how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

[Ole Juul]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

Forgive me if this info was embedded above but I felt a need to clarify why crossover cables exist. Crossover cables can be anything, not just serial or cat5 for your lan.

One or more wires carries the information and if the cable is "straight" then the out will be connected to the out and the in connected to the in. See the problem? The solution is simply to cross the lines so that the out goes to the in.

The problem is as old as wires. BUT, most modern switches (such as built into routers) have automatic circuitry to do the switching as required. This way it doesn't matter if you use a straight through or a crossover cable. No OS can do this (XP included), because it's a hardware problem.

[Telengard]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

Ole Juul, your comments are definitely on topic here.

The OP seems to be lacking much fundamental knowledge of networking which he will need to put his idea into action. There are a large number of possible solutions to the OP's original problem, but he seems very determined to do it with ethernet on CAT-5 (or maybe CAT-6 because we never discussed the difference). That is fine, and I think he will learn much in the process of getting it working.

[tomcloyd]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

yeah - greater knowledge is my greatest need now, for sure. I was committed to a crossover cable 'cause it seemed like the easiest solution. I now see the error of my ways - I think. Is it safe to assume that had I a router I could plug things in and then 'see' the shared files on the other computer? Or do I still have to work my way through all that addressing and masking and other stuff that right now I simply have no time for?

Man, I really don't get it that I can plug in a flash drive and grab files, but I cannot plug into another computer (with appropriately configured file access) and do exactly the same thing. This seems plain dumb. (Of course, I'm what's dumb here - or rather ignorant, and that's the real problem...)

Thanks for all the help. I'll keep plugging away on it (pun intended).

[Ole Juul]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

Man, I really don't get it that I can plug in a flash drive and grab files, but I cannot plug into another computer (with appropriately configured file access) and do exactly the same thing. . . .

A drive is quite different from a computer when it comes to access. You are also reading this message off a drive, but there is networking protocols in between.

Regarding your original desire:
I am also an amateur, but probably have a very different computing style than you do. The way I would do it is use a router. Plug both computers into the router. Install an FTP server using Adept or whatever. Type "ifconfig" on the server to get the number on the second line that looks like "192.168.1.2". Then type "ftp:// thatnumber" into the file browser (Konqueror?) on the other computer (client) and browse away! That's three steps. It's really very simple, but to be completely foolproof, you could probably use a couple of quick tips, which I will give you if you like. (When you're ready )

That's my style. This is NOT how many people do it. You may want something more modern, but that will involve installing some other protocol or clicking on stuff that I'm not familiar with. Others will have to help you with that.

[Telengard]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

Tom, have you ever setup file shares with Samba or any other file server protocol? I ask this because it will help a lot if you already have some experience with it. If not, you will need to learn how to set it up. I suspect most people just use Samba because it is compatible with Windows networks.

The reason the router makes it easier is because most routers include a DHCP server (you can look that up on Wikipedia if you want.) The DHCP server makes network setup easy because it does all the addressing for you automatically. Your computer automatically gets its IP information filled in soon after you plug in into the router, so you don't have to do it by hand. The network almost sets itself up automatically.

[tomcloyd]

Re: how to connect two Jaunty computers for file sharing

OK, you folks are definitely selling me on getting a router. I'm not a hardware person - I just want things to work. Do love programming, but not the circuitry stuff - and this networking business sounds about as much fun as setting up a serial connection in the bad old days. Don't ever want to go there again !

Thanks for your patience and and effort in explaining things. Very helpful!