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Is networking between a PC and Mac possible?

R

RSI

Diamond Member
One of my clients has a PC and a Mac at home and would like to share his internet connection. At the moment I don't have many details, but I'll post them as I am informed (just got the contract). Anyway, what should I look out for first? I am going to find out what hardware he's using first, of course. If he's using an OS prior to Windows 98SE on his PC, should I use software like sygate? What free internet sharing program would you recommend in that situation? Also - any configuration required for the Macintosh?

Can I still use 192.168.0.1/192.168.0.2 on subnet 255.255.255.0 for PC-to-Mac networks?

Please let me know. 😀

-RSI
 
I run my ibook (mac os x.1) behind a PC running OpenBSD. Works fine. No special setup. When I am at work I run SAMBA so I can share files between the Mac and the Windows machines, and scp files around for UNIX.
 
Yes you can. Whether the PC is running Mac OS, OS X, Be OS, Windows, Linux, *BSD, etc. etc. as long as it has a standard TCP/IP stack and a networking port of some kind then it can be used to share or take part of a shared net connection. 🙂

For windows try using ICS to share the net connection. You could also recommend that your client buy a 4 port Cable/DSL router so that they wouldn't always have to have the sharing computer on when they wanted the other computer to be able to access the internet. Of course if they need a free solution, ICS or linux/bsd are probably their best bet.

Gaidin
 
No, they can't network. That's why there is a Mac-only internet that is, unsurprisingly, much less rich than the PC internet (which is why you never hear about it).


[stopping while ahead]
 
In fact, you can do more than just share an Internet connection between a Mac and a PC. You can also swap files without pricey add-on software by using ftp.

* Both computer must be running IP and connected via Ethernet
* One machine or the other mus be running ftp server software (many freeware choices available).
* Set the proper access rights, and you can transfer files to and from the machine with the ftp service.
* A web browser may be all that is needed, if you use a URL like ftp://[i]ftp machine ip address[/i]

You might still have the issue of file formats crop up here and there, but most types of files will work just fine.
 
i setup someone's home network with several pc's and a mac laptop, wanted to share the dsl line. piece of cake! got a d-link router and the hardest part was finding where to set the dns on the damn mac! 🙂
 
Someone in a previous post mentioned a program called DAVE. This has nothing to do with sharing an internet connection; it has to do with making filesharing between PCs and Macs easy. If you want to just share the internet connection, easiest way (in my opinion) is to go buy a basic router (Linksys, or whatever), and have the Mac and the PC pull IP addresses from it automatically through DHCP. It's that simple. Sharing files is a bit different: Someone mentioned the ftp idea, which is the cheapest way to go, but programs like DAVE and PCMacLAN allow you to mount a PC share on your Mac desktop as if it were a local drive. Much more convenient than firing up the ftp client whenever you want to do something. Netopia's Timbuktu will not only allow you to share files between the two, but will allow you to control the desktop/mouse of one machine directly from the other.

Mac-only Internet. That's a good one!

-j
 
Just to clarify a bit..

The Internet works through the TCP/IP communications protocol. It's just a language on how computers talk to each other. A protocol is computer-independant - Many protocols are platform-independant. For example, TCP/IP works on a Mac, the PC, Unix, mainframes, etc.

When you're actually getting up to the complexity of sharing files, that's a different matter, and far more complex. Doesn't sound like that's what you need.

If I were you, I'd just pick up an inexpensive broadband router (Linksys, DLink, SMC, etc.). If it runs TCP/IP, it will let it get to the Internet, no matter the OS. If that's out of the picture, cost-wise, Sygate works quite nicely.

- G
 
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