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IP Over 1394/Firewire?
Chanc_Gorkon asks: "Just like to ask the Slashdot community if anyone has a set of step-by-step instructions for connecting two computers via IP over Firewire. Mac OS X Panther supports IP over Firewire, as does Windows XP. I would like to hook my PowerBook to a Windows XP machine, and be able to access the Internet and share files over the link. I am shooting for near full functionality, but the closest I came in my initial trials was being able to set static IP's per Firewire port, and do a FTP between the machines. If I can get this working, I figure this will be a good way of getting my PowerBook on the office network, without having to have a drop put in."
You need to set up Windows Internet Connection Sharing on the firewire port to allow for that connection to use your LAN drop.
http://www.homenethelp.com/ics/index.asp can help you
I've connected my Late 2001 iBook 600MHz to a friends Shuttle PC running Windows XP Pro, without issue. I turned on XP's Internet connection sharing (which includes a DHCP server), told the iBook to dynamically find an IP, and it worked.
It's all just basic troubleshooting from the point you're at.
I recently networked two iBooks together using IP over FireWire and was surprised to discover i was only getting about 20k a second, it was quite strange. Anyway, as for HOW to do it, it's simply an network interface option under the Network system pref panel. Anyone else get it working, but not get the speed the were expecting?
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If you want to get your PowerBook on line at the office don't waste your time with firewire, just buy a cheap hub.
Use the right tool for the job. Firewire probably can be coersed into working, but it was not designed as a netwroking tool. Thus it will definately will be a lot bigger pain in the butt than simply using standard network tools.
I speak for e experience of trying to get an SLIP connection going between my desktop and my HP 200LX back in the day. I also wasted time with an old notebook and laplink parrellel cables, because I did not want to spend $200 at the time for a PCMCIA network card.
The times have changed, take advantage of it.
MS2k
Are you running the latest version of OS X. OS X 10.3 (Panther) has the IP over Firewire built-in. Before that it was available as an extension. If you are not running 10.3 then update and try again.
Also just saw this nice tutorial about this. Have a look and make sure you have done all the required steps. Also have a look though the comments.
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Try this
If nothing else works, try joining the Apple Developer connection. The link can be found here
A lot of posts have been of the form:
"Why are you using Firewire for networking? Buy a hub!"
A couple of points.
1. A lot of us have Firewire cables lying around but not hubs. Therefore, Firewire: $0. Switch: $25.
2. Firewire has the potential to be really fast. I know some of the third-party Firewire networking solutions for Mac used to sell well simply because they were 4x the speed of Ethernet -- which makes a big difference if you're transferring, say, massive TIFF proofs. (I personally have not gotten this working, see below.)
However:
1. It's a Mac. If you've got a free Ethernet port on another machine, you don't need a hub/switch. Macs detect crossover-vs.-normal UTP cables automatically.
2. Last I checked, the Firewire IP implementation in Panther wasn't terribly standard -- or, at least, I couldn't get any of my Linux or BSD boxes to recognize it. Might work with XP; should work with another Mac.
Now you just need to set up the internet sharing. Try using a proxy server ( analogx.com has a good free once for windows) on the machine that's directly into the ethernet drop, binding the proxy to the address you assigned to the Firewire connection (You did use a private IP, right?)
You've got IP over Firewire, you just need routing/proxying services. This seems to have mislead some people's responses.
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I've had a setup similar to what the poster's looking for for quite some time now
The basics (under Panther, similar under Jaguar):
- XP *loves* to bridge all of your networking connections, and it treats firewire as one. Don't let it. Delete the bridging node if it's in your Net Connections panel.
- Use the Internet Connection Sharing wizard, and set it to share your ethernet over the 1394 connection (firewire in the civilized world).
- On the Mac, go to your network control panel (prefpane, whatever), Show --> Network Port Configurations
- Add a New --> Built-in Firewire connection
- Set it up for DHCP and you should be good to go. You might also disable your built in ethernet, airport and dialup ports for this configuration if you want an easier time debugging the connection.
The connection works great between my Shuttle box and my Powerbooks. Close to gigabit speeds for local filesharing, speeds you'd expect for 'Net sharing.
Once the price of gigabit hubs comes down, however, I'll probably never use this connection type again. If my rendering farm gets big enough to require that type of constant bandwidth, I'll probably go gigE or fiber.
First, make sure that both computers are linked by firewire, then, reboot the powerbook, holding down 'T' as it is starting up. It should give you the firewire logo on the screen, meaning that it is in FW disk mode. Then, simply use the powerbook as a firewire hard disk (SBP2).
I wrote my own experience with IP over 1394 some time ago, you can read it here. It's working just fine on my case, slightly better than FastEthernet with ~150Mbits/s practical transfer rates, but not quite as good as GigabitEthernet. If you have a couple of Macs with built-in GigabitEthernet, then you'll be better off plugging a crossover Ethernet cable (Cat6 for Gigabit) between them, configure IP, and enjoy even greater speed.