had some of the ddp-ip 
capabilities 
> that are built into the fastpath 4.  We are using etalkgw, but we are 
> having no luck.

I believe that your problems lie with your FastPath 3.  Take my advice
and trade-in any FastPath models 2 or 3 that you still have.  They're
just trouble waiting to happen.  Shiva has a trade-in program for
FastPaths.  I believe that Cayman does too.  And there may be others
(Ungermann-Bass?, NRC?, Webster?).

> In short, many installations must be using MacTCP successfully with 
> Appletalked Macs, and I am wondering if anyone knows what might be 
causing 
> our problems.  

I believe that you'll find that the MacTCP-equipped LocalTalk macs are
performing an NBP lookup for "IPGATEWAY" when you fire up a
MacTCP-based telnet application, in order to request a dynamic IP
address.  I doubt that the "etalkgw" code in your FastPath 3 registers
itself as an "IPGATEWAY", resulting in MacTCP giving up immediately.
It doesn't help that NCSA telnet and most other MacTCP applications
don't pass the MacTCP "couldn't find gateway" message up to the user,
but instead just immediately quit.  I assume that is the symptom you
get when you try to fire up a MacTCP-based telnet?

> fyi, "regular" Telnet works fine with these machines.

Yup.  "regular" telnet, upon failing to find an "IPGATEWAY", just makes
up an IP address based on your mac's net and node numbers.  If you've
set the FastPath IP subnet appropriately, you're home free.

Ben Schmidt              Bell-Northern Research, Ltd.    Ph: (613) 763-3906
Information Technology     P.O. Box 3511, Station C      FAX:(613) 763-3283
bschmidt@bnr.ca         Ottawa Ontario Canada K1Y 4H7