Re: tlug: Parallel Port Ethernet Adapter Source?

[Jim Tittsler <jwt@example.com>]

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tlug note from Jim Tittsler <jwt@example.com>
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John Little writes:
>    I'm in a similar situation (an old Dynabook) and I've been thinking
>    about using PLIP and having a point-to-point connection from one
>    of the i386 systems on my 'net to the laptop and gaining access 
>    that way.
> 
>    Has anyone on the list had any experience with PLIP?

Yes, in fact PLIP is what I have been using when the notebook
was in the "computer room."  It works fine with short cables,
but isn't as practical across longer distances.  The TTL
signals aren't ideal for this use. (And the cable necessary
would be bigger than I really want to put through the wall.  :-)

You can either use a standard "LapLink" parallel cable (or if
both machines have bi-directional parallel ports) a special
cable that will do byte-wide transfers.  I made my own cable
using the pinouts described in drivers/net/README*.PLIP and plip.c

It does consume a fair bit of CPU power. When I first set it up,
there was only the nibble mode, and I confess I've never gone back
to see if I could use the byte parallel mode.  (There is also the
minor concernt that if you connect the two machines with the byte
parallel cable and don't have the ports configured as inputs, you
could eventually damage the printer ports.)  The driver does not
take advantage of ECP/EPP fifo'ing or DMA even if your machine(s)
support them, so it is all processor banging.

-- 
Jim Tittsler, Tokyo  7j1ajh@example.com  http://shrine.cyber.ad.jp/~jwt/



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