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From: conrad@popvax.uucp (M20400@c.nobili)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Re: Having Localtalk and Ethernet too
Summary: Liaison is really neat, but difficult if you don't RTFM
Keywords: localtalk local ethernet routing Liaison
Message-ID: <6596@husc6.harvard.edu>
Date: 30 Apr 91 12:52:39 GMT
References: <1991Apr26.204034.27688@hubcap.clemson.edu> <2581@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU>
Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu
Organization: Health Sciences Computing Facility, Harvard University
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In article <2581@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU> weiss@watson.seas.ucla.edu (Michael Weiss) writes:
>In article <1991Apr26.204034.27688@hubcap.clemson.edu> philip@hubcap.clemson.edu (Philip L Harshman) writes:
>>I have heard of a product called "Liaison" that will do the trick, but another
>>user at our site is having great difficulty with it and doesn't recommend it.
>
>Both will work.  Liaison is probably the cheapest way to do it, but it's not
>all that user friendly (as your site user has found out).  Some claim that it
>slows down the computer, but I have never noticed any significant change in
>speed (but I also haven't run benchmarks on it under both...it's just my
>eyeballing).

Liaison is a really neat product.  It is however one of those things that you
have to RTFM for....  It has all sorts of neat capabilities, including dial-in
access and some extra security.  And it is really cheap for what it does.  Have
a look at any of the recent Ethernet/LocalTalk router comparisons too.  Liaison
regularly holds its own against a whole variety of $expensive$ hardware routers,
including GatorBoxen.  (I know that GBs do a whole bunch of other things, but
Liaison's performance is very impressive....)

I have a Liaison router set up on my SE/30 at work to provide me with dial-in
access to all of the services of our AppleTalk network from home.  I like the
flexibility of being able to print to LocalTalk printers, access AppleShare
volumes, network modems, and still be able to telnet, tn3270, HyperFTP, and
read news directly from my Mac at home, all with one phone call.

I have found that performance is reasonable on the machine at work even if 
there is a dial-in connection going through it.  I can't vouch for performance
under different circumstances.  I only use it as a dial-up AppleTalk network
bridge.  I don't know if Ethernet/LocalTalk routing is less or more work....

Well, I hope this is of some help.  Don't despair about someone not being able
to set Liaison up.  You may have better luck, especially after reading the man-
ual.  I have seen other people at our site with problems with Liaison, but upon
examination it became clear that the people who had set things up didn't have
the _faintest_ idea what they were doing!  It is a neat but complex product.  (I
guess Retrospect is another good example of such a product -- you don't stand a
chance of really understanding what it does or how to take advantage of it fully
until you read the manual.)  At any rate, Farallon's technical support people
are really good in my experience, and should be able to help you out if you get
into difficulty.  I recommend Liaison.  Check it out against your needs and bud-
get....

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