User guide

Ethernet via EtherWave
If anyone read last months Double Click they
would have seen an article in there about simple
networking using Apple LocalTalk and Farallon
PhoneNET connectors to daisy-chain Macs and
printers together using the Printer Port. The best
thing about that type of networking is that every
component can be found cheaply, often for free,
and since most of us have networking demands
that only include a half-dozen devices or less,
that type of networking suffices.
The problem arises when you have either the
need for greater speed or the need for a greater
volume of data transmission. Once you get a
bunch of Macs networked together and you start
moving files and documents in excess of 4 or 5
megabytes, the bottlenecks become obvious.
LocalTalk via the Printer Port is limited to about
230 Kilobits per second. Fortunately there are
other Ports besides the Printer Port that can be
used for networking. There is a port called the
Ethernet port that provides access to a much
faster network setup. Ethernet has a standard rate
of data exchange of about 10 Megabits per second
and the newer Macs can transmit and receive 100
or 1000 Megabits per second. Many Macs have
Built-in Ethernet in the form of either a RJ45
interface or a AAUI port (Apple Attachment Unit
Interface) while others have it as an added-in
option . Macs with a Nubus or PCI interface can
accept Nubus or PCI Ethernet expansion cards.
Macs with COMM I or COMM II slots can accept
Ethernet cards that fit in these slots. Once quite
expensive, they are a frequent item on eBay auc-
tions and sell for from $10.00 to $25.00.
Ethernet, like LocalTalk, is really a set of proto-
cols that describe how digital signals are trans-
mitted and how computers access the cable that
carries the signals. It is designed to handle multi-
ple protocols including AppleTalk, TCP/IP,
Netware and others.
Ethernet can be just as simple as daisy-chaining
devices together using Farallon EtherWave
devices, identical in set-up to the Apple Localtalk
connectors except that they connect to the
Ethernet port instead of the Printer Port and are
joined together with RJ45 Ethernet cables instead
of Localtalk cables. Daisy-chained EtherWaves
are limited to a net of seven
devices or less and a total
maximum cable length of
about 300 feet.
Farallon
EtherWave