Jonny said:
PC to laptop configuration. XP HE SP2 on both. XP found their mutual
connections automatically. Nothing to configure regarding the
network. Onboard Drive (partition) sharing implemented to copy or
read/write data.
6 feet of firewire cable is maximum length per spec. Don't recommend
it unless the 2 PCs/laptops are physically adjacent in same room. Any type
4-4, 4-6, or 6-6 wire is okay.
Don't use a firewire enclosure to share a hard drive at the same
time. The first one to "see" the drive gets control of it, the other
will not "see" it.
Unless you use expensive firewire repeaters, there's no way to use
firewire with PCs/laptops in different rooms as a LAN.
For PC to laptop/vice-versa, its the fastest way to go. No overhead
to speak of.
Have read of a few firewire problems here that seem to go unresolved.
Not many people use it, so personal experience doesn't seem to abound
in public forum. For me, a little research reading before
installation wasn't really needed for the network setup. XP did all
the configuration for me. The firewire cable length limit I did find
in research. The external drive sharing, found by trial and error.
I have been using a firewire drive for backup but I want to change my
strategy. I thought of using a System with multiple drives accessed through
a firewire network. Distance it not a problem as I can leave the backup
System connected to several systems at the same time or use a laptop for
transporting.
I have read as much as I can find on firewire networks but not to much
about operating and maintaining over time. I use Task Manager to monitor
activity like speed. I would like to find another application that has more
control. Neither protocol seems to transfer near full capacity. If transfer
is on firewire another transfer on 100 mbps NIC seems to slow down the
firewire connect for some reason.
What problems have you read that have gone unresolved? I had read about the
cable length limits and the use of repeaters but I don't really see a need
to get to deep into firewire just for that limitation along.
Firewire is a much faster way to transfer files @ 400 mbps vs 100 mbps but
very limited. I should be reliable enough for backup.
Cliff
