Simple, Cross Platform P2P File Sharing via 802.11b?

apago asks: "I travel alot on business and always need to exchange files with other people. We are always trying to figure out the best way to link two or more PC or Mac systems together. I carry regular and crossover cables and a small hub. Even then everyone has to configure a temp. IP address or have someone running a DHCP server. Most of these people have wireless 802.11b capability. Is there a way to share files between OSs using 802.11b without having to configure a temporary network setup? The autodiscovery and configuration of Bluetooth and ZeroConf sound like a good start. I like the easy of use of P2P apps." Does 802.11b need a TCP/IP stack to work? Could a low-profile stack, designed around ease-of-use, be used instead (all you would need to connect to the network would be the SSID, for example)?

Comments

Rendezvous does this

[foobar104]

I know this isn't the be-all solution you're looking for, but be aware that Rendezvous does this very thing in Mac OS X 10.2. Since Rendezvous (which is just Apple's trademark for ZeroConf) is an open standard, it could in theory be implemented on any OS.

The best part of Rendezvous, in my opinion, is the serverless name resolution for self-assigned IPs. For example, if your computer looks for a DHCP server and fails to find one, it assigns itself an IP address starting with 169.254. Every other computer is supposed to self-assign the same way. Normally, that's not useful, because you have to get IPs from every user before you can talk, but Rendezvous makes it possible to refer to those machines by name.

At that point, any TCP-based program will work. FTP is my favorite, of course, but AppleShare over IP works just as well going Mac to Mac. I'm not sure what the Windows to Windows options are.

Like I said, I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, but I think it could get you close.

Not so difficult

[too_bad]

Basically the P2P file-sharing that appeals to you
is a application layer protocol which needs some sort
of networking layer protocol underneath it. Usually
IPv4 is that networking layer protocol and this is not
something very transparent and hence all the ugly
config stuff that you hate.

But since underneath all that, there is a networking layer
where you have broadcast media that everyone can talk over
theoratically its possible to have the pplication layer P2P
right on top of this. You can see something like this
if you used the QNET under QNX OS (its a filesharing protocol
like NFS, but can run directly on top of ethernet without IP)

The reason why this is not mainstream (there are some sort of
equivalents with MS windows and other OSes) is just that it has
limited applictions and people havent really thought about it.
It should be very easy to implement, say, under linux.
Just ask for it :)

Re:Forget 802.11b for causual networks; use USB CF

[kableh]

I have a 128 MB CF card, and it has saved my butt a number of times, as well as preventing me from having to burn a CD at times. However, have you tried one of those USB pen drives that just hooks right into th e USB port? A couple of people around here have them, and it seems like a great idea. Drive support under Windows is native, though I don't know about the Linux support.