Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!drew
From: drew@cup.portal.com (Andrew E Wade)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: How to link AppleTalk to EtherNet
Message-ID: <15036@cup.portal.com>
Date: 24 Feb 89 18:51:21 GMT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 27

Does anyone know any good ways to link AppleTalk (Macintosh LAN) to
EtherNet (e.g., Suns, etc., running with NFS, etc.)?  We use Macs
for mktng, admin, finance, etc., but for sw development we use Suns
and similar workstations.  Major problem is email; file transfer is
also useful.

There are three ways I know:  (1)  String a serial cable from each Mac to
some Sun serial port.  Then, the Mac can use a terminal emulation program
(we use Red Ryder) to log onto sun, then use mail, transfer files with
xmodem or kermit or just ascii into vi, etc.  Works fine except for:
need to string cables and availability of sun ports; mail arrival is
not signaled to Mac user unless he explicitly brings up Red Ryder and
checks.  Does anyone know of fix for this mail notification?  Maybe there's
a little program that could run (desk accessory?) and periodically check
mail?

(2) NetSerial, a box which sits on AppleTalk, shared by all Mac's (one at
a time), and acts like a serial port.  It can be connected to a Sun
serial port, and then the Macs can log into Unix as remote terminal,
just as in (1) above.  Advantage:  no need to string serial wires.
Disadvantage:  Limited resource (only one Mac can use NetSerial at a time,
so Mac user might have to wait in line to read/send email, which is a real
pain!); same other problem as above:  no notification to Mac user of
arrival of mail.

(3) GatorBox and Kinetics boxes.  Expensive.  I haven't looked into them
in detail or heard references.