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From: Bruce Grubb <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: comp.sys.mac.comm FAQ (v 2.3.0) Jan 1 2002 (3/3)
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=====================================================================
[5] Internet Networking
==========================================

[5.1] What kind of hardware and software do I need to have a
     direct connection (ie use TCP/IP protocol) to the Internet?
---------------------------------------------------------------------

For best performance there are some common hardware and software
requirements:

    a program that implementes the Defense Advanced Research Projects
    Agency (DARPA) TCP/IP Protocols (see [4.1]) This has been included
    with the MacOS since 8.1.

    a direct connection to an Ethernet or TokenRing network or PPP
    dialup connection.

Note that some ISP require their own software to use.  IMHO this is
only usefull if they are providing some service (like AOL's parental
controls) that are not easily implimented with existing Internet
software otherwise it is a waste of time and resources on their part
to go with some propriority software.


[5.2] What are SLIP, CSLIP and PPP?
-------------------------------------

SLIP stands for Serial Line Internet Protocol.  SLIP was a "non-standard"
for framing IP packets and shipping them over a serial line (e.g. a
cable, or a pair of modems), thus allowing a home machine to dial up and
become part of the Internet. Effectively, SLIP turned a serial port into
a logical Ethernet port.  PPP (see below) has effectively replaced SLIP
as the standard of choice for Internet connections.

CSLIP stands for Compressed SLIP.  CSLIP reduces the size of the
headers in IP packets by eliminating a certain amount of redundancy.
This improves interactive performance.

    Synergy Software offers a CSLIP MacTCP extension with its
    VersaTerm/VersaTerm-PRO packages. If you already own Versaterm,
    SLIP is a $20 upgrade. If you buy the complete VersaTerm 5.0.4
    package, you will also get an FTP server and client, a Telnet
    connection tool, and MacTCP. Performance is comparable to that
    of MacSLIP.  Contact: [USA] (215) 779 0522

PPP stands for Point-to-Point Protocol.  PPP has been stated as a
standards-track protocol by the Internet Engineering Task Force and
the Internet Activities Board.  PPP can support both synchronous
and asynchronous connections and protocols that are not IP-based
(such as AppleTalk). It provides specifications for error detection,
feature negotiation, escaping control characters, etc.  As a result
PPP has become the defacto standard for connecting to the Internet
with Remote Acceess being the most popular extension for Classic Networking.


[5.3] OT/PPP (Remote Access) Frequently Asked Questions
---------------------------------------

  * What things in TCP/IP do I -not- need to bother with?

         You can safely ignore the IP address field, Gateway Address,
         Subnet Mask, and generally the LCP and IPCP Options.  These
         will be set up by the server at connect time.

  * How should I set the 'Obtain address' setting for TCP/IP?

      This should be set to 'server'  The load on the Internet today
      has rendered manual addressing virtually useless.

  * Do I need to set the Domain Name Servers in TCP/IP?

      Yes.  This information needs to provided to you from your system
      administrator or service provider.  Without this information
    internet programs will not work correctly.

  * Which Port Speed setting should I use for TCP/IP?

    If you have a good modem script you should not have to worry
    about this.  If you have two modem scripts based on port speed
    (like Global Village's V.92 modem) the rule of thumb is the
    fastest speed for a PowerMac and the slower one for a 680x0 Mac.

  * What modem initialization string should I use?

    Again a good modem script should prevent you from worrying about
    this and it is best to your modem manual or local systems
    administrator for advice.  The only genralization that can be made
    is that if you are using a modem not specfically designed for a mac
    you will likely have to add 'DTR override' (&D0) in your
      initialization string after the &F (factory default setting).

    * Should I specify my username/password in the
    Accounts/Connections box?

      These Authentication Dialogue boxes are only for use if you
      are connecting to a PPP server that supports PAP.  If setting
      your username and password in the Accounts box does not result
      in a successful login, and you are sure that the information
      is correct, and you have ruled out any other problems, then
      you should not use this part of Accounts box; its fields must
      be left blank.
    In this case use the Connection Script dialogue to build a script
    which includes your username and password. If you do not know
    whether your PPP server supports PAP, check with your service
    provider or System administrator.

   * Do I need to specify a connection script?

    If you are connecting to a PPP server which does not support
      PAP, then you must specify a connection script rather than using
      the Authentication Dialogue box (see above). The connection
      script must include your username and password. If you want to
      "watch what happens" in order to develop a connection script,
      OT/PPP haa a Terminal Window option.  Note, You may need to include
      a command to   start PPP at the remote end (this often happens
      automatically) - if you need to, put this command at the end
      of your script.

   * Can I control OT/PPP using AppleScript?

   Yes, OT/PPP supports AppleScript directly and comes with documentation
   and example scripts.

   * How do I make a OT/PPP Connection Script pause?

     You can build a pause into the connection script using the '\d'
     special character in an out string. '\d' represents a 1 second
     pause.   If you need a 5 second pause use '\d\d\d\d\d'.

   * OT/PPP drops the line after a few minutes. What's wrong?

     This phenomena has a number of causes.

  1) One cause is not setting your modem for DTR override when
     using 'CTS & RTS (DTR)' or 'RTS (DTR) Only' Flow Control. Mac
     hardware handshaking cables have the hardware line from the Mac
     wired to both the RTS and DTR lines of the modem. This means
     that when the Mac drops its handshake line to stop the flow of
     data from the modem, both RTS & DTR are dropped at the modem end.
   Dropping the modem's RTS line is fine because that stops the
   flow of data to the machine (until the machine is ready,
   whence the line is raised again and the flow of data
     resumes). However, if DTR is dropped, the modem will hang up.
     To avoid this, configure the modem for 'DTR override' by
     including the appropriate setting (&D0) in your modem
     initialization string.

  2) If you have selected an Idle Timeout, then OT/PPP
     will seek to drop the connection when there has been no traffic
     for the period you have specified.  A dialogue box will
     appear alerting you that PPP is disconnecting.

  3) Some PPP servers will cut the link after a number of minutes
     of inactivity. This is to stop you tying up a network line if
     you are not making use of it. If you want to defeat this you
   will need to generate some network activity every few minutes.

4) A significant drop in the quality of the connection.  To some
   degree the higher the modem connection is the less tolerant
   it is of connection quality variation.  This cause is the
   least likly but does occur often enough that it should be
    noted.

   * When I have closed OT/PPP but leave some Internet
     programs open I discover that after while it will attempt to
     reconnect.  How do I stop this?

     Click Options, select connection, and uncheck the
     'Connect automatically when starting TCP/IP appplications' box.

[5.4] Do I have to know anything about Unix to use the Internet?
---------------------------------------------------------------------

For the most part the answer to this question is no though there are
some Unix and Internet protocals you should know about.  The ones
followed by a * you need to be aware of.

DNS (Domain Name Server) *
    desinates the servers that translates domain names to IP
    numbers.  If this server has problems then you cannot use
    domain names at all and have to use IP numbers. Interarchy
    has DNS lookup as one of its many network tools.

NFS (Network File System)
    file sharing protocol used by many UNIX workstations.  The
    average Internet surfer doesn't need to worry about this as
    most file transfers involve FTP or HTTP not NFS.  Since MacOS X
    and higher have Unix as there core this should be a built-in.

NNTP (Net News Transfer Protocol) *
    a protocol used to transfer articles between a central news
    server and many client machines over TCP/IP or a serial link.
    Used by about every MacOS newreader program available.

SMTP (Simple-Mail-Transfer-Protocol) and POP (Post-Office-Protocol) *
    These are two protocols for transfering electronic mail between
    machines that have a TCP/IP interface or equivalent.  Without
    these you cannot send or receive e-mail.

UUCP
   UUCP (Unix-to-Unix-Copy) is a protocol originally intended to be
   used to transfer files between Unix machines over telephone lines.
   As with NFS it can be safely ignored by the average Internet
   surfer.

=====================================================================
[6] Miscellaneous
========

[6.1] I just downloaded an .AVI file but Quicktime will not play it
     correctly.  Am I missing something?
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Quite possibly as there have been serveral codecs for AVIs over the
years each of which have been respresented on the mac with it own
extension: Intel Raw Video (1.10.20.02), Indeo Video (3.22.24.09),
Indeo Video4 (4.4.0), and Indeo Video5 (5.0).  While Windows did have
an i235 AVI codec no Mac extension exists to view these AVIs.

The mac extensions Intel Raw Video and Indeo Video codecs were
originally included in a Quicktime 1.5 and higher program called
Video For Windows (c1994) which allowed QT to view these AVIs. Today
the Indeo Video codecs 3 through 5 plugins for Quicktime 3.0 though 5.0
can be found at <http://www.apple.com/quicktime/technologies/indeo/>
and the Intel Raw Video seems to be part of the Quicktime 4.0 and
higher install.

Futher complicating matters is the emergence of a new AVI codec known
as DivX.  Currently the only way to play these DivX AVIs on a Mac is
use DivX Player <http://mac.divx.st/download/index.html> with Windows
Media Player 6.3 (DivX Player does NOT work with version 7 of the
player); unfortunity the OpenDiv codec
<http://www.divx-digest.com/software/divxcodec4.html> which is usable
with Quicktime does not seem to be able to decode DivX AVIs.
DivX 4.1.1a <http://www.divx.com/divx/> another Quicktime
alternative has problems with the audio in some DivX AVIs perhaps due
to the audio sometimes using a different codex altogether.

=====================================================================
Appendix
========

[A] List of Common Abbreviations
--------------------------------

       Abbrev-
       iation  Description
       ------- ------------------------------------------------------
       ADB     Apple Desktop Bus
       ARA     Apple Remote Access (was AppleTalk Remote Access)
       bps     bits per second
       CSLIP   Compressed SLIP
       csmc    comp.sys.mac.comm
       CTB     Communications Tool Box
       CTS     Clear-To-Send
       DSR     Data-Set-Ready
       DTR     Data-Terminal-Ready
       FTP     File Transfer Protocol
       IP      Internet Protocol
       LAP     Link Acess Protocol
       MNP     Microcom Networking Protocol
       NNTP    Net News Transfer Protocol
       PPP     Point-to-Point Protocol
       RTS     Request-To-Send
       SID     Sound Input Device
       SLIP    Serial Line Internet Protocol; also seen as SLIP
       TCP     Transmission Control Protocol


[B] Mac program archive list link and Vendor Information
------------------------------------------------------------------

Nearly all shareware or freeware programs described in this FAQ are
available from one of the many archives that mirror the InfoMac archive.
Over 90 of these mirror sites are listed in the FTP section of
the Mac-Site-list
<http://members.aol.com/BruceG6069/ftp-list.html#mirrors>

These vendors are either mentioned in this FAQ or provide products
relating to Macintosh networking. Neither the editor of this list
nor any of the contributors necessarily endorse any of the vendors
or their products. The following information is provided for your
convenience only.

Please bring any errors or additions to the attention of the editor.

Aladdin Software <http://www.aladdinsys.com/>

Apple Developers Association (APDA)
    [USA] (408) 974 4667

Asante <http://www.asante.com/>

Ascend Communications <http://www.ascend.com/>

Carnation Software
    <http://www.webcom.com/~carn/carnation/HT.Carn.Home.html>

COM One [France] <http://www.com1.fr>

Compatible Systems <http://www.compatible.com/>

Farallon Computing <http://www.farallon.com/>

Global Village <http://www.globalvillag.com/>

Hayes Corporation <http://www.hayes.com/>

QUALCOMM, Incorporated <http://www.qualcomm.com/>

Quiotix Corporation <http://www.quiotix.com/>

Raine Storm Softworks         <http://www.kagi.com/raine/>

Sassy Software <http://www.cstone.net/~rbraun/mac/telnet/>

Sonic Systems <http:/www.sonicsys.com/>

Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc.   <www: http://www.wrq.com>

ZyXEL Communications <http://www.zyxel.com/>


[C] Contributors
----------------

The editor of this FAQ would like to graciously thank all of the
following individuals who have contributed in some form or another
to the answers provided above, and to the many others not listed
who have nonetheless encouraged and corrected us along the way.

      Erik Adams                 (DivX information)
      Steve Baumgarten           (Versaterm)
      Jack Brindle               (BinHex, MacBinary)
      Eric Behr                  (MacTCP)
      Jim Browne                 (NCSA Telnet)
      Josh Cole                  (Networking, MacTCP, AppleDouble)
      Bill Coleman               (Smartcom)
      Steve Dorner               (Eudora, SLIP)
      Don Gilbert                (SLIP)
      Tom Gewecke                (European E-Mail, Archives)
      Elliotte Rusty Harold      (General, File Transfer Programs)
      Patrick Hoepfner           (various tidbits)
      Greg Kilcup                (CSLIP, PPP)
      Andy Y. A. Kuo             (Networking)
      Yves Lempereur               (MacBinary/BinHex)
      Peter N. Lewis             (General)
      Ward McFarland               (Mac serial port speeds)
      Dick Napoli                (DivX information)
      David Oppenheimer          (original c.s.m.comm FAQ maintainer)
      Leonard Rosenthol          (General, StuffIt)
      Richard Saint              (MacPPP [now FreePPP] FAQ)
      Bonze Saunders             (dataComet Inforamation)
      Dan Schwarz                (Mac serial port speeds)
      Eric P. Scott              (General)
      Jon L. Spear               (General, Baud Etymology)
      Tony Stuckey               (AppleDouble information links)
      Christopher Swan           (Black Night)
      Werner Uhrig               (Macintosh Expert)
      dzubera                    (56K and .z information)
=====================================================================

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