On Sun, 10 Sep 2000, Jim Belcher wrote:
> Hello Lance
> On 09-Sep-00, you wrote:
>
> > I have an A4000 with an X-surf connected to the internet via ADSL modem
> > and Miami. My daughter has a PC (Windows 98).
> >
> > What do I need to get/do in order to get both of our computers online?
>
> You need several things:
>
> 1) A networking card in the Amiga - Ariadne, for example
> 2) A networking card in the PeeCee
Whichever machine is going to be the gateway probably needs two of them.
> 3) Network cabling between the PeeCee and Amiga. There are different cabling
> schemes.
Don't bother with coax unless you have old coax-only stuff to connect.
> 4) A TCP/IP product for the Amiga (Miami or MiamiDx seem to be best)
If the Amiga is to be the gateway, then standard Miami won't do.
> 5) You may want Win 98 Second Edition for the Pee Cee. Several of us tried
> in vain to get the original Win 98 to talk to other machines, although it's
> claimed to be possible. Win 98 SE is certainly easier to implement.
Well, I had absolutely no trouble (other than the usual zillion reboots
you need when changing settings :-)) getting a Win98 box to talk to my
Amiga via Ethernet, and I've certainly heard horror stories about SE
upgrades. If the PC is to be the gateway, it *may* be preferable to
upgrade to SE instead of using a third-party product like Wingate, but
there's certainly no reason to do it with the Amiga as the gateway.
> 6) A lot of patience.
Yup. Count on at least one of the Windoze reboots not really working
properly, and having to go through the "improper shutdown" stuff. :-)
> There are a number of steps to follow when you have the above available, but
> that's what's needed.
>
> Some observations:
>
> 1) Amiga networking cards are expensive; Pee Cee network cards are cheap.
Yes. This is the main argument for using the PC as the gateway, but the
end result of using the Amiga as the gateway is usually *much* better.
The other argument is the limited number of slots in the Amiga.
> 2) There are at least two TCP/IP products for the Amiga, Miami and Genesis.
> I have a demo copy of Genesis, but could never get it to work. Others may
> have had better luck.
I believe Genesis is just a dressed-up AmiTCP, with easier configuration
but still a less advanced core. I used to use AmiTCP 4.3 (which cost 3x
as much as Miami) before switching to Miami. It worked fine for what it
did, but wasn't well supported.
> 3) If you never plan to add more computers to the network, coax is probably
> cheaper than the alternative.
Here I disagree. Everything about coax is more expensive (as well as more
difficult to work with) except for needing a hub, and with only two
computers you don't need a hub anyway. However, if you expect to need the
hub eventually, getting it sooner rather than later (they're only about
$30 these days) can be helpful due to the LEDs on the hub, unless you have
enough traffic to benefit from full duplex.
> 4) I was never sucessful in getting the Amiga to share the modem connection
> with the Pee Cee, but many have had little or no trouble. I suspect it's
> configuration dependent. I gave up, and used a modem on the Pee Cee. That
> works great!
I share a cable/DSL connection with my roommate's PC *and* Mac all the
time, and have also shared a modem connection a little bit, although I
don't use Dial on Demand. Security and control are much better with the
Amiga as the gateway.
Fred Wright
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