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Why share a modem? (was: RE: Modem sharing under Linux?)
Due to some private E-mail which I received, I found that I have to
explain WHY I want modem sharing.
> > There is a 33.6KBPS modem in the Linux-running PC.
> > I would like to let the Windows 95 PC use the modem, too, without
> > physically moving the modem from PC to PC each time I want to use it on
> > the Windows 95 machine.
> >
> > Does anyone know about modem-sharing software, which allows a modem in a
> > Linux machine to be shared across a network, andbe accessed by Windows 95
> > (and also Linux) clients?
>
>
> No need to share a modem if you have router + firewall + masqurading.
> Since Linux has all of the above you have no problem.
The Windows 95 PC has an ISDN(!) connection to the Internet. The Linux PC
has access to the Internet via the Windows 95 machine. So Internet is not
why I want to have modem sharing.
The reason I want to have modem sharing is to be able to establish direct
connection with friends who have PC and modem but no Internet access.
With my ISDN line I can't directly call my friends on modem, but have to
go through the Internet. With this there are two problems:
1. Some of my friends don't have Internet access.
2. Those who have Internet access are not on-line all the time, and
sometimes I want to contact them even if they are offline.
(I and my friends are deaf, so regular voice phone call is not an option
for us.)
Our chat software works under Windows (I have no Linux version for it), so
I want to use it on the Windows 95 PC.
> > The Windows 95 PC has an unused serial port. This serial port can be
> > connected to COM2 (/dev/cua1) of the Linux machine (the modem is
> > physically at COM4 (/dev/cua3)).
> serial port connection is useless if you have an ethernet card, serial
> connection is for low level ppp connctions or for dumb terminals, nothing more.
> It's too much overhead on the CPU and slow if you compare it to an ethernet
> card.
Usually this is the situation. But in my special situation, serial
connection has its own use, and without PPP protocol usage.
I don't care about the CPU overhead, because I am the sole user of the two
PCs, and I can arrange for the computers to do nothing else while I chat
with my deaf friends.
--- Omer