Neil If you just have an Ethernet cable running between the 2 Macs you should set TCP/IP to have the address configured manually on both. Use 192.168.0.1 on one and 192.168.0.2 on the other. The netmask will be 255.255.255.0. On the Mac that DOESN'T dial the Internet set the Router to be the IP address of the other machine eg. if 192.168.0.1 dials the Internet then set the router on 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.1.
Don't use DHCP in this case because you don't have a DHCP server. If you use DHCP then the Macs will eventually give up requesting an address from the nonexistent server and assign themselves a random address that may or may not work in your network. When you get broadband your modem/router will almost certainly have a DHCP server built in and you will need to change the Macs to use DHCP. BTW, DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol. Just to explain (simply I hope) a few things that you raise ... Ethernet is the low level protocol used to send data on the cable/hub/switch - it is a local area network protocol that operates at layer 2 of the OSI model and is referred to as a datalink protocol (one above layer 1 - the physical layer). It basically is the way the physical electrical signals are formatted for communications. Ethernet address is just that. It is how all devices on an Ethernet network address each other. This can be changed but it is inadvisable. Ethernet addresses are hard coded into your hardware and are globally unique. IP address is your Internet Protocol address. IP is the next layer up from Ethernet. So, Ethernet carries the IP information in its "payload". This is always software setable. TCP/IP is another layer on top of IP - Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol. This is a network layer or layer 4 protocol. So now we have TCP in IP in Ethernet!! IP is widely and incorrectly referred to as TCP/IP. The Netmask (or subnet mask) determines what part of your IP address is the network part. Using the addresses and netmask above it works like this IP address 192.168.0.1 Netmask 255.255.255.0 Network 192.168.0 Host .1 Where ever there is a 1 in the binary representation of the netmask, that is the network part and where ever there is a 0 that is the host part. 255 is 11111111 in binary. Same for .2. So, when these two want to talk, they realise they have the same network part and don't need to use the router. If the network parts are different then the router is used to find the other network. That's what routers are for - they are gateways to other networks. All of this is IP version 4 (IPv4). IP version 6 (IPv6) is a later standard with different addressing (and lots of other features) but isn't used on the Internet yet. Maybe one day! So don't worry about it for now. I hope this helps your understanding a bit. Cheers Greg > From: Neil Houghton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 02:18:00 +0800 > To: WAMUG Mailing List <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: networking for idiots(me!) > > on 05/01/06 13:16, Craig Ringer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Neil Houghton wrote: >> >>> Breaking the process into steps, this is what I would try (I assume both >>> computers are running OSX - OS9 is similar in principle but different >>> details): >> >> The very first step is to make sure the two macs are on the same >> network. If you have an ADSL or cable router, and both are plugged into >> it, or both use wireless to access it, then you should be fine. If one >> is on wireless and one is on a wired connection it may well work, but >> occasionally routers are set up so you'll need to do extra work. >> >> If you look in the network control panel on each, you should see an IP >> address for the computer. In general, if the first three parts are the >> same, eg: >> >> 192.168.1. >> >> then the computers will most likely be on the same network and able to >> talk to each other. (It's more complex than this, but for most home >> networks that'll be fine). >> >>> 2 Connect to the shared computer from the other computer (obviously you need >>> to do this from each computer for two-way access) >>> - From finder select the "Go" menu and the "Connect to Server" Option. >>> Heres where things diverge for me: >> >> If your macs are working properly and the network is fine, you should >> actually just be able to open a new finder window, open the icon for >> your computer, and open the "Network" folder. Your other mac should >> appear there, or maybe in the Servers folder inside that, and you should >> just be able to access it from there. >> >> My instructions are a little vague because I don't have a Mac OS X box >> in front of me, but I hope it's clear what I mean. >> >> If the macs don't appear in the finder and Conect to Server doesn't >> work, you might have a lower level networking problem. It's premature to >> worry about this now, but reply if you have problems, there are a few >> fairly simple steps you can take to figure out what might be wrong. >> >>> One more thing - if you do need to manually input the address be aware it >>> may change for subsequent connections - I found that the address for my old >>> iMac was different when it was connected to the internet and sharing the >>> internet connection than when it was just sat on the network not connected >>> to the net - we are definitely streching my knowledge here but I think it >>> depends on how you have your network set-up and may be different again in >>> your case with airport - maybe some more knowledgeable networker could >>> enlighten us here? >> >> (To Neil): > > Hi Craig > > Thanks for the feedback. >> >> You're probably using a DSL or Cable modem/router to hand out addresses. >> The DHCP protocol this is done with is supposed to try to keep the >> addresses of the computers the same where possible. Some cheap consumer >> modem/routers, however, may not do this correctly and instead will hand >> out a different new address sometimes (for example, when the >> modem/router is turned off then on again). > > Nope, no external routers involved. The two iMacs are connected by an > ethernet cable, the old G4 flat-panel has the modem so is connected to the > phone-line (as I mentioned we are talking dial-up internet, not broadband). > I just set the old iMac to share its internet connection and told the new > iMac to connect to the internet via ethernet and it seemed to just find the > connection (ie how a Mac should work!) That's why it seemed strange that the > old iMac didn't show up in the finder or even the "connect to server" panel > after I hit the browse button - after all I was already browsing the > internet via this mac! >> >> With many modem/routers you can use the web interface to set a fixed >> address for each computer connected. To do this, you need to first find >> out the "MAC Address" of the computer you want to give a fixed address. >> ("MAC" here has nothing to do with Apple Macintosh, it's a networking >> term). You can find this in the network control panel. Make sure you get >> the address for the right network device if you have more than one - for >> example, for your Ethernet connection if you use wired Ethernet to talk >> to the modem/router, or for your wireless card if you use wireless. > > Yes, in my case there is only the mac itself but typing its network address > into the "connect to server" panel is how I did successfully connect. >> >> Once you have the computer's MAC address, you need to find the part of >> the modem/router's admin web pages that let you set up fixed addresses. >> THis varies a lot from model to model, and not all can do it at all. >> You're looking for a page that lets you enter a MAC address and >> associate it with an IP address. If you find it, just enter the >> computer's MAC address, enter a unique IP address with the same first >> three numbers as the modem's, and save it. For example, if the modem is >> 192.168.1.1 you should make your macs 192.168.1.2, 192.168.1.3, and so on. >> >> Once you've set up the MAC address to IP address table, if you restart >> your macs you should find that they have new addresses, and always get >> the same address when they start up. > > Hmmmm... not sure how this works in my case. Presumably the G4 iMac is > providing a software routing solution for the internet sharing - possibly > this is why its address is different when it is connected and sharing the > connection? > > When connected the address was of the form 144.139.xxx.xxx > but when unconnected the address was of the form steve-jobs-computer.local > > Interestingly, the arrangement of the Network Preference panel for "Built-in > Ethernet" is different on the two iMacs: > > The new iMac, running 10.4.3 has 5 selectable tabs - "TCP/IP", "PPPoE", > "AppleTalk", "Proxies" and "Ethernet" while the old iMac running 10.2.8 has > only 4 tabs - there is no "Ethernet" tab. > On both machines "TCP/IP" is set to configure "Using DHCP" > On the new machine "Ethernet" is set to configure "Automatically" > > There also seems to be more on the "TCP/IP" pane on the new machine > both machines show an IP address (not similar) both show a subnet Mask > (similar but different) the old one (which is acting as the internet router) > does not have an address next to Router but the New one does (same first > three numbers as its IP address but a different last number) > > On the new machine there is also a button marked "Renew DHCP Lease" > > While I get the concept of machines having addresses I don't really > understand the distinction between Network address, IP Address, Subnet Mask, > Router Address (when it's not another machine) Ethernet Address, Ethernet > ID, IPv6 Address - all of which my machine(s) apparently have! > >> Of course, if ZeroConf / Rendezvous was working correctly, you wouldn't >> need to do any of this anyway, since your macs would automatically >> discover each others' addresses and "just show up" in the Network folder >> (or is it the Servers folder ... I can't remember). > Yes - I remember Macs used to be like this even back at system 6 & 7 (& > possibly earlier) - though you did have to use a crossover cable if you > weren't going via a hub/switch ;) > > Interestingly I've just noticed that having once mounted a shared volume the > machine now shows up in the finder even after unmounting the volume and > putting both machines to sleep then re-waking - I'll have to see what > happens the next time I connect to the net through internet sharing. > >> Check to make sure >> your macs' firewalls aren't blocking rendezvous. > Not sure about this - I haven't looked at firewall settings on either > computer so they will both be on Apple's default settings (This is possibly > bad of me but I was given to understand that all the dangerous stuff was off > by default and you had to enable things as & when you needed them?) > > > Anyway, I'm still having fun exploring my new iMac and Tiger. > > All the best for 2006 to all. > > > Cheers > > > Neil > -- > Neil R. Houghton > Albany, Western Australia > Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 > Fax: +61 8 9841 6137 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Unsubscribe - <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > WAMUG is powered by Stalker CommuniGatePro >
