🚀 go-pugleaf

From: puklich@plains.UUCP (Blayne Puklich)
Subj: Networking 2 Macs cheaply:  How do I?
Orga: North Dakota State University, Fargo

In article <|^'XC@rpi.edu> slart@pawl.rpi.edu (David Bolling) writes:
>My roommate and I each have Mac II's.  They are 50 feet apart from
each >other in the same apartment.  What are the various ways we can
network >them together?  Our objectives are:
>      1) be able to play network games like Strategic Conquest
>         and NetTrek.
>      2) file sharing on an external SCSI hard disk.
>      3) share my LaserWriter IISC (if possible).

To play games, I'm almost sure all is necessary is the LocalTalk
connection between the machines.  But to do the file sharing and LW
sharing, you'll need something like the following.  This is pretty
inexpensive compared to other alternatives.

Probably the best software to use for this small of a network is Tops
by Sun MicroSystems.  For two machines this is much less expensive
than AppleShare, around $137 for each machine (last time I bought
copies).  You'll need also three LocalTalk or equivalent network
connectors.  For your use something that uses phone cabling would be
least expensive, so a connector such as PhoneNet or ModuNet (is this
still available?) would suffice.  Each of these runs around $35, so
what you have so far is roughly $370 plus phone cabling.

You connect them using a bus topology like:

  Mac        Mac        LW
   ^----------^----------^

That's all you'll really need.  You could add more software, such as
laser spooling software, but that's not absolutely necessary.

||+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++|| || Blayne Puklich      puklich@Plains.NoDak.EDU      "I
think I'm going    || || NDSU ACM Vice-Chair
nopuklic@Vaxosaur.NoDak.EDU      bald..."           || || NDSU,
Fargo, ND     This space intentionally left  -- Rush, from Caress ||
|| (701) 237-4408                blank.                  of Steel,
1975    ||
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