Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!uwvax!umn-d-ub!umn-cs!davidli
From: davidli@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu (Dave Meile)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: atari to appletalk quest
Message-ID: <4605@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu>
Date: 29 Mar 88 15:43:28 GMT
References: <8803071434.AA04788@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <512@uhnix2.UUCP> <85@obie.UUCP> <253@piring.cwi.nl>
Reply-To: davidli@umn-cs.UUCP (Dave Meile)
Organization: Flying Taoist Graphics
Lines: 35

As a point of information to those seeking some sort of "asynchronous
AppleTalk" (gotta be a tradmark here somewhere...):

"Asynchronous AppleTalk(tm) was first developed at Dartmouth College by
Rich Brown and Steve Liggett of the Kiewitt Computing Center.  It was
developed in order to provide AppleTalk service to campus offices which
could not be directly connected to an AppleTalk(tm) bus or just required
the mobility of dial-in service."

"The technique is simple really, just remove the normal AppleTalk Link
Access Protocol drivers and replace them with a clever piece of code
which imposes some very simple handshaking and address verification, then
transmits AppleTalk packets asynchronously to what it believes is a bridge.
The bridge then routes the packets according to the destination ID (or
broadcasts the pacet).  Although the Dartmouth system utimately joins
with normal 230Kbps AppleTalk buses, in no way is this necessary to
enjoy the benefits of such a well-supported LAN system."

"The Sand Hill reactor operates somewhat like an AppleTalk bridge, but
assumes that there are only asynchronous AppleTalk devices; devices that
are termed 'semi-formal' which are addressable from other reactors but
speak no flavor of AppleTalk (such as PC's, modems, printers, etc.); and
devices which are not addressable from the extended network"

(From TECHNICAL NOTES ON ASYNCHRONOUS APPLETALK AND THE SAND HILL NETWORK
      REACTOR)

So, it CAN be done (HAS been done).  The "trick" however is that in order
to use AppleTalk on an ST you'd have to LICENSE the AppleTalk Protocols
from Apple (or writer your own -- good luck)

Truly interested persons can write to me for the address of the authors
of the TECHNICAL NOTES.  (I am in no way connected with Dartmouth or the
authors, but the information is of interest here, and I *do* own a Magic
Sac :-) )