Networking a LaserWriter 320 - Can it be done?

[IPNixon]

I want to set up a LaserWriter 320 on a machine to be available to the network of 4-5 machines in this house. Here's how I have it all set up:

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7264/printersetupbo9.jpg

The problem I'm having is that the LaserWriter 320 needs to have the machine's AppleTalk set to the Printer/Modem port to be used, but the AppleTalk network in the rest of the house is ethernet. How would I be able to get the newer OS X machines to see that the 7300 has the printer attached?

If needed, I can use a Beige G3 instead, with OS 10.2.8. That may be easier than trying to integrate OS 9 and OS X.

Thanks in advance

 

[beachycove]

Yes you can. I do it with a 4/600, which is the same animal, basically. You can print to any Appletalk-networked printer up to X.4.9 at least, and so presumably to X.4.10; so long as you have a bridge setup, you can do it.

You can use a localtalk-ethernet bridge (c. $50?), or a dedicated machine set up to handle the networking thus:

1. System 7.1, preferably 68k - a quadra will do nicely. On this one machine you need:

2. Localtalk and ethernet ports.

3. Apple Internet Router (or laserwriter bridge if you want something more low-end);

4. Appleshare Print Server (AS4 works nicely, but so will AS3 is you want to use a 68030 machine).

Your modern machines will see the print server on ethernet; your print server/ router will see the LW320.

Yes, there is a use for an old machine here!

Another alternative is to set up an A/UX machine as an Appleshare Pro print server. I THINK that it will network the localtalk printer all by itself, but you'd need to try and see. As I recall, this facility is built into Appleshare Pro, which runs only on A/UX.

 

[alk]

A much cheaper solution that doesn't use any expensive or illegally obtained software like Apple Internet Router would be to use the free LocalTalk Bridge which was built and provided for this very reason:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60290

You'll still need System 7.1 or higher and a Mac with serial ports and ethernet ports. The 7300 should suffice.

I wouldn't call LocalTalk Bridge low-end, but I would call Apple Internet Router overkill. All you need to do is route packets between LocalTalk and EtherTalk. Apple Internet Router does more than that (including allows you to set up AppleTalk zones) but virtually none of it will be of value to you on an OS X network.

AppleShare IP 5 and 6 both run on the 7300, BTW. If you had a copy of either (I picked one up for $25 recently, so it is available cheaply), you can set up the 7300 as a print server and a spooler allowing you to use ANY printer (serial or otherwise) on a network with PCs, Macs, and *Nix boxes. Again, this is probably overkill, but ASIP is a pretty neat piece of software (it even has a mail server!).

Peace,

Drew

 

[beachycove]

Laserwriter Bridge or Localtalk Bridge, yes, those too. I have personally found them fairly unreliable with newer systems, whereas AIR is pretty much bulletproof.

But that's not the real issue. The real issue is: what fun is that?!

 

[IPNixon]

Just an update, I got it working perfectly the way I wanted it to work.

I'm using my PowerBook 3400c as the server (for power conservation), and the LocalTalk Bridge control panel. The OS X machines and OS 9 machines see it perfectly, without problem.

Woo