In a mixed network, TCP/IP is nearly a must. There is no more commonly spoken network language out there. The key word here is 'mixed'.
DHCP is a luxury, but good if you can do it. It's worth the setup time if you've got machines coming and going. You can tell most DHCP servers to allocate a single IP for a single MAC address, so things end up very much like having static IP's. DNS is a luxury as well. It might be useful to specify that we are discussing both a DNS server (named) and DNS clients. A DNS server is useful if you have machines coming and going. On a small, fixed number of machines, a handful of hosts files would suffice for name resolution. Since DHCP will provide an IP address as well as the IP of the DNS server, you would essentially have a network where you can do very minimal network configuration for a number machines and machine types. You plug 'em in, turn 'em on, and telnet servername (http, pop, or whichever service you desire), without specifying *any* numbers of the client. Then, you can automatically, dynamically configure all your machines easily - as if they were all running native Appletalk. (Regardless of the Internet connection or the absence thereof.) This setup is also good preparation for running IP-Chains or any other IP sharing scheme, once the Internet is available. I see where you are going, Mark. Are you certain you want to do Geology? There is a market for network admins with this skill set. Further information is available by looking for "Internet Software Consortium", DNS and BIND at your favorite search engine. They've probably got a mailing list discussing the very things you are trying to do. Sorry for the late reply, but I felt the need to put in the $.02. -- // A. Daniel King, // Co-List-Nanny for LEM Compact and Vintage Macs // http://lowendmac.com/lists -- Vintage Macs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Vintage Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml> The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/vintage.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
