Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!m.cs.uiuc.edu!knauer From: knauer@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Robert Knauerhase) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Several Questions...... Message-ID: <1991Feb27.045401.29033@m.cs.uiuc.edu> Date: 27 Feb 91 04:54:01 GMT References: <910226.03250240.060828@SFA.CP6> <12845@darkstar.ucsc.edu> Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL Lines: 37 In <12845@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes: >In article <910226.03250240.060828@SFA.CP6> SMILLS@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (SCOTT MILLS) writes: > But at your work or wherever you're connected to Ethernet, you have >an Ethernet card for EACH Mac/PC/whatever? I probably have misunderstood >something, but I thought that you can get a box which converts from >Appletalk -> Ethernet and thus you can connect a whole bunch of Macs >(AND GSes) to Ethernet which would save a lot of money over buying a >separate card and cabling for each computer. Yes and no. There are two major Appletalk-Ethernet translators, the Cayman Systems Gatorbox and the Kinetics (Shiva, Novell, they've been bought & sold a bit) Fastpath. Both these boxes translate packets. The Gatorbox (which I'm more familiar with) will encapsulate Appletalk in IP so you can connect two Appletalks over intervening TCP/IP networks. Software exists to let you print through the box (both ways) and mount Unix NFS filesystems. The drawbacks are that they're expensive (the Gatorbox has an 8MHz 68000 and 1 MB Ram -- i.e. more horsepower than a Plus or Classic :) and Appletalk is slow (238Kb/s as opposed to 1, 10, or more Mb/s). They would, however, be the perfect solution in the case of labs of GS's... Several people have put GS's behind them but no one has yet (correct me if I'm mistaken Todd :) spent time to write anything significant for the GS to take advantage of net services. Problems are that not everyone has a box, and not everyone has Appletalk in the dorms (Caltech and CMU only, I believe?). We had to liberate a Gatorbox from the ACM office and play in the computer lab the night we did our limited tests. Rob Knauerhase -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Robert C. Knauerhase "Since the day the Apple III (RIP) was introduced U of Ill @ Urbana-Champaign in 1980, the 'experts' have been saying the Apple Dept. of Computer Science II is a dead machine. If the Apple III couldn't knauer@cs.uiuc.edu kill it, the Lisa (RIP) or the PC Jr. (RIP) or the rck@ces.cwru.edu 128K Mac (RIP) would. Some people never learn." Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com