Apple Releases Preview of IP over FireWire

A user writes, "Apple has finally released IP over FireWire drivers for Mac OS X. It is now possible to connect two or more Macs together with FireWire cables and if needed, FireWire hubs."

Comments

IP over FireWire

[tps12]

Jeez, the MPAA was already upset about IP over Ethernet. This'll drive them up the wall.

It's at least another option

[Spencerian]

Currently you can connect most Macs together by a crossover Ethernet cable for networking. Alternatively, if you just need to move something between two boxes, you can use a FireWire cable and mount another hard drive with Target Disk Mode (which someone noted earlier).

So IP over FireWire adds to the diversity. Today, you don't even need a crossover cable with the Gigabit Ethernet ports on most Macs. Just use a regular CAT5 to connect them.

Having this option, from my techie POV, allows me to connect to another Mac should the user's Ethernet port go cranky. I'd have to think a little more for additional applications, but perhaps a cheap, high speed FireWire LAN for gaming or small home networks would be useful. I would think you can share a cable modem connection in this manner, too. I better RTFdocs.

On XP it works nicely.

[kmellis]

I've been using IP on 1394 from my desktop box to my Sony laptop. I just bridge my ethernet and firewire NICs on my desktop PC, and the Sony has an Internet connection over Firewire (which they call "i.Link"). It works great. Theoretically, I should be seeing four times the bandwidth on the 1394 link than I see with 100 Ethernet, but in reality it's not that big of a difference. As people are saying about gig-ethernet, other things, like the PCI bus, start to be limiting factors.

Re:cluster me crazy

[kuwan]

Well, a Firewire network would be a lot cheaper. For a gigabit ethernet network you'd have to get a gigabit switch which are pretty expensive (at least $800-$900). For a Firewire netword you wouldn't even need a hub as computers can be daisy-chained together (assuming they have at least two Firewire ports). But if you do need a Firewire hub, they're pretty cheap compared to a gigabit hub/switch.

Also, many Macs can't be upgraded to gigabit ethernet. iMacs, iBooks, older PowerBooks, and older PowerMac don't have gigabit ethernet, but many of them do have Firewire. So depending on what you have, building a Firewire network is much more attractive than trying to build a gigabit ethernet network.

Any iPod-based Applications?

[kalidasa]

I know this is for OS X, and the OS on the iPod is different, but what about using IP-over-Firewire for IP synching of iPods?

Repeat after me:

[Genady]

IP Over Firewire is not the new localtalk. IP Over Firewire is not the new localtalk. IP Over Firewire is not... oh the hell with it.

Why do I see the little daisy chain boxes showing up in schools again?

(But you see Mr. School administrator with shrinking funds, you don't need to buy a hub or switch, we've got that covered.)

Re:FireWire Target Disk Mode

[tim1724]

Why would you want and/or need AppleTalk?

AFP (Apple Filing Protocol, what the marketing people call "AppleShare") works great over TCP.

Given Jaguar's support for Rendevous and AFP over TCP, what does AppleTalk get you? AppleTalk's only place in today's world is for compatibility with legacy machines, but that doesn't apply here, as Apple only supplies this software for Jaguar.

Re:It deleted my network settings

[tim1724]

aha.. macfixit.com has the solution. It turns out that for some reason /var/db/SystemConfiguration/preferences.xml is renamed to preferences.xml-old .. so just move it back:

cd /var/db/SystemConfiguration/
mv preferences.xml-old preferences.xml