(Inter)Networking an A2000

[christopherpm]

What is the cheapest and / or easiest way of getting an A2000 on the internet?

[Jope]

Cheapest: RS232 + null modem + a suitable PPP server on another computer and you also need to buy and install a tcp/ip stack on the Amiga.
Easiest: buy and install a network card and a tcp/ip stack for the Amiga

You didn't mention how powerful your A2000 is. If it has 1MB of RAM and a 68000, then you didn't realise it yet, but you don't actually want to network it at all. :-)

[christopherpm]

Hi Jope. Sorry - the A2000 currently has the standard 68000 but 9 MB RAM (1MB Chip, 8MB Fast).

Would any ISA network card work?

[alexh]

Originally Posted by christopherpm

Would any ISA network card work?

No. A2000, A3000 and A4000 ISA slots are not directly connected to the Amiga and not active without a bridgeboard. Something like a GoldenGate II. But these bridgeboards cost more than a dedicated Zorro Ethernet card.

X-Surf, Hydranet, Ariadne are all 10Mbit Zorro II network cards. With the release of the X-Surf 100 (100Mbit Zorro III). Lots of people are trying to unload their old network cards. Prices are going down but not by much. Expect to pay £80

However without an accelerator you can't do anything worth doing.

http://lallafa.de/blog/amiga-projects/plipbox/

That uses the paralell port, direct to ethernet, and you can use any TCP stack just like you would with an ethernet card.

It's not as fast as an ethernet card, but it's about 4 times faster than 56k dial-up.

Zorro II ethernet cards do not perform with spectacular speed, even with the fastest cpu accelerators, and the cards are getting rather rare/expensive. Unless you need every ounce of speed you can get, I wouldn't waste the money.

You will need a TCP stack regardless of what connection method you use. Roadshow is one of the fastest ones and is available in a demo version for free download.

here is a pic of my A500 with the PLIPBox, in case you are interested:
http://www.rasterline.com/images/PLIPBOX.jpg

It costs about $20.00US in parts to build, and there are plenty of people on the various forums who can build one for you, if you prefer not to build it yourself.

[pandy71]

Originally Posted by metalguy66

http://lallafa.de/blog/amiga-projects/plipbox/

That uses the paralell port, direct to ethernet, and you can use any TCP stack just like you would with an ethernet card.

.
.
.

It costs about $20.00US in parts to build, and there are plenty of people on the various forums who can build one for you, if you prefer not to build it yourself.

IMHO there is plenty cheap ARM SoC's that can be used as network coprocessor for Amiga (Ethernet interface and TCP/IP stack that runs on 32 bit, 50 - 80MHz ARM) - imagine Raspberry PI as Amiga communication coprocessor.

[Cammy]

Using a serial null-modem cable and an online PC is the cheapest option, and more than sufficient for your machine I think.

Try this method with a null modem cable hooked up to a PC, it's a lot lighter on the Amiga side since it doesn't require a TCP/IP stack to be running: http://aminet.net/package/comm/net/mlink132

Speed is faster than a 56k modem, which is fast enough for just about anything you'd want to do on a 68000. It'll be fine for E-mail, chatting on IRC, battling your way through MUDs, even browsing some websites (slowly, but your CPU is the bottleneck here, not the transfer speed).

[alexh]

Originally Posted by pandy71

imagine Raspberry PI as Amiga communication coprocessor.

The Raspberry Pi can be used now as a SLIP host.

Pi plus an SD card and a few wires plus a level shifter. Total cost ~£35.

[edit : I think this *may not work* with the Amiga as the serial port may be +/-12v and not +/-5v TTL]

[pandy71]

Originally Posted by alexh

The Raspberry Pi can be used now as a SLIP host.

Pi plus an SD card and a few wires plus a level shifter. Total cost ~£35.

[edit : I think this *may not work* with the Amiga as the serial port may be +/-12v and not +/-5v TTL]

Will work without problems as they use level translator which is equipped internal in charge pump that produce from 3V +-12V (MAX3232 and similar devices).

But i mean once again - use ARM as coprocessor perhaps even page rendering (application coprocessor) can be run on it...
Even MC68000 software emulation (AROS?) then just displaying on Amiga.

[Hewitson]

Originally Posted by alexh

However without an accelerator you can't do anything worth doing.

I beg to differ. I asked the AWeb developers to compile a 68000 version, they didn't think it would be usable but it actually runs quite well. I believe it's available on aminet.

[alexh]

Aweb compatibility was poor when it was released (which is why everyone was always begging for a new browser port!). It must be getting even less compatible with every passing year with more and more updates to HTML, Flash, CSS, Javascript etc.

Intriguing fun getting it to work then 2 seconds later... you'll never use it again and switch to using the web-browser in your phone, TV, glasses or whatever comes along next... maybe web-enabled toilet paper.

Don't waste your time, there REALLY isn't really anything worth doing on a 7MHz Amiga connected on the net. Play a game/demo instead. Something the Amiga is good for.

[jiffy]

Originally Posted by alexh

Don't waste your time, there REALLY isn't really anything worth doing on a 7MHz Amiga connected on the net

Seconded. If you want any classic Amiga to be usable online, use as fast a turbo board as you can get. With a decent 68030, things like mail, chat & ftp become quite usable.

[Hewitson]

No experience with Amiga email clients, but AmFTP & AmIRC run just fine on the 68000.

I couldn't agree more that browsing the web on the Amiga is a horrible experience, but for sites such as aminet it is useful to download directly to the Amiga instead of downloading on a PC and transferring it over.

[ajack]

Originally Posted by metalguy66

http://lallafa.de/blog/amiga-projects/plipbox/

That uses the paralell port, direct to ethernet, and you can use any TCP stack just like you would with an ethernet card.

It's not as fast as an ethernet card, but it's about 4 times faster than 56k dial-up.

Zorro II ethernet cards do not perform with spectacular speed, even with the fastest cpu accelerators, and the cards are getting rather rare/expensive. Unless you need every ounce of speed you can get, I wouldn't waste the money.

You will need a TCP stack regardless of what connection method you use. Roadshow is one of the fastest ones and is available in a demo version for free download.

here is a pic of my A500 with the PLIPBox, in case you are interested:
http://www.rasterline.com/images/PLIPBOX.jpg

It costs about $20.00US in parts to build, and there are plenty of people on the various forums who can build one for you, if you prefer not to build it yourself.

What TCP stack did you use on your A500? Can you help me build one?