More fun with Apple IIs and LANs...

[salfter@salfter.ncc74656.dyndns.org (Scott Alfter)]

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I snagged a Cayman GatorBox CS off of eBay recently; it arrived yesterday
and I started configuring it this evening.  I downloaded all of the latest
firmware and control software from Cayman's website to my Mac, and once I
figured out that the Network cdev needed to be switched from Ethernet to
LocalTalk in order for Cayman's software to see the box through a LocalTalk
connection, it saw the previous owner's config.  A null-modem connection
into the GatorBox cleared out all that information so I could configure it
for my network and install the most recent firmware.  At this point, I can
use MacIP through it to access the Internet over the LocalTalk connection. 
My netatalk server shows up in the Chooser, but I can't log into it.

Apparently there was some additional firmware for the GatorBox called
GatorShare that translates NFS to AFP.  With this, it should be able to
replace netatalk by taking an NFS share and translating it so that Macs
(and, hopefully, Apple IIs as well) can see it with no additional software
on their end.  Has anyone done any experimenting with GatorShare to
determine if it could enable an Apple II to access an NFS server?  It'd be
one less service to run, and since I'm retiring my current server and
putting in a new LFS (Linux From Scratch) config, it would be one less
package to build.

As an added bonus...if this works, my IIGS will be able to see the server
without needing to fire up my Quadra 610 to run LocalTalk Bridge.  The only
possible downside is that I'm not sure if GatorShare will export NFS shares
over both LocalTalk and EtherTalk, or if it's a LocalTalk-only solution. 
I'd rather keep the Mac connected directly to the Ethernet LAN if I can.

Also, the last time I checked (which was a long time ago), Marinetti could
handle PPP and SL/IP connections.  I checked some of the documentation for
it that's on SourceForge while at work, but I don't remember seeing anything
about MacIP (IP-over-LocalTalk) support.  Is this capability available in
current versions, is it in the works, or has nobody considered it?  As cheap
as GatorBoxes are nowadays, it would appear to be a possibly viable
alternative to a LanceGS for putting your IIGS onto a network, and it would
appear to be capable of doing more stuff than a LanceGS.  (Mine was about
$20, shipping included...back in the day, a GatorBox CS with GatorShare
would've run about $3800.)

  _/_
 / v \  Scott Alfter (remove Voyager's hull number for email address)
(IIGS(  http://salfter.dyndns.org
 \_^_/  rm -rf /bin/laden
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