Networking Apple Macs+Security

[ElijahBaley]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions regarding networking Apple Mac computers. My needs are simple, all I want to do is network three powermacs in a peer-to-peer configuration with a shared folder/directory on each machine, and configure a gateway address for access to the Internet - there will not be a server.

My understanding is that I can use TCP/IP over Ethernet and simply assign an address to each node on the subnet, so if this is the case can I disregard Appletalk altogether? - what about security, are Macs vulnerable to exploits and attacks? - would you recommend a firewall in front of the router?

Thanks for any comments,

EB

 

[jimbopalmer]

You did not mention the OS, if it is MacOS 9 or earlier, you will need Appletalk.

For MacOSX, I think all you need is TCP/IP

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[duncdude]

All Powermacs have ethernet built-in as standard. All you need is an ethernet hub - about £30-£40 will do the job... and cabling - available from almost any computer shop.

To connect more than one computer to the internet you will need a router. For example, this is linked directly to the Broadband and appears to the outside world as one device. All the technicality involived in the Macs attached to the router are taken care of by the router itself in the form of NAT 'Network Address Translation' tables.

For connectivity to the internet all the Macs must be assigned different Network Addresses 192.168.0.? or setup as DHCP - this will allocate the addresses automatically. Just go to the control panel, select TCP/IP and set up DHCP from there.

To actually share a folder on a Mac you need to do the following:- a) control panel, file sharing, START FILE SHARING b) control panel, file sharing, users, ALLOW GUESTS TO CONNECT c) select a folder or drive, go to get info and set up sharing in the dialog box. Then go to another Mac on the network, select apple, chooser, click on Appleshare and you 'should' see the shared folder/drive on the other machine.

Macs have virtually no viruses in contrast to PC's.

The above is fairly basic - and i'm not sat in front of my Mac so it is off the top of my head - but it should point you in the right direction.

Sorry if a couple of points are not that accurate!

Regards
Duncan

 

[ElijahBaley]

Thanks for your comments guy's

What I was really trying to establish was 'is there a need to use Apple's proprietry routed protocol 'Appletalk?' - after a bit of research I now realise that this is not needed and I can go ahead and use TCP/IP instead.

EB