Stupid question of the day Firewire

[Santilli]

OK: If I hook up two computers by firewire cable, and cards, can one see the other? If so, does it just see the disks?
Thanks

gs

 

[sechs]

If you're talking about Firewire networking, as I understand it, it's as if you had connected the two machines with an ethernet crossover cable.

 

[Platform]

OK: If I hook up two computers by firewire cable, and cards, can one see the other? If so, does it just see the disks?

You just connect the two computers with a regular FireWire cable.

However, they BOTH have to be setup for running a "FireWire Network" and both have talking the same protocol (TCP/IP, presumed). In the World of Winderz, I believe WinME, Win2K, and WinXP (and Win2K3 Server) can all do FireWire Networking.

The two computers "see" each other no differently than if they were seeing each other over Ethernet -- network nodes. They aren't going to see low-level hardware like disc LUNs or whatever.

All you are doing here is replacing layers # 1 and #2 in the OSI 7 layer network model. Instead of Ethernet cable and its hardware protocols, you now have FireWire cable and its hardware protocols.

And, if you want connect 3 or more computers together on a FireWire Network, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you were vastly better off (electrically speaking) using a nice little well-powered FireWire hub as the... er... hub between 'em all.

 

[Santilli]

I Suspect you are right about the power requirements, and the hub.
My external power devices work fine when hooked up to powered boxes.
They have serious problems hooked up to laptops, like they don't even work.

Still not having luck with connecting a laptop, through firewire, to a regular computer. Have to try the Panasonic, and see if it's the card.

Course it could be the cables...

s

 

[sechs]

Shouldn't make a difference for networking, but for devices, make sure that you have a six-pin (powered) port and six-pin cables.

 

[Pradeep]

Most PC laptops only have unpowered (4-pin) FW ports. So they can't be used to power bus-powered FW devices (mostly 2.5" HDD in enclosures, FW CF readers, iBot webcams etc.) You would need to use the device's AC power adaptor, if available. Or there are some rare FW PC Cards that you can plug a wall wart into, to provide a couple of powered 6 pin ports. However it sort of defeats the purpose of being free of a power point for mobile computing.

 

[Santilli]

OWC suggests the card maybe defective, since it doesn't work to connect to either PC or mac, from either a pc laptop, or a mac.
I guess you get what you pay for...

s

 

[Pradeep]

Does the card work when used with other FW devices? Is it a normal PCI card? Or a CardBus card? And are you using a 6pin->4pin cable? I haven't had any probs with OWC FW gear.

 

[Santilli]

It's a cardbus, IEEE 1984 card.
As for the cables, I'm using the ones that came with the FW external Lacie
CDRW drives.
s

 

[Pradeep]

Does the CardBus card work, when hooked up to your external FW Lacie, using a 6pin-6pin cable, and the Lacie hooked up to AC power?

I dunno about FW networking between PC and Mac, definitely try between PC and PC laptop only at first.

 

[Santilli]

Pradeep: I don't even know what the cable is that came with the Lacie's.
I've run into cheap cabling, in ethernet setups, that will run on macs, but not PC's. Guess I need to buy a premium cable, and see if that helps.

s

 

[Pradeep]

If your CardBus card doesn't work with any device, then it's either the cable or the CardBus card that's buggered. If the external FW drive does work, then it's your configuration of FW networking that's probably at fault.