Re: mdnsresponder - what's in a name??
Chinook wrote:
Chinook wrote:
Networking layman would appreciate clarification from someone more
networking savvy - please :-)
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P4 with Debian Etch (testing), kernel 2.6.12-1-686, Gnome desktop
PMac G5 running OS X Tiger (10.4.3)
New to Linux and putting up a no doze Linux & Mac LAN
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I've installed "netatalk" on my Linux box, and now can access and
move files into and out of a shared directory on the Linux box from
my Mac. Moving on, I also want to be able to discover the Mac and a
printer on the Mac from the Linux box (aka AppleTalk server).
All the instructions I've found included installing "mdnsresponder"
and "howl-tools" on the Linux box. The Debian packages include
mdnsresponder but not howl-tools which seems to be a declining choice
for whatever reasons. The Debian packages do include a new choice in
this category though, called Avahi. However the Debian package is
version 0.6.1 for which a significant (developer's term, not mine)
bug was corrected in version 0.6.3 so I'll have to try to build it
from the tar-gz.
In reading through the Avahi related material, I found in their FAQ
that one should not run multiple mDNS responders. I don't know for
sure and can't find a specific statement, but my layman
interpretation of such is that Avahi replaces the combination of
mdnsresponder and howl-tools. Can anyone please confirm or repudiate
my interpretation? Any clarification of the use/purpose of Avahi and
what parts are applicable to my above noted needs would also be
appreciated (e.g. I don't need to "discover" who else is available to
chat with on my little LAN :-)
Thank you,
Lee C
"Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with
confidence. " -- Murphy
Never mind. I found where Avahi conflicts with mdnsresponder. The
problem is that if I were to remove mdnsresponder and install Avahi
then I would need dbus rather than dbus1 which would in turn wipe out
at least the majority of my testing version Gnome desktop. It may be
that such could be done with the unstable Gnome desktop, but I don't
want move whole-hog to unstable because that would undoubtedly lead to
more issues. Yet another catch-22 :-(
Lee C
Whoa folks - I made just enough progress to keep me on the trail :-)
On the Linux box there is a cli that at least identified what I was
looking for on my Mac:
debian1:~# mdns-scan
+ Sovereign Leader’s Power Mac G5._ssh._tcp.local
+ Sovereign Leader’s Power Mac G5._sftp-ssh._tcp.local
+ EpsonR300 @ Sovereign Leader’s Power Mac G5._ipp._tcp.local
+ Sovereign Leader’s Power Mac G5
[00:11:24:72:cd:ea]._workstation._tcp.local+ Sovereign Leader’s
Power Mac G5._afpovertcp._tcp.local
Browsing ... -
debian1:~#
Now if I can only figure out how to use these identifiers on Linux
zeroconf to actually access such :-P
Then, of course, coming at it from the other side I need to find
something similar on my Mac to identify the scanner on my Linux box, and
figure out how to use such :-P
I did start to look at NFS and saw where I would have to study a whole
different set of documents to understand what I was doing on the Mac
side - a little draining :-(
It still seems to me that this zeroconf approach is the simplest and
most direct for a small home LAN. Of course it would be if I just had
Macs on the LAN, but the Linux "evolution" factor is the rub :-)))
One step at a time,
Lee C
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