Problems connecting 10B-T to modern networks? Try this

[alexdyjes]

I'd been having a devil of a time trying to get my IIci to interface well with my office network. The issue is that our office is all 2.5G to the desktop and even if we set the switches to 10/half the Asante and DaynaPort Nubus cards simply would not link up. We tried using a Farallon Starlet 10/100 hub to bridge the divide, but that had its own issues with broadcast traffic causing enough collisions on the hub to make communications spotty at best. Then I had a random thought: how about a Wifi bridge? So I snagged a $35 Iogear Wifi bridge (Part number GWU637) and it turns out this was the cheapest and easiest fix. It links up to the old 10B-T cards without issue, somehow the Nubus cards aren't offended by the modern broadcast stuff that the Starlet was having issue with and the dongle is small enough to just tuck away under the desk. If you're having issues with an old card, you might want to give this a whirl, I'll be getting another one when my SE/30's ethernet card arrives.

 

[oldmacuser]

Nice! Thanks for sharing your findings!

 

[ClassicGuyPhilly]

Saved this post with the hope someday I will be able to bring my Mac with a DaynaPort Nubus onto my network. Thanks!

 

[gcp]

I use a GL.iNet GL-AR300M for that same purpose. I keep meaning to come up with a way to power it from ADB or elsewhere from the host Mac, to make it more of a self-contained solution. It's a super useful little dongle to have.

 

[cheesestraws]

FWIW, I've had good luck with the lowish-end netgear managed switches, having an upstream port talking to a "real" switch and a downstream port set at 10/half.

Wireless bridge might be more convenient, though.

 

[jlindsay26]

I did something similar in a pinch since I didn't have a long enough network cable and a lack free ports on my router. I wired my SE/30 to an old airport express it worked fine and if you don't already have one they are very cheap used

 

[Phipli]

Daft thing, but all my modern consumer switches and routers just work with my SE's NIC - no, it doesn’t communicate that it only does 10baseT, but I haven't had problems since I last used gear from the early 2000s.

I have a mix of Netgear kit mostly. Routers are just random stuff that ISPs have given me.

I do keep a mid 90s switch about though because it has a single BNC port which is handy.

 

[dramirez]

I never had any problems getting 10Mb Macintosh cards working in my network. I´m using a TP-Link LS1008G: 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch | Desktop Ethernet Splitter | Plastic Case | Unshielded Network Switch | Plug & Play | Fanless Quiet | Unmanaged

 

[Forrest]

FYI TP Link also sells the metal case TL-SG108 8 port Gigabit switch for $4 more than the plastic case version. I don’t recall any hardware problems networking an old Mac with it’s 10 Mb port, though I had to use an older G4 PM that still supported Appleshare

 

[olePigeon]

The old true blue10/100 Netgear switch has never let me down.

 

[zefrenchtoon]

I am using a TimeCapsule here to connect my 6100, my 475 and my mini G4 to my Gigabit main switch. It just works

 

[Phipli]

I am using a TimeCapsule here to connect my 6100, my 475 and my mini G4 to my Gigabit main switch. It just works

Those machines are new enough that any issues would probaby be operator error

Problems related to selecting the connection speed tend to be the really old cards. I've only seen it with my SE, but am sure there are other cards out there that do the same.

 

[zefrenchtoon]

Those machines are new enough that any issues would probaby be operator error

Problems related to selecting the connection speed tend to be the really old cards. I've only seen it with my SE, but am sure there are other cards out there that do the same.

Ok about the G4 but the 6100 and 475 are in 10 BT only so they should be affected too, no ?

 

[Phipli]

Ok about the G4 but the 6100 and 475 are in 10 BT only so they should be affected too, no ?

The issue isn't that they're 10baseT, its that they don't respond correcty to the other end establishing the connection. Something like Q: 'How fast are you?' A: 'Huh?'

 

[zefrenchtoon]

The issue isn't that they're 10baseT, its that they don't respond correcty to the other end establishing the connection. Something like Q: 'How fast are you?' A: 'Huh?'

Thanks for this precision

 

[Unknown_K]

I just keep all my old hubs and switches and connect my old gear to them.

 

[cruff]

I just keep all my old hubs and switches and connect my old gear to them.

That's a good idea if you have any half duplex stuff, as the Ethernet standards committee removed the requirement to support half duplex links several years ago, and vendors have been shipping switches that don't support it.

 

[Unknown_K]

Some of it was just stuff I purchased in the 90's I just kept (old 3com officeconnect hubs with coax and ethernet that will work with anything old) and some I snagged on ebay cheap as my collection expanded (24 port 10/100 managed and nonmanaged switches from 3com and netgear). I kept my old coax and terminators and I still have my 1000 ft spool of cat5 cable and crimper/tester kit to make cables.