[Zim]

Having just added a Mini Duo to my downstairs I had been considering how best to share storage between it and my upstairs G4.

As of yesterday I began thinking of a NAS, and figuring out how to run CAT-5 from one location to the other... and was thinking gosh, if I wanted to run gigabit (for much better performance) I would need a gigabit hub/switch/router (not sure which)... etc etc...

But the idea just occurred to me...

If I only have the 2 machines... could I do this instead...

buy a GigE NIC for my G4/800. Run CAT 5/6 downstairs, and thus use that as the way to share the drives between the machines? So I'd have one private 192.168 network there?

I could then run the airport (with medicore performance) on the Mini as my Internet access... or could the Mini connect thru the G4 (which would have its built-in 10/100 connected to my Netgear wireless router (connected to the cable modem)?

I'm not looking for RAID, or any of the other features of NAS.. just really to get to a situation where I can share storage between the machines with decent performance.

Thanks,
Mike

[mduell]

Yes, you can plug two ethernet ports into each other and form a private network. With a modern ethernet card on at least one end (your mini has one), you don't even need a crossover cable.

Once you've run cable, you might as well access the internet via wired instead of wireless.

[Zim]

Originally Posted by mduell

Yes, you can plug two ethernet ports into each other and form a private network. With a modern ethernet card on at least one end (your mini has one), you don't even need a crossover cable.

Once you've run cable, you might as well access the internet via wired instead of wireless.

Doh... forgot about the crossover.. good catch.

The part I'm uncertain about is that my connection chain would be

Cable modem <-> Netgear Wireless_router <-> G4/800 (wired) <-> Mini (wired)
<-> work Thinkpad (Wireless)

How do I set up the G4 to route/pass-thru traffic to/from the Mini to/from the Netgear? Best to hard code the IP addr on the G4<->Mini network, or set one side as DCHP server? (I assume I need to define one side as the gateway?) (yes I'd be better off if I was at home looking at the dialog boxes).

From the outside, to reach the Mini, I would have to SSH to the G4, then SSH from there to the Mini?

Thanks,
Mike

[mduell]

That's getting kind of ugly.

Why can't the Thinkpad connect to the Netgear wifi router?

I'd think about spending $100 on a gigglebit router with wifi.

[Zim]

Originally Posted by mduell

That's getting kind of ugly.

Why can't the Thinkpad connect to the Netgear wifi router?

I'd think about spending $100 on a gigglebit router with wifi.

Sorry.. the vagaries of HTML (removing the white space).

The Thinkpad was supposed to be lined up as T-ing off the Netgear (in parallel witth the G4).

So the only "indirect" connection to the Netgear would be the Mini (if it connects "thru" the G4).

Mike

[Zim]

I ended up getting a GigE switch ($30) and plugging the G4 and Mini both into that.... so far it seems to be working like a champ. The drives in the G4 are very usable by the Mini.

Mike