Connect 2 Macs with Firewire ?

S

senne

Registered
Is there a way to connect 2 MacOSX (10.3) equiped computers with Firewire? So that i browse/manage both hard drives on both computers?

I've looked for an application on the internet, but didn't find any..

Thanks!
senne
 
Why not using the built-in ethernet ? A cross-over cable will do it at 100 MBit/s.
 
As far as I know, IP-over-FireWire is built into Panther. Connect the two with a FireWire cable, and then you're good to go, as long as you've got 10.3 on both machines.

Go into the Network pane of System Preferences, then pull down the "Show:" menu to "Network Port Configurations." Then, click "New..." if FireWire isn't shown. Select "Built-in FireWire" from the pull down menu and you should be good to go.
 
It's about twice the speed of 100BaseT - but substantially slower than Gigabit Ethernet (or so I've read).

I use it for big file transfers between my Gigabit G4 and my new-ish 12" PowerBook (100BaseT).

As these Macs are normally networked to a wireless enabled router via Ethernet and Airport respectively - I've had to set up Firewire IP addresses manually that are in the 10.0.0.x range (well away from the 192.168.1.x range of the router) to make things work.

This way I don't loose any connections that are current on the PowerBook. There's also usually one end of a Firewire cable already on my desk.

Connection is made with the Finder's "Connect to Server"command (Apple-K) rather than now shoddy network browsing option.

Gabs
 
It all depends on what you want to do. IP over Firewire or ethernet is optimal when you want both computers running independently at the same time you are sharing files. But if you simply want to use the hard drive on the other computer then Firewire target disk mode is clearly the way to go. It is a lot simpler than IP over firewire and generally faster than even Gigabit ethernet. It is just like having an second drive on your computer. You can find the instructions in Mac Help but to quote them here
Mac Help said:
  1. Shut down the first computer and leave the second computer on.
  2. Connect the two computers using a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable. (If both computers have higher-speed FireWire 800 ports in addition to the standard FireWire 400 ports, you can use a 9-pin to 9-pin cable with the FireWire 800 ports to transfer data at higher speeds.)
  3. Start up the first computer while holding down the T key.

    A disk icon for the first computer appears on the desktop on the second computer. Drag files to and from the disk to transfer them.
  4. When you finish, eject the first computer's disk by dragging its icon to the Trash.
  5. Push the power button on the first computer to shut it down and disconnect the FireWire cable.
Click to expand...
Even though this is written to cover file transfer, you can even install OS X on a drive through Firewire target disk mode. Try that with IP over ethernet ::ha::
 
Heh... yep, I think we must note here, though, that through FireWire Target Disk mode, you will only have access to the computer's boot drive. If you use a computer in target disk mode with more than one hard drive or partition, you won't have access to those drives or partitions.
 
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