Subject: [netatalk-admins] LocalTalk - possible?

From: Owen Waller <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 97 16:36:39 -0000

hi,

According to the netatalk WWW pages, it's possible to extend netatlk so 
that it runs over different network types, FDDI and PPP are given as the 
examples on the WWW.

So, does anybody know how difficult it would be to support Localtalk 
(i.e. Appletalk over a serial line). Specifically in my case to support 
printing (filesharing I'm not worried about) on a PowerMac running Linux. 
Neither PowerMac kernel supports locatalk printing yet which to me seems 
silly given the huge number of localtalk printers out there.

Any thoughts on how difficult this is, and where I need to start.

Cheers

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From: Mario Klebsch DG1AM <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 12:31:16 +0200

Hi!

>(i.e. Appletalk over a serial line).

The hardest part probably is the hardware. The Mac uses a Zilog USART
while most PCs only have an UART (not capable of doing synchronous
transfers). The next problem probably is speed. localtalk runs at 307
kbaud. On the Mac they have to use polling of the USART to achieve
this speed.

So to get is working on a PC you probably need some special hardware
containing a Zilog USART and a processor doing the polling.

73, Mario
-- 
Mario Klebsch, DG1AM, [email-masked]		+49 531 / 391 - 7457
Institut fuer Robotik und Prozessinformatik der TU Braunschweig
Hamburger Strasse 267, 38114 Braunschweig, Germany

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From: Stefan Bethke <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 13:51:16 +0200

>transfers). The next problem probably is speed. localtalk runs at 307
230,4 kilobit per second

>containing a Zilog USART and a processor doing the polling.

Probably. Unless you already have some old LocalTalk card, it might be
easier and cheaper to buy an Ethernet/LocalTalk bridge (Dayna, Asante, lots
of others). The only LT card currently sold, I believe, is from COPS.

There used to be a driver for the old LocalTalk PC card from Apple for
Linux, but I don't know it's status. Recently, someone ported the driver to
FreeBSD; we'll have to see how good it works.

Stefan

--
Stefan Bethke
Promo Datentechnik      |  Tel. +49-40-851744-0
+ Systemberatung GmbH   |  Fax. +49-40-851744-44
Eduardstrasse 46-48     |  e-mail: [email-masked]
D-20257 Hamburg         |  http://www.Promo.DE/

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From: Patrik Schindler <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 14:15:13 +0200 (MET DST)

> FreeBSD; we'll have to see how good it works.

Look yourself:
http://www.math.umn.edu/~bradford/ltpc.html

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From: Bernard Becker <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 08:25:23 -0400

>kbaud. On the Mac they have to use polling of the USART to achieve

LocalTalk runs at 230.4 KB
There are ISA LocalTalk Cards that still may be available. Apple made one,
Farallon made one as did Dayna. They may still be manufactured. This will
give the h/w to emulate localtalk.

Novell even had drivers at one point that supported these cards.

As for drivers under UNIX, your on your own.

I may even have one of those old cards lieing around somewhere. I can look
if anyone is interested.

Bernard Becker
Sr.Systems Engineer
Apple Canada Inc.
[email-masked]
7495 Birchmount Road
Markham, Ontario, Canada
L3R 5G2
TEL. 905-513-5844
FAX. 905-513-5793

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From: Patrik Schindler <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 14:45:34 +0200 (MET DST)

> Novell even had drivers at one point that supported these cards.

They ONLY supported the Dayna Card.

PoC

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From: "Jeremy A. Gilbert" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 10:57:14 -0400 (EDT)

> As for drivers under UNIX, your on your own.

	Not if you use Linux. :)

	Linux will do it if you use Brad's drivers and an Apple localtalk
board. Last year I had a linux box up for a couple of months on my
school's localtalk network. I had a file and print server running as well
as IP over DDP.  I never got more than about 12 K/s even though my mac was
humming at 18 K/s on the same connection. :) But aside from that, it
worked great. The ony time I crashed it was when I tried to use it as a
port on a masquerading firewall. :) 

Jeremy

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 Jeremy Gilbert                           [email-masked] + 
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From: Happy Weed <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 11:32:35 -0500 (CDT)

would anyone know where to find this driver, since I now own of those
appletalk cards for my computer.

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From: Patrik Schindler <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:22:26 +0200 (MET DST)

> appletalk cards for my computer.

http://www.math.um.edu/~bradford/ltpc.html

PoC