Filesharing with a Mac and PC using a LinkSys Router?

Factual Questions
1

I just bought a 4 port linksys router and was sucessful in getting my iMac and Windows 2000 pc to share the DSL connection. My next goal is to get file sharing between the two machines.

Can someone give me some simple instructions on how to do this. I just want simple file sharing capabilities and would prefer to not have to BUY any additional software to make this work.

Regards,

Blade

2

The simplest method would be to install an FTP server on one and use an FTP client on another.

It’s not ideal, but FTP is a universal standard.

NCSA Telnet for the Mac has a simple FTP server built in.

I can’t remember if MacOS supports Windows filesharing or if Windows supports AppleShare…it’s been a while since I’ve thought about it on non-Unix systems (God bless NFS.)

3

I think friedo has the best answer in his FTP server solution. However, I do not know for certain that Win2000 comes with a free FTP server. Then again, Win NT had it in the Option Pack (which was free), so likely Win2000 does as well.

4

Windows 2000 does indeed come with a package called Internet Services, which includes web, ftp and smtp servers. If it wasn’t installed by default, you can easily add it from the “Add/Remove Program” applet in Control Panel (select the bottom icon in the left panel, labelled “Add/Remove Windows Components” and then check the “Internet Information Services” checkbox).

5

If you want to share files with the same ease that you do between two Macs using AppleShare under the Chooser, or between two PCs using Windows Networking under Network Neighborhood, you have a decent handful of high-quality commercial choices (none of which circumvenes the effectiveness of free file sharing using FTP, as mentioned above) –

  1. DAVE from Thursby Software Systems for the Mac. You install it on the Mac and set up a NetBIOS over TCP network. If you are talking about no more than two machines, this probably isn’t the solution for you, but it is wonderful in a business environment so I thought I’d mention it.

  2. PC Maclan from Miramar Systems for the PC. An AppleTalk stack for your PC, with the same ease of use as AppleTalk on a Mac. Install, select files to share, assign password privs, THAT’S IT. No numbers, routers, address info to type in. AppleTalk looks around and finds other computers & printers in its area and takes notice of them and figures you might want access to them. Somewhat more complicated in a business environment with different AppleTalk zones, at which point going AppleTalk as your x-plat protocol choice might be worth rethinking.

  3. MacSOHO from Thursby Software Systems for the Mac. NetBEUI for the Macintosh. NetBIOS but not over TCP/IP, just local Windows Networking. Select a workgroup. Select what you are going to share. From the Macintosh Chooser, see PC shares as if they were Mac AppleTalk shares. As with PC MacLan, no complicated digits and addresses to type in. (You do need to specify a workgroup, that’s how NetBEUI works).

  4. DoubleTalk from Connectix for the Mac. A competing product with more or less the same features as DAVE. A newer product, a good company, but I haven’t ever used it, whereas I’ve used DAVE for 7 years and can vouch for it in a business setting.

6

I should mention that all four of the commercial solutions described above in my previous post work in both directions. That is, PC MacLan allows Macs to access PC AppleTalk shared resources, and allows PCs to access Mac AppleTalk shared resources. MacSOHO, DAVE, and DoubleTalk allow Macs to access PC NetBIOS shared resources and allow PCs to access Mac NetBIOS shared resouces.

PC MacLan gives the PC access to all AppleTalk-based shared printers. MacSOHO, DAVE, and DoubleTalk give Macs access to PC shared printers if and only if they are PostScript printers.