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From: tima@agora.rain.com (Tim Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: Transfer files between PC and IRIS?
Message-ID: <1991Apr10.172926.713@agora.rain.com>
Date: 10 Apr 91 17:29:26 GMT
References: <1991Apr5.222307.5567@eng.umd.edu> <1991Apr5.232621.86@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> <1991Apr9.124403.2358@cs.dal.ca>
Organization: Open Communications Forum
Lines: 60

In article <1991Apr9.124403.2358@cs.dal.ca> bill%biome@cs.dal.ca writes:
>In article <1991Apr5.232621.86@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au> rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Owen Baker) writes:
>>
>>Why not spend a little extra and get an ethernet card for the PC.... 
>
>Is this as simple as it sounds?...

In a way it is... Let me tell ya' about what I did...

First you have to get one DROP cable, or the multi-pin jobber that connects
to the ETHERNET port on your SGI. Then you need an ETHERNET TRANSCEIVER to
turn that multi-pin line into a real thin ethernet. Then you need a THIN
ETHERNET cable and TWO THIN ETHERNET TERMINATORS. These are little plugs
that go onto the ends of the cable to keep the signal from bouncing off
the end of the line.

Hook the multi-pin jobber up to the ETHERNET port (not GENLOCK ;-) ) on your
SGI, hook the TRANSCEIVER up to the multi-pin jobber, connect a terminator 
on one end of the 'T' connector and the cable to the other end. Hook the
cable up to the Ethernet board on your PC with the appropriate terminator
on the other end. Now you have the computers physically connected and you
have to get them mentally connected...

On the SGI, if you are running 3.3.1 or later (earlier versions had a bug...)
go into that WIMP interface system manager thingy and tell it to turn on 
networking. You also have to invent a 'node name' and 'address' for your
local SGI box, and your trusty PC. I called my SGI 'joseph' and my DELL PC
'donald'. I also gave them network node numbers 3.0.0.1 and 3.0.0.2. Re-boot
your SGI. If you have version < 3.3.1 read the 'networking with TCP/IP' or
some such documentation. You have to add some names to a file, and change a
coupla numbers around in another file to get it to work. When your SGI comes
up it will have your new node name stuck on the lower left hand of the screen.

On the PC, you need to get NCSA TELNET and an ethernet card that NCSA TELNET
can understand. I had a 16bit western digital, but there weren't any drivers
for it! I had to trade down to an 8bit. Oh well. There is also a program
that was based on the same code, called KA9Q that uses these 'packet' drivers.
Apparently radio amateurs run these TCP/IP networks over the airwaves... 
Anyway, install the 'appropriate' ethernet card and make sure it doesn't 
collide with your mouse, com ports, etc, etc (don't ya just love PC's?). 
Install NCSA TELNET (or KA9Q or whatever...) and give your PC the same address
that you gave your PC when you told the SGI what it was. ie joseph is address
3.0.0.1 so donald is address 3.0.0.2, I have to tell the PC that it is 
3.0.0.2. I also have to tell the pc that joseph exists, and his address is
3.0.0.1. 

Theoretically, all you have to do is type in the appropriate command on the 
PC and you get logged into the SGI. I type in 'telnet joseph' and it
automagically logs me into the SGI. If I want to log onto my PC from the 
SGI I have to run telnet on the PC, then log onto it from the SGI. It gets
kinda confusing when you transfer files cuz you are really logged onto the
other computer so you have to 'get' files backwards. Anyway, you'll get used
to it... The only problem I haven't fixed is I keep getting this 'vt102 not
found' error when I log into the SGI. Apparently I have to set up some kind
of remote login thingamajig that I have figured out yet. OH YA I ALMOST
FORGOT! You can only transfer files to/from accounts that have PASSWORDS!
This is probably not a problem for most people, but I have a whopping one user
on my 4D/20 so I never bothered to put a password in... Have fun!

tima@agora.rain.com