Grex Hardware Conference

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Grex Hardware Item 118: Mac Networking
Entered by rcurl on Wed Oct 9 17:38:50 UTC 1996:

I want to add a PowerMac with a Color Stylewriter to my home AppleTalk
network.  The Stylewriter does not have an AppleTalk interface, so must be
cabled to the PowerMac serial printer port. With a modem on the other
serial port, I can't connect to the AppleTalk network without unplugging
something. What are my alternatives for getting it all on the network? 

One option is a "PortJuggler" (TN), which plugs into a port and provides
four serial ports (and automates the sharing of the one port on the CPU). 
I could use this for the printer, modem and PhoneNet adapter, and still
have left over ports - IF they can all be addressed for their respective
uses. How well does the "PortJuggler" work? Are there any other makers of
similar devices? 

The PowerMac has AAUI and 10Base-T Ethernet ports - though none of the
other devices on the net do. I am not at all familiar with Ethernet
hookups, but suspect it would be very expensive to use one - is it?  (And
what would be needed in this case?)

2 responses total.

#1 of 2 by rcurl on Mon Oct 14 06:59:33 1996:

I came across an internal serial card called a "Hustler", with two ports.
Unfortunately, it is for NuBus architecture, and will not work on the
PowerMc PIC interface. There is a web page for someone claiming a MacPCI
serial card was (becoming?) available, but the site does not respond.
  
Today at the JCC I asked a Mac  stuff venor about the PortJuggler, and
he reacted negatively toward the likelihood it would work well, but I had
the impression that he had had no experience with it. The PortJuggler, by
the way, comes in a "4X" flavor and a PowerMac flavor - I would guess that
the latter is provided with a native PowerMac driver. The PortJuggler, runng
off a DMA port, would of course be much slower than a PCI serial card port.

#2 of 2 by rcurl on Mon Oct 14 16:38:03 1996:

Have now found the "MultiPort/PCI", from Silicon Valley Bus Co. It has 4
115K bps serial ports, both Mac and PC compatible, plus a PC-compatible
parallel port. *Exactly* what I need - except it costs $400 8^{. I may
have to go to a $10 A/B switch, and forego some flexibility.

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