That second NIC appears to be my only option. A colleague down the hall
does exactly that. If I did attempt NAT, as was suggested, unless the
device actually attached to the RJ-45 802.3 LAN port in the wall has the
exact same MAC address, etc., as the NIC on my workstation, the local IT
gestapo will disconnect my wall port and block all traffic -- until such
time as the IT gestapo is instructed to detect the "replacement" NIC.
This presents problems whenever there is a NIC failure or a replacement
workstation. Instead, our illustrious gestapo requires us to use
Eduroam over 802.11 -- but refuses to allow any standard server daemons
on a workstation for file transfer. I can upload and download to a
remote server as required -- is there a secure remote server that will
allow mutli-Gbyte transfers and will allow https initiated download
access via a web browser? I do NOT want to put files on a site that may
corrupt, infect, or redistribute these.
I was hoping to use USB 3 rather than 802.3 as the transfer. A USB
stick does work, but then one is back to sneaker-net.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Yasha Karant
On 03/27/2015 07:18 AM, Ken Teh wrote:
I was about to suggest Mark's point about the second nic in the
desktop. It seems to me the easiest and most versatile. And a small
switch to connect the laptop and the desktop (on the second nic). No
cross-over cable. A small disjoint lan with hard-wired addresses in
/etc/hosts. You can add as many machines as you have ports on the
switch. You could even turn your desktop into a NAT gateway if you wish.
On 03/27/2015 08:38 AM, Mark Stodola wrote:
On 03/26/2015 06:51 PM, Kevin K wrote:
On Mar 26, 2015, at 6:37 PM, Yasha Karant <ykar...@csusb.edu> wrote:
My desktop workstation (currently X86-64 SL 7) has only one 802.3
physical port. At my university, the IT gestapo will not allow the
use of a local 802.3 repeater (switch or hub) but requires a valid
NIC MAC address and will disconnect any changes. I have no 802.11
WNIC on my desktop workstation. I just have obtained a new HP Zbook
to run X86-64 Linux to replace my old mobile workstation (laptop)
that was underprovisioned for 64 bit operation, had a worn out
keyboard and pointing device, etc. (I regret to state that I am
experimenting with OpenSUSE 13.2 on that machine for reasons beyond
the subject matter of this post.) The IT gestapo will not allow my
workstation to serve as a HTTP server, etc. -- one cannot use scp,
sftp, etc., for file transfer over the IT network from a desktop
workstation (not a designated server). I could attempt to transfer
all of the files to the research network that has much less IT
gestapo control -- but this is as tedious as what I am no
w
doing. H
ence, a question:
Is there a software application utility that will convert a USB
network between two machines running standard open systems
protocols to allow file transfer between the two machines? I am
not referring to the methods used with an Android device, but with
a regular Linux workstation. A cursory search of such things on
the web did not provide any insight. At one time, UUCP would do
this over a RS232 point-to-point link (cable) -- will this approach
still work over a USB (not RS232) link? Is there something better
than UUCP?
Are you wanting to do a one time transfer between the two
computers? Or be able to get both on the net at the same time?
For 1 time use, I would suggest a crossover cable. Configure one to
allow the SSH daemon to run, and copy files using scp or sftp.
If you want both to connect to the net at the same time, and be able
to talk to each other, then an inexpensive NAT router should do the
trick. Unless they are running special software that can detect
that you have multiple computers attached to it, there should be no
issue. You still wouldn’t be able to connect BACK to your computer
from outside if servers aren’t allowed.
Behind NAT, your workstation should be able to be a server to the
zbook.
If all you are looking for is file transfer, is there a any reason
why a USB drive is not a viable option? With USB length limits, it
sounds like the 2 machines will be in the same room with physical
access.
Have you considered just adding a second NIC to the desktop for use
with the laptop?
I recall seeing USB link devices for migrating Windows systems
between computers several years ago, but do not have any experience
with them.