Getting a IIci on the Internet - Ethernet Question

[Instow]

OK ... so I've given myself a little project ...

After cannibalising two IIci's and today sending the better board off to Uniserver for a recap I'm thinking about the next stage when I put everything back together... the internet.

I've tried to research which NuBus card might be best to install, and got a little confused ... It's years (decades) since I played with a working Iici (which I loved at the time) ... a little rusty as to what used to be done in years gone by.

As ever, eBay seems to be the best place to search, and various models are available, but I'm not sure which. 

Hoping someone here has achieved this, and how ...

Any ideas/feedback welcome.

Thanks

 

[Elfen]

You should get a Twisted Pair/Cat 5 ("phone jack") NuBus card for the IIci.

System 7.5.5 or if you can System 7.6.1, and have the Apple Nubus Networking extensions on it. Set Network Control Panel to the card. AppleTalk does not have to be on for Internet. Set MacTCP/IP (or TCP/IP on System 7.6.1) to a static IP (See below in "Problem").

some card might need their own driver, so be aware of that.

Netscape 4 or Netscape Gold would be the best Browsers (is there a Netscape 5?)

Internet Explorer will work fine too.

Problem - I do not remember DHCP working or even being on System 7; so you might have to set up a manual IP for the IIci and in the router for them to see each other.

 

[360alaska]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dayna-DaynaPort-Nubus-Ethernet-Card-/281871505146?hash=item41a0d9d6fa:g:MJQAAOSwnipWU5P1

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASANTE-TECH-09-00100-MACCON-IIET-MAC-NUBUS-ETHERNET-ADAPTER-WITH-WARRANTY-/111804766614?hash=item1a08155996:g:hZoAAOSwvc9WFo6A

 

[rsolberg]

DHCP is supported in System 7. I haven't used MacIP, but with Open Transport and DHCP, the system won't display an IP address in the TCP/IP control panel until you initiate a TCP/IP session. Launching a browser and requesting a page would be an example.

If you have a fair bit of RAM (≥32MiB) and are running 7.6.1, I find Netscape Communicator 4.0.8 to be quite stable. This is the last 68k release. I believe 7.6 is a requirement. I have Communicator rather than plain Navigator as Composer is a trip down memory lane for me. I also have tried the most recent 68k version of iCab, but it tended to hang and require reboots intermittently. Internet Exploder 4.0.1 seemed to work okay. Modern "responsive design" sites work very well in Netscape 4.0.8

 

[rsolberg]

I missed this link in my above post: http://main.system7today.com/otherbrowsers.html

 

[Instow]

Thanks for the links and information guys, just picked up a Nubus ethernet card on eBay in the UK which was new old stock ... hopefully it will be OK.

I've got discs for 7.1, haven't hunted around for updates yet, and not entirely sure of what ram I have until the board comes back from recapping so I can test.

 

[LazarusNine]

Great news. Yeah, I've got a NuBus ethernet card in my Q700, even though it has built-in AAUI (I wanted the RJ45 port without bothering with the Asante FriendlyNet, or whatever it is). With OpenTransport 1.3.1 and AppleShare 3.7.4, I can easily communicate with my PPC Macs running 10.4.11 (G4 MDD and Mac Mini G4) through AppleTalk. I agree with rsolberg; Netscape Communicator 4.0.8 is the most useful browser I've stumbled across for System 7.6.1. That said, certain HTTPS sites won't load with it. I keep iCab 2.9.9 around as a backup for certain sites (it even opens Gmail), but it is finicky.

 

[Instow]

One of the IIci's had a Daystar P33 cache card ... marked P33 which I think is the 50Mhz version?

Most of the info and images I have found show two processors onboard, but as the red circle shows ... this one is missing.

Also, most of the pictures I found showed the 'P33' etched onto the board ... this one has a paper label.

I can't test it until the recapped board comes back, but I'm just wondering the difference between a Daystar cache card 'with' or 'without' that extra component.

Forgot to say ... also seen screenshots of a Daystar control panel accessory to configure it ... Anyone know (assuming it works) if this is 'plug and play' or will I need the CP file to make the system see it?