Re: Appletalk and Linux

[shirsch@adelphia.net (Steven N. Hirsch)]

In article <1dmh601.1uc0yx81iepqtcN@dempson.actrix.gen.nz>, David Empson wrote:
>> > Has anyone setup Linux to act as an Appletalk server?  I am using RedHat
>> > 5.1 and the kernel already has Appletalk loaded, but I think it is setup
>> > for the ethernet card.  I would like to use Appletalk through the serial
>> > port to allow my IIgs to boot from it.  Thanks in advance.
>> 
>> An ethernet/localtalk bridge should work for the media translation, but I
>> don't know what the IIgs expects to find on the server, just files?.
>
>Nope.  Booting from an AppleShare server requires that the server
>implement the special Apple II boot service, which Apple have never
>documented.  All the available documentation reveals is that it involves
>a multi-stage bootstrap download process which ultimately results in the
>operating system files being loaded.
>
>This means that unless someone reverse engineers it, the only option for
>booting an Apple II over an AppleTalk network is to run an appropriate
>version of the real AppleShare software on a Mac (AppleShare 2.x or
>3.x).

On of these days I'm going to find time to watch the boot process with
a packet sniffer.  Leland Wallace at Apple told me at one time that he
would try to ferret out the specs for the boot protocol, so perhaps
I'll also put a bug in his ear.

Steve