Finished the 7100 upgrade

[ClassicHasClass]

Finished my "SR-7100" 's upgrade with the HPV adaptor card I got and the AV-HPV card I stole from a donor parts 7100av. It now has a G3/400/1M, 136MB RAM, 12x CD-ROM and the AV-HPV card. This is a step up from the G3/233 and Radius PrecisionColor Pro 24XP I was using before. (No, the 24XP is not for sale.)

Installing the Sonnet HPV card adaptor is a royal PITA. I cut my hands on the board trying to get that ruddy flex cable to connect, and it really takes up valuable NuBus real estate, but the performance boost is worth it.

The SR-7100's main job is acting as the OS 9 server for the network. This right now just does AppleShare for the old EtherTalk and LocalTalk systems, including the 486 PC, whose only network card is a LocalTalk ISA board and shares files that way. It was easier than getting ISA Ethernet running, actually ...

Eventually it will take over the LocalTalk backbone from the Dayna box that runs it now so I can start tunneling MacIP.

 

[Unknown_K]

I have a G3-266? in a 7100/66 and that built in cable that goes from the G3 to the Nubus bracket (PDS video card) is a pain to deal with. All in all the 6100 PDS design for G3 use seems much easier, the G3 card is the PDS adapter.

I guess the 7100 would make a decent older server, does the G3 speed that up at all? The system is ok except for the slow SCSI built in.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

It's "okay." But we're not talking very large files or fast connections here on the client side, so for that purpose it's adequate. VNC administration is quite a bit more responsive with the faster CPU, though, so that's a plus.

 

[Unknown_K]

I just use an old Compaq ML330 server running Win2k Server for sharing files between systems (even macs). I did toy around with a LC3 for real old 68K systems that choke on large partitions.

 

[beachycove]

I have an 8600/300 (604ev) with fast SCSI card and ethernet upgrades, together with a 500GB ATA-133 drive running off of a PCI card. It runs as an ASIP Server. I have used it now for years.

Before the 8600, I used a 200MHz 604e 9500 as the server, which was a good deal slower as a filesharing machine, but that was without the upgraded SCSI card/drives. I also tried ASIP 6.2 before moving to a (legal) ASIP 6.3 installation.

I can say the following:

- ASIP version 6.3 is far more robust than 6.2, works seamlessly, and has never given me any trouble whatsoever — which I regret cannot be said of ASIP version 6.2, which would crash if I did not restart daily;

- Given that it runs on an 8600, I have the option (via an AppleTalk Internet Router box soon to be put on a PowerBook 540c that I can wake up as necessary) of connecting from localtalk-only machines;

- On the 300MHz 604ev, which has plenty of RAM and those other (these days) modest upgrades, it is actually noticeably faster for pure filesharing purposes and for my needs than a dual 500MHz G4, on which, for separate reasons, I currently run Panther Server (yes, if I were running 50 simultaneous connections it might well be slower, but I am not);

- This last point re. speed is true both for AppleTalk connections on the LAN and for remote connections via IP;

- I even have the option of using the machine for dial-in access using Remote Access, just for fun;

- It is much, much, much, much easier to configure for almost any filesharing purpose. UNIX was, is, and always will be a PITA by comparison with the simple elegance of the old MacOS;

- Quite frankly, X.3 Server does not work so well as ASIP 6.3.

- Oh, and did I say it was easier to configure? 'Cos it is.

What it won't do is run something like a WordPress installation. But for filesharing, it simply can't be beat for my purposes.