Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!elbereth.rutgers.edu!hobson From: hobson@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Kevin Hobson) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk Subject: Re: Need help with MacTCP Summary: MacTcp needs to be fix for your situation Keywords: MacTCP Message-ID: Date: 13 Jan 91 03:13:49 GMT References: Organization: Rutgers Telecommunications Lines: 71 In article , makmur@athos.rutgers.edu (Hanz Makmur) writes: > I have lots of Mac behind Kbox with no HD and students is given a > disk to access AFP servers. To be able to use any TCP stuff, > I am to include mac TCP into each floppy. The problem is, every time > the students move from one zone or another, they have to configure > their MacTCP using the control panel by choosing the zone there are in > and reboot the Mac and then run their mactcp dependent programs. This > is not acceptable to me since the Mac already know what zone it is in. You are assuming that it is zonename dependent. It is not. It is IP subnet and host number dependent. > I have read in the news that some one did it and I am trying to get > the same result but fail. I cant figure out how it is done since > macTCP is zone dependent. In other words, you move from one location to > another, you have to reconfigure your MacTCP to that zone. > I would be very interested in this since you will have to use the DYNAMIC function of MacTCP in order to get this to work. MacTCP is not appletalk zonename dependent but IP subnetted dependent since it is assigning an IP address based on the FastPath subnet address. You want MacTCP to take the dynamically assign IP address given by the particualar FastPath. Remember everytime an MacIntosh is power-up it is assign an appletalk address. The FastPath uses this address to assign an unused IP-address to that MacIntosh. At that point, MacTCP should take that address an use it. The applications need to talk to MacTCP to find out what is it particular IP-address. Applications should always be independent of zonenames and find out the zone they are now in and find the services it wants through appletalk by going to that particular zone. > All the Macs are behind ddp/ip gateway (Kbox)and their IPs are assigned > dynamically. The MacTCP is set to SERVER. > SERVER should not work since it assumes hard-coded IP address (same subnetted IP network). DYNAMIC would be the correct option but you are in a particular bad situation. Dynamic should take the dynamic address assigned by the gateway. Your major problem will be with the gateway configuration in MacTCP since it assumes that the users are behind the same gateway everytime. If MacTCP could be set up to think that it is on one big IP network (arp for a address not on this subnet and let the cisco gateway "act" as the foreign host), then what you are trying to do in the Rutgers network will work. The way Rutgers network is set up, our cisco gateways proxy arp for addresses. How do you assign a gateway address in the form of 128.6.subnet.dynamically_assign_IP_address_of_macintosh when MacTCP has to know the IP address of the macintosh first? The FastPath software still does not know how the use a default-gateway option of the form 128.6.subnet.fastpath_host_address (arp on the particular subnet for different subnet hosts) Apple has to resolve this problem. You cannot get this to work. Sorry, Apple (and many other vendors) assume that TCP/IP networks that you should direct all "not this subnet" toward one gateway. What happens when this gateway goes away? These hosts do not know how to talk to other redundant gateways on that subnet because they are still configured for the old gateway. > Any help you could provide will be appreciated. > > Thanks > Hanz Makmur Send me mail to set up and appointment and I will explain in person if you need further explaination. -- Kevin Hobson Internet: hobson@rutgers.edu Rutgers - The State University UUCP: {backbone}!rutgers!hobson P.O. Box 879, RUCS, Hill Center, Busch BITNET: hobson@{cancer,pisces}.BITNET Piscataway, N.J. 08855-0879 PHONE: (908) 932-4780