Need help connecting PowerBook 230 to a LAN and to the Web

[Doctor Dave]

Hi! I'm new to this forum, and new to old Macintosh machines, but not new to networking and computers. I was recently given the following equipment, and now I have a challenge for you:

Apple PowerBook 230

Duo Dock

AsanteTalk Ethernet to LocalTalk Bridge

All of the equipment works, as far as I can tell. Right now I have the PowerBook in the Duo Dock, a LocalTalk cable connecting the Duo Dock's "printer" port to the AsanteTalk device, and a standard ethernet cable connecting the AsanteTalk device to my 10/100 mbps LAN (which has a variety of Linux and Windows machines on it).

That's where I am. Here are some things I'd like to be able to do, if possible:

1. Print from the PowerBook in its dock to a printer on my LAN. Note that the printers on my LAN have no idea what a Macintosh is, or what LocalTalk is... they expect to be printed to by Linux or Windows machines.

2. Transfer files between the PowerBook and Linux or Windows computers on my LAN

3. Install browser software on the PowerBook and somehow connect it to the Internet, so it can be used to browse the Web.

Are any of these things possible?

Any suggestions?

Please forgive that I really, really don't know anything about Macs. I really, really wanted one back in the early 1990's but couldn't afford one. So I became a Windows and eventually a Linux enthusiast. But it would be really cool to get this cute little Apple machine doing real stuff!

Dave

 

[porter]

What kind of Linux machine?

The quickest start with be

(a) install "netatalk" on the Linux box and used "papd" for printing. You could use ghostprint to pretend to the Mac that you are really a networked laserwriter. You would also be able to configure an AppleShare server on the Linux box. The Linux kernel needs AF_APPLETALK support enabled.

( B) workout how to use the localtalk/ethernet bridge, they can be pedantic, best results seem to be if you power up that device last.

© getting TCP going on the Mac would be the hardest, as you need a Mac-IP gateway running somewhere. I run one on my NetBSD gateway box which does the packing and unpacking of IP packets from DDP.

Hopefully that helps.

 

[tomlee59]

Once you do get the thing networked, here are some suggestions for suitable browsers. As you might suspect, your choices are somewhat limited. Don't expect modern webpages to render well.

A fast, text-only browser is wannabe68k. I have used it on my Duos on dialup.

If you must browse with pictures, then consider netscape (versions 2 and 3). It will function, for suitably generous definitions of "function." Perhaps even version 4 will run, but its large memory footprint will pose a challenge.

The oldest functioning version of iCab presumably will also run on a 230, as long as you're running system 7.5 or above. I've never tried this myself, however, so I do not know for certain.

 

[Bunsen]

ISTR that the Asante bridges must speak to a 10MB hub and not a 10/100.

 

[Doctor Dave]

My PowerBook 230 is running "System 7.1". I have no idea how or where to find "System 7.5". I don't have any system floppy disks or anything like that for the PowerBook. What is "iCab"?

Even browsing through my LAN's connection to the internet from the PowerBook 230 without pictures would be an accomplishment! Right now I have *no way at all* to move files between the PowerBook and other computers, except possibly by use of the PowerBook's analog modem.

On my Linux machines I am running ubuntu 8.10, variously 32-bit and 64-bit. I will look into the "netatalk" and "papd" programs.

I wonder if there is a "Mac-IP gateway" that will run on ubuntu?

 

[Doctor Dave]

I'm not sure why the AsanteTalk bridge would need to talk to a 10 mbps hub instead of to the 10/100 mbps switch I currently have it connected to, but I'll give the idea a test. I have lots of old 10 mbps-only equipment around here.

 

[porter]

I wonder if there is a "Mac-IP gateway" that will run on ubuntu?

Depends how keen you are to try and compile my code.

 

[Doctor Dave]

I'm certainly willing to attempt compilation of code, but if the compilation is to be on the PowerBook 230 running System 7.1, I may need some help figuring out how to do it. Forgive my ignorance, porter, but what code have you written?

My recent compilation experience is primarily with Microsoft C, Visual Basic, and Visual C++ running on Windows. I have done some compilation on Linux machines also, but mostly following "cookbook" instructions when doing so.

This week I hope to find time to install and get netatalk running.

 

[porter]

I may need some help figuring out how to do it. Forgive my ignorance, porter, but what code have you written?

It's a Mac-IP gateway that runs on a netatalk enabled UNIX host. It's a C daemon that uses AF_APPLETALK sockets to talk DDP, then uses a secondary process to translate those IP packets to the UNIX host. I run mine on NetBSD, it compiles on Linux, but has not been tested.

 

[Bunsen]

I wonder if there is a "Mac-IP gateway" that will run on ubuntu?

Depends how keen you are to try and compile my code.

What's wrong with Netatalk?

As for transferring files: You have a Duo Dock - therefore you have SCSI (for external SCSI drives - like a ZIP for example, and a matching parallel or USB ZIP for a PC) and a floppy drive - the Mac can read PC-formatted floppies. If you download compressed files on the PC and put the compressed file on a floppy, then uncompress them on the Mac, you should be fine.

 

[porter]

What's wrong with Netatalk?

Netatalk provides AFP and PAP over DDP.

My gateway provides MacIP over DDP, using Netatalk's NBP.

 

[Doctor Dave]

I unfortunately do not possess any cables that connect to the SCSI port on the Duo Dock. I have some SCSI CD-ROM drives, hard disks, and even a few tape drives, but all SCSI cables I have are for the "Centronics"-style or IBM-style SCSI connectors.

I am encouraged to read that the Macintosh can read "PC-formatted" (1.44MB?) 3.5" floppy disks... I didn't know this was possible.

I presume from porter's last post that I will need to get netatalk working before I attempt to add his gateway. I hope to work on this soon.

 

[porter]

I presume from porter's last post that I will need to get netatalk working before I attempt to add his gateway. I hope to work on this soon.

Yes, I use netatalk's name binding daemon, on IRIX I use KTalk and Darwin/MacOSX/AUX I use the native OS nbp. Alas on AUX there is no simple way of programmatically getting IP packets in and out of the UNIX box itself.

 

[Doctor Dave]

I hope this thread doesn't turn into "how to setup netatalk", but I must admit after perusing the "manual" for the program and playing around a bit without success I am unsure what to do. On my Linux box (ubuntu 8.10 64-bit) I have netatalk installed. lsmod shows the "appletalk" module loaded. The Linux box is connected to a 10/100 switch alongside my AsanteTalk module, which in turn is connected via a mini-DIN8 cable to the "printer" port on the Duo Dock. The "link integrity" LED on the AsanteTalk is glowing green, and the switch "sees" the link to it as well.

The printer I would like to allow the PowerBook 230 (System 7.1) in the Duo Dock print to is on the same subnet of the LAN as the above two devices. The Linux box can print to it, of course. When I invoke "Chooser" on the PowerBook, and then click on "AppleShare" I am shown an empty box in which to "select a file server", and below that a radiobutton indicating that AppleTalk is Active.

I do not know how to:

- tell netatalk to share the printer that it knows how to print to with a LocalTalk network

- determine if netatalk is even aware of the AsanteTalk box and its attached LocalTalk network

- tell the PowerBook to try to print to a printer on the LocalTalk network, or even that a printer exists on it

The other options I seen in Chooser are:

AppleTalk ImageWriter

ImageWriter

LaserWriter

LQ AppleTalk ImageWriter

LQ ImageWriter

Personal LaserWriter SC

Personal LW LS

StyleWriter

Each of them leads to a similar blank list in which I am to "select an AppleTalk ImageWriter" or something similar.

My guess is that I need to somehow configure netatalk to advertise the availability of a printer to the LocalTalk network as if it was some kind of printer that the PowerBook knows how to print to. I further guess that I need to put a line or two into atalkd.conf and/or papd.conf, but I am clueless about what lines I need. I know the details of the printer I would like to share:

Brother DCP-9040CN color laser printer

lpd://192.168.1.213

Brother offers drivers for MacOS X on its website, for what that is worth.

 

[porter]

First step with netatalk is "is it running?" It starts with a daemon

eg on my box this is

/usr/pkg/libexec/netatalk/atalkd

which is normally self configuring.

The first program to see what else is on the appletalk network is

/usr/pkg/bin/nbplkup

This will probe the network to see what names have been registered.

eg, mine, with nothing else running on the net says

$ nbplkup
                       gateway:ADSP                               65280.94:128
                      10.1.3.1:IPADDRESS                          65280.94:72
                      10.1.3.1:IPGATEWAY                          65280.94:72
                       gateway:netatalk                           65280.94:4
                       gateway:Workstation                        65280.94:4

The ADSP is my ADSP terminal server so you can log onto the gateway using the "ADSP Tool". IPADDRESS and IPGATEWAY are my macipd ready for duty. The last two are registered by netatalk itself, here on the echo socket.

You need to go through a configuration phase with any file sharing to say what you want shared.

 

[Doctor Dave]

At present my netatalk configuration files (atalkd.conf and papd.conf) contain nothing but commented-out lines. When I execute the commands atalkd and nbplkup on my Linux box, this is what I get:

dave@quad:/$ atalkd

eth0: multicast may not work correctly.

eth0: disabled.

atalkd: zero interfaces, exiting.

dave@quad:/$ nbplkup

quad:AFPServer 65280.8:128

quad:netatalk 65280.8:4

quad:Workstation 65280.8:4

dave@quad:/$

 

[porter]

dave@quad:/$ nbplkupquad:AFPServer 65280.8:128

quad:netatalk 65280.8:4

quad:Workstation 65280.8:4

dave@quad:/$

Sounds like it's up and ready for business, unless your running atalkd killed the one that is already running.

If you go to the Chooser on a mac and select file server it should at least list "quad".

Does "netstat -a" list the appletalk sockets?

Eg on my NetBSD box I get

Active ATALK connections (including servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q  Local Address          Foreign Address        (state)
ddp        0      0  65280.94.128           *.*.*
ddp        0      0  65280.94.72            *.*.*
ddp        0      0  65280.94.1             *.*.*
ddp        0      0  65280.94.2             *.*.*
ddp        0      0  65280.94.4             *.*.*
ddp        0      0  65280.94.6             *.*.*
ddp        0      0  *.*.1                  *.*.*
ddp        0      0  *.*.2                  *.*.*
ddp        0      0  *.*.4                  *.*.*
ddp        0      0  *.*.6                  *.*.*

 

[Doctor Dave]

Well, Chooser still shows me nothing. I also do not see the appletalk sockets:

dave@quad:/home$ netstat -i

Kernel Interface table

Iface MTU Met RX-OK RX-ERR RX-DRP RX-OVR TX-OK TX-ERR TX-DRP TX-OVR Flg

eth0 1500 0 51182 60 0 0 33413 0 0 0 BMRU

lo 16436 0 851 0 0 0 851 0 0 0 LRU

dave@quad:/home$ netstat -a | grep ddp

dave@quad:/home$ netstat -a | grep DDP

dave@quad:/home$ netstat -a | grep ATALK

dave@quad:/home$ atalkd

eth0: multicast may not work correctly.

eth0: disabled.

atalkd: zero interfaces, exiting.

dave@quad:/home$

Possibly I should add the line "eth0" to my atalkd.conf file?

 

[porter]

Possibly I should add the line "eth0" to my atalkd.conf file?

"atalkd" is the netatalk daemon so should only be run once, and it should keep going.

If you only have one network interface atalk should work things out, how many do you have?

Also, if you have other macs on the network, running "nbplkup" should show up those other macs.

Here is "nbplkup" run from my gateway, and sees another netatalk box..

$ nbplkup
                       gateway:ADSP                               65280.94:128
                      10.1.3.1:IPADDRESS                          65280.94:72
                      10.1.3.1:IPGATEWAY                          65280.94:72
                       gateway:netatalk                           65280.94:4
                       gateway:Workstation                        65280.94:4
                         saxon:AFPServer                          65280.152:128
                         saxon:netatalk                           65280.152:4
                         saxon:Workstation                        65280.152:4

gateway is NetBSD.

"saxon" is Ubuntu, neither ifconfig or netstat show ddp sockets.

Whereas on NetBSD you get

rtk1: flags=8843 mtu 1500
       media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
       status: active
       ......
       atalk 65280.94 range 1-65534 phase 2 broadcast 65280.94