| - | Mac BigPond Broadband FAQ |
| Maintained by David J Richardson (mac-bpb-faq@davidj.richardson.name). Further credits can be found in Section 5. | |
| Outline | |
| 1 | Mac Hardware and System Issues |
| 1.1 | What are the hardware and system requirements for BigPond Broadband? |
| 1.2 | What version of the Mac OS is best for BigPond Broadband? |
| 1.3 | Can I download any OS updates from local Telstra servers? |
| 1.4 | With Mac OS 8.6, my built-in Ethernet port doesn't appear in the TCP/IP control panel. How can I repair this? |
| 1.5 | My 10/100 mbps autosensing Ethernet port won't talk to my modem! |
| 1.6 | Why doesn't ADSL/PPPoE work in Mac OS X 10.1 and 10.1.1? |
| 1.7 | How do I permanently set the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) in Mac OS X? |
| 2 | Connecting to BigPond Broadband |
| 2.1 | Introduction |
| 2.2 | Cable |
| 2.2.1 | The Heartbeat |
| 2.2.2 | Cable Software |
| 2.2.2.1 | Mac OS 9 & X: Bigpond Broadband Cable Client |
| 2.2.2.2 | Mac OS 9: Launchpad |
| 2.2.2.3 | Mac OS 9: BPC_NO |
| 2.2.2.4 | Mac OS 9: BPA Login Mac |
| 2.2.2.5 | Mac OS X: BPALogin |
| 2.2.2.6 | Mac OS X: Launch! |
| 2.2.2.7 | Mac OS X: BPALoginGUI |
| 2.2.3 | Cable Hardware |
| 2.2.3.1 | Introduction |
| 2.3 | ADSL |
| 2.3.1 | ADSL Software |
| 2.3.1.1 | Mac OS 9: NTS Enternet 300 |
| 2.3.1.2 | Mac OS 9: MacPoet |
| 2.3.1.3 | Mac OS X: Network preference panel and Internet Connect |
| 2.3.1.4 | Mac OS X: Roaring Penguin RP-PPPoE |
| 2.3.2 | ADSL Hardware |
| 2.3.2.1 | Various |
| 3 | Networking |
| 3.1 | Introduction |
| 3.2 | Hardware Routers |
| 3.3 | Software Routers |
| 3.3.1 | Using the SMC NIC provided by Telstra |
| 3.3.2 | Vicom Internet Gateway |
| 3.3.2 | IPNetRouter |
| 3.3.3 | Brickhouse |
| 3.3.4 | IPNetShareX (previously known as gNAT) |
| 3.3.5 | geeRoute |
| 3.3.6 | Software Base Station (for Mac OS X) |
| 3.4 | Connecting a Mac and a PC |
| 3.4.1 | DAVE |
| 3.4.2 | PC MacLan |
| 3.4.3 | Sharity |
| 4 | Miscellaneous |
| 4.1 | Telstra Usage Meter |
| 4.2 | PondUsageX |
| 4.3 | Launch! Usage Meter |
| 5 | Other Sources of Info |
| 5.1 | Telstra Web Pages |
| 5.2 | Newsgroups |
| 5.3 | Other |
| 6 | Credits |
| 6.1 | Maintainer |
| 6.2 | Contributors |
| Contents | |
| 1 | Mac Hardware and System Issues |
| 1.1 | What are the hardware and system requirements for BigPond Broadband? |
 | Telstra's suggested minimum requirements can be found at: http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/cable/sysreq.asp http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/adsl/sysreq.asp Care has to be taken to differentiate between the specifications supported by Bigpond Technical Support, and the actual specifications that can be made to work. In early 2004, Bigpond made changes to their Cable login client and to the broadband network infrastructure. The latter involved changes to the authentication servers used to login, as well as new (state-base) DNS servers. This affects a number of common FAQs and procedures that have worked until these changes were made. For Cable, Bigpond only support OS 9.2 to 10.2 (it works fine with 10.3). The old cable client provided by Telstra that worked with Mac OS 8 and up (the Amicus client on the CD) is no longer supported and may not work. The new cable client works with Mac OS X (all versions) and Mac OS 9.2 (with CarbonLib 1.6). For ADSL, Bigpond support Mac OS 8.6 - 10.2. Mac OS X does not require any additional software, as the PPPoE client is included as part of Mac OS X. For older systems, the ADSL client provided by Telstra ('NTS Enternet 300') may work with systems older than 8.6. |
| 1.2 | What version of the Mac OS is best for BigPond Broadband? |
| For Bigpond ADSL: Mac OS 8.6 or later is recommended. Earlier versions of OS 8 can be upgraded to 8.6. There are issues with 8.5 and 8.5.1 when used with cable modems. If you have Mac OS 9.0: an upgrade to 9.1 or 9.2.2 is recommended (some systems cannot be upgraded past 9.1) If you have Mac OS 9.1: either leave at 9.1 or upgrade to 9.2.2. If you have Mac OS X: in general, all versions will work with Bigpond ADSL (but note the comments about MTU settings below) For Bigpond Cable: The software currently provided and supported by Telstra will work with Mac OS 9.2.x (with CarbonLib 1.6) and all versions of Mac OS X. Older versions of Mac OS may need to use an alternative login client. |
| 1.3 | Can I download any OS updates from local Telstra servers? |
| The Mac OS 8.5.x to Mac OS 8.6 updater is available at: ftp://update-server/dist/apple8.6/Mac_OS_8_6_Update_smi.bin |
| 1.4 | With Mac OS 8.6, my built-in Ethernet port doesn't appear in the TCP/IP control panel. How can I repair this? |
| Occasionally the Mac OS 8.5.x to Mac OS 8.6 updater will remove the 'Apple Enet' extension. Either reinstall Mac OS 8.5 and update to 8.6 again, or use the application 'Tome Viewer' to extract the 'Apple Enet' file from the 8.6 installer. This should not occur with the full 8.6 installer (as opposed to the updater). |
| 1.5 | My 10/100 mbps autosensing Ethernet port won't talk to my modem! |
| Some PowerMacs with 10/100 mbps Ethernet ports may have trouble autosensing the speed of your connection to your cable or ADSL modem. This is further documented at: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60436 At that location can be found the 'Apple Ethernet Speed and Duplex Tool', which allows you to explicitly set the port at the half duplex 10Mbs setting and therefore solve this problem. |
| 1.6 | Why doesn't ADSL/PPPoE work in Mac OS X 10.1 and 10.1.1? |
| For some reason Mac OS X 10.1 and 10.1.1 don't like Telstra's choice of a MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) of 1500 bytes. You are connected, but because most "packets" are being rejected it is very very slow. This problem is not present in Mac OS X 10.0.x or 10.1.2. (NOTE: There have been a few reports of the MTU issue persisting in Mac OS X 10.1.2. Why a small number of systems do this has not been ascertained, but the below technique continues to solve the problem.) If you're using 10.1 or 10.1.1, you need to set the MTU to at most 1492 bytes (this allows for the PPPoE overhead of 8 bytes). To do this: 1) Connect to ADSL as normal 2) Open the 'Terminal' application 3) type 'sudo ifconfig ppp0 mtu 1492', entering your password when prompted (Note that you can retrieve previous things you have typed in 'Terminal' by using the up and down arrow keys. So if this is the only time you use 'Terminal', it'll be as simple as 'up arrow, return' and no need to remember the above command.) Similarly, you could create an Applescript with the below code:
Pop that script in the Script Menu (you did get it from Apple, right?), and then all you have to remember is your password. But the neatest solution, now that I've made you sit through all that educating stuff, is to:
Having done this, PPPoE connections will automatically start up with an MTU of 1492 bytes. Note that if you have a second machine connecting via a software router (ie. NAT), you will need to make a slightly different change: use 'sudo ifconfig en0 mtu 1492' in 'Terminal' instead ('en0' replaces 'ppp0'). The permanent fix listed above will also not apply. |
| 1.7 | How do I permanently set the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) in Mac OS X? |
| The previous question explained why you might want to do this. Apple has posted a page detailing, step by step, how to automatically set the MTU when your computer is booting up. It can be found at: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107474 |
| 2 | Connecting to BigPond Broadband |
| 2.1 | Introduction |
| While BigPond Broadband provide applications to use to log onto the BigPond Broadband network, there are a number of other applications that can be used for the same purpose. There are also a number of hardware routers you can buy that will connect to the network on their own, thus avoiding the need to run a log-in application on your computer. |
| 2.2 | Cable |
| 2.2.1 | The Heartbeat |
| On the cable network, using the pre-2004 login software, a "heartbeat" was presented to your computer every five minutes. If your computer did not respond to this, your connection to the BigPond network was closed. This becomes a particular problem when you are using an application that reserves all of your processor for itself -- the login application will not get a chance to respond to the "heartbeat" and you will be logged out. Games are typical applications that hog all your CPU. As described in later sections, only some login applications can keep your cable connection alive when faced with CPU-hogging applications. The new login client now provided by Telstra does not have this problem with detecting a "heartbeat". ADSL connections also never had to deal with a "heartbeat", only with the initial login procedure. |
| 2.2.2 | Cable Software |
| 2.2.2.1 | Mac OS 9 & X: Bigpond Broadband Cable Client |
| In early 2004, Bigpond released a new Cable client, the Bigpond Broadband Cable Client. This works with Mac OS 9 (with CarbonLib 1.6) and all versions of Mac OS X. This replaces the older cable login software provided by Telstra — 'Launchpad'. In general, it is far better behaved than the earlier version. The older software is no longer supported and may not function properly. The software, and information about the software, can be downloaded from Telstra at: Information: http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/support/downloads/cableclientupdate/default.asp Download: For Mac OS X: http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/support/downloads/cableclientupdate/BigPondCable.dmg For Mac OS 9 (requires CarbonLib 1.6 or higher): http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/support/downloads/cableclientupdate/BigPondCable.bin |
| 2.2.2.2 | Mac OS 9: Launchpad |
| BigPond Broadband used to (before 2004) provide an application called 'Big Pond Cable' (officially referred to as 'Launchpad') to log into their network. An extension ('Big Pond Extension') was also installed, and within the Preferences folder was added a folder called 'Big Pond' -- confusingly, this does not contain preferences but instead the graphics used in the application. Start up with a different System Folder without this folder, and your 'Big Pond Cable' window will lose its buttons! Unfortunately this application had several faults, including spontaneous crashing/quitting and the inability to maintain a connection when another program (typically a game) takes over the entire CPU. The following alternatives were, in general, better options. On the other hand, 'Big Pond Cable' is the only non-Mac OS X cable connection application that does not quit when doing an installation with the Apple Software Update control panel (or another third-party installation application which quits all other applications) -- which means it is the only one that will allow downloading of larger updates which take more than five minutes to download. It is therefore worth keeping 'Big Pond Cable' even if you do not use it as your primary connection application, to enable any Apple Software Update installation you do (in Mac OS 9 or earlier). UPDATE: 'Big Pond Cable' does not quit for installations as Apple was made aware of it and specifically does not quit applications with its creator code ('Club'). In theory, therefore, you could copy that to other login clients and they would gain "installation immunity" as well. |
| 2.2.2.3 | Mac OS 9: BPC_NO |
| 'BPC_NO' is a Java application that replaces Telstra's 'Launchpad', best for Mac OS 9. It may not work with the new network setup of 2004. It was written by David Seikel. It is available from: ftp://dvs1.net/pub/BPC/BPC_NO for Macintosh.sit (This link seems to have died in mid-2001. I have made it available on my site at http://davidj.richardson.name/rants/BPC_NO.sit.) The package thus obtained includes instructions for installation -- don't worry, it looks scary but is really quite easy. MRJ (Mac OS Runtime for Java) 2.1.1 or later is required -- if you do not have this already, the latest version is available at: ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/ English-International/Macintosh/System/Java/ 'BPC_NO' is a much more stable application than 'Big Pond Cable' and will also reconnect you if the connection is dropped. Some minor memory 'leakage' issues have been claimed -- in other words, the application slowly increases its use of RAM. I have not noticed this myself. There are no buttons or options to be set within the program (note that if you change your login name or password you will need to 're-build' the application). To disconnect from the cable network, quit the application. Note that you will not be disconnected immediately, but when the next 'heartbeat' occurs (ie. up to five minutes later). The application can take a long time (say, 30 seconds, depending on the speed of your Mac) to quit, and thus may appear to have crashed. It hasn't. It can be force-quit safely. Very occasionally, when the BigPond network is having trouble, I find that it is necessary to make the initial connection with 'Big Pond Cable' and then let 'BPC_NO' respond to later heartbeats. There seem to be no problems to having both these applications running at the same time. Like 'Big Pond Cable', other CPU-hogging applications can lead to disconnection from the network when the 'heartbeat' is not responded to in Mac OS 9. I assume this Java application could also be compiled for Mac OS 10, but it is not a stand-out candidate in Mac OS X like it is in Mac OS 9. |
| 2.2.2.4 | Mac OS 9: BPA Login Mac |
| ?BPA Login Mac? was created to address the issue of losing the network connection due to other applications hogging the CPU (again, primarily games). It was written by Adrian Bourke to work with OS 9.1 and CarbonLib 1.2, should work with OS 9.2, and is available at: http://www.insaneness.com/bigpond.html (Like several other older login programs, it may or may not work after the Telstra network changes in early 2004.) Like ?Big Pond Cable? it presents a window that floats above the desktop and icons. Unlike ?Big Pond Cable? it does not hide after successful login, which can be annoying. The application can either be manually hidden as normal, or by creating a AppleScript applet with a script like: tell application "Finder" open file "BPA Login Mac v1.5" of folder "Big Pond Advance" of startup disk set visible of process "BPA Login Mac v1.5" to false end tell Place this script applet in the Startup Items to replace the alias to ?BPA Login Mac?. Note that ?BPA Login Mac? is similar to ?Big Pond Cable?, but not ?BPC_NO?, in that it does not automatically re-connect after drop-outs (including those caused by placing your Mac in sleep mode). It may also crash when your Mac is waking from sleep. As a workaround for these crashes, when putting your Mac to sleep, always disconnect from the ?BPA Login Mac? window first. When you wake your machine, connect to the BigPond network again. Note that it currently ships with a recommended memory partition of 8 megabytes. This is an oversight, and it will fun fine in 800 kilobytes. Development stopped on the program in July 2001. It will not, as earlier suggested, be "carbonised" to allow it to run natively in Mac OS X. |
| 2.2.2.5 | Mac OS X: BPALogin |
| While the previous three applications can be used fine within the Classic environment of Mac OS X, a native OS X application is also available: 'BPALogin'. Despite the name similarity, it bears no relation to 'BPA Login Mac'. Indeed, it was created before 'BPA Login Mac' and was previously made available for Windows and Unix-type operating systems by author Shane Hyde. Nick Duddy has since compiled a version for Mac OS X. Information and the application itself can be found at: http://bpalogin.sourceforge.net/ http://users.bigpond.net.au/nickinc/bpaloginosx.html (looks to have died in April 2002; for the moment, you can use Google's cache of the page, though you won't be able to get the program files that way.) Benefits of using 'BPALogin' over the three Classic alternatives largely arise from it running in the Mac OS X environment. Due to memory protection, it can not be crashed by another misbehaving application, or if Classic itself crashes. Due to pre-emptive multi-tasking, CPU-hogging applications can not prevent it responding to 'heartbeats'. Of course, it also removes the need to have the Classic environment open. It appears to be the most reliable responder to the 'heartbeat', ensuring you do not lose your connection. After waking your Mac from sleep, it will also restore your connection at the next 'heartbeat'. However, as a text-based UNIX application, it is the least intuitive of the various cable login applications. After the default installation, it still requires use of the 'Terminal' application to start or quit it. A 'shell script' can be written to make the program very easy to use. Create a plain text file, and type: #! /bin/tcsh set BPA_PATH=Applications/Net/Connection/BPALogin /$BPA_PATH/bpalogin -c /$BPA_PATH/bpalogin.conf echo "THIS IS YOUR WINDOW TO THE NET" echo "LITERALLY" echo "SO LEAVE IT ALONE!" echo "" ps sleep 9999999 You will need to alter the second line to match where you have placed 'BPALogin' on your Mac. If you regularly log on for more than 100 days at a time, feel free to increase the number of seconds in the final line! Name the text file 'login.command' (or the like, the '.command' is the important bit). Its icon should change to show two overlapping 'Terminal' windows. You can now double-click on this file to launch 'BPALogin'. For further convenience, drag this file to the Dock, which will make connecting to the BigPond cable network as simple as a single click. To quit 'BPALogin' and break your network connection, close the window in the 'Terminal' application. In the same way as 'BPC_NO', however, the connection is not broken immediately but only upon the next 'heartbeat'. You can alternately write a script to simply launch 'BPALogin' when Mac OS X starts up, but that does not provide the ease of control or visibility which the above method provides. If you are using Mac OS X, 'BPALogin' is the best application to use to connect to the cable network. With the current version (2.0), BPALogin is started as a "detached" process, so shutting down the 'Terminal' application, or even logging out, does not stop 'BPALogin'. |
| 2.2.2.6 | Mac OS X: Launch! |
| 'Launch!' is a GUI front-end to 'BPALogin' written by Jamie Curmi (jamie@curmi.com). It can be found at: http://users.bigpond.net.au/jcurmi/software/mac/launch/ It includes 'BPALogin', so you do not need to download that as well. It bypasses almost all of the fuss described in the previous section! It also now includes an integrated usage meter and a panel of relevant bookmarks. |
| 2.2.2.7 | Mac OS X: BPALoginGUI |
| Another GUI front-end to 'BPALogin' can be found in 'BPALoginGUI' at: http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~hnra275/bpalogin.html It is written by Hugh Rayner. |
| 2.2.3 | Cable Hardware |
| 2.2.3.1 | Introduction |
| Hardware routers can log into the BigPond Broadband Cable network and send replies to the Telstra heartbeat, if required. With these routers, no software client is needed to connect to the BigPond Broadband network, avoiding any any problems caused by CPU-hogging applications. There are now a wide variety and range of hardware routers that are compatible with Telstra Broadband Cable. The retail price of these (as at June 2004) start at a shade over $100. Routers can also come with a number of additional features: such as built in network switches, wireless access, print servers and other features. Typical vendors that provide compliant login to the Bigpond Cable network include D-Link, Linksys, Netgear, Netcomm, 3Com and others. You should check with a retailer or website to confirm compliance with Telstra Broadband Cable. NOTE: always ensure that your router firmware is up to date, especially if using an older model of router. Much more information on Telstra-supporting routers can be found at http://www.ozcableguy.com/hardware.html |
| 2.3 | ADSL |
| 2.3.1 | ADSL Software |
| 2.3.1.1 | Mac OS 9: NTS Enternet 300 |
| The login application 'NTS Enternet 300' is provided by BigPond Broadband on your installation CD. The version provided is 1.09b, and it installs extensions called 'EnterNet Extension' and 'EnterNet'. It is not available for download on any Telstra server. More information on it can be found at: http://www.nts.com/support/macdocs/enternet300help.html Unlike its cable equivalent provided by BigPond Broadband, it appears to be a stable application. Since there is no "heartbeat" issue to deal with, it copes fine with CPU-hogging applications. The application itself can be quit without dropping the connection -- meaning that updater applications that quit all other applications and then download data should pose no problems. It is possible to disable Enternet by upgrading your copy of Open Transport (Enternet makes a minor alteration to an Open Transport file and this change is wiped with the installation of the new files). In this case, simply re-install Enternet from your BigPond Broadband installation CD. The latest version of Enternet is 1.2.5. A demonstration version expiring after 30 days can be downloaded from: http://store.efficient.com/OnlineStore/app/commercewf? origin=category.jsp&event=link(browse)&wlcs_catalog_sourceKey=wlcs_categories &wlcs_catalog_destinationKey=wlcs_siblings&wlcs_catalog_category_id=EnterNet |
| 2.3.1.2 | Mac OS 9: MacPoet |
| Another PPPoE client for Mac OS 7.6 and later is MacPoet. Find out more at: http://www.finepoint.com/products/winpoet/macpoet.html |
| 2.3.1.3 | Mac OS X: Network preference panel and Internet Connect |
| There is a built-in PPPoE client in Mac OS X. To access it, click the 'PPPoE' tab in the 'Network' preference panel. You can either choose the option in this tab to login automatically when using TCP/IP applications, or use the 'Internet Connect' application to login and logout when you wish. Note that you should leave the 'Domain Name Servers' box on the 'TCP/IP' tab empty, and not enter '1.2.3.4' as Telstra otherwise recommend. You should be choosing 'PPP', not 'DHCP', and don't forget to append '@bigpond' to your username in the 'account name' field. It is recommended to add 'STATE.bigpond.net.au' and 'bigpond.net.au' to the 'Search Domains' box (substitute 'vic', 'nsw', 'qld', 'wa', 'sa' or 'tas' for STATE). |
| 2.3.1.4 | Mac OS X: Roaring Penguin RP-PPPoE |
| An alternative PPPoE client for Mac OS X called ?Roaring Penguin RP-PPPoE? is available at: http://www.roaringpenguin.com/pppoe/ It currently has, however, some serious issues (for example, you can only log in once between restarts of the computer). There seems little reason to prefer it over the built-in client. |
| 2.3.2 | ADSL Hardware |
| 2.3.2.1 | Various |
| There are many hardware routers available that support the PPPoE protocol that BigPond Broadband use for their ADSL connections. If you link such a router between your modem and your computer, it removes the need to use a software login client. The Compex Netpassage and the Netgear RT311, mentioned earlier for their support of the cable network, both also support PPPoE -- so if you may be using both cable and ADSL services, one of these two routers may be the obvious choice. Otherwise, look for PPPoE support and then choose based on the features and price-point you want. With version 1.3 or later of its software, Apple?s Airport Base Station supports the PPPoE protocol. |
| 3 | Networking |
| 3.1 | Introduction |
| It is possible for multiple computers to access the BigPond Broadband network through a single cable or ADSL modem. This can either be done by using a dedicated hardware router (including the Airport Base Station), or by using one of the computers as an interim link (with extra software to make it act as a server for the remaining computers). |
| 3.2 | Hardware Routers |
| A hardware router may, or may not, support the login process used by BigPond Broadband cable and ADSL. As discussed in section 2.2.3, a cable connection requires certain routers that explicitly support Telstra's proprietary method to eliminate the need for a software login application. ADSL requires a PPPoE-compatible router to eliminate the need for a software login application. If the router does support the login process, then all computers connected to the router can access the BigPond network simultaneously, and without requiring extra accounts. If they do not, you will need to either pay for extra accounts ($11 per extra account per month) or only let one log in at a time (this still has the benefit of not needing to fiddle with cables every time a different computer wishes to access the network). If you are using the Airport Base Station with cable, you need to set it to forward the ?heartbeat? onto the computers using it. To do this, open the ?Airport Admin Utility?, double click on your Base Station in the list, enter the password if you have one, then go to the Network tab. Click on the Port Mapping button towards the bottom, then click the Add button. For Public Port, type in the port you've chosen (this depends on the login application you are using, as discussed below, but 5050 is best). For the Private IP Address, type in the manual address (see below) for the machine running the login client, and type in the same port for Private Port. Click OK, then Done, then Update. The computer which is doing the login should use a manually assigned IP address -- 10.0.1.201 would likely be an appropriate one to use. Make sure your heartbeat port is also configured depending on the login software you choose to use (likely port 5050, as discussed in the following paragraph). ?LaunchPad? uses a random port for the heartbeat, so it's hard to forward that port with the Airport Base Station (and is generally inferior to the alternative applications anyway). ?BPC_NO? uses a random port by default, but you can specify the port in the command line parameters you put into JBindery. Unfortunately it appears not to handle a port forwarded heartbeat. ?BPA Login Mac? and ?BPALogin? both use port 5050 by default, and handle port forwarded heartbeats fine. ?BPALogin for OS X? needs to have the localport attribute uncommented (delete the # from the start of the localport line) in the /etc/bpalogin.conf file. |
| 3.3 | Software Routers |
| 3.3.1 | Using the SMC NIC provided by Telstra |
| Telstra provide a SMC-brand ethernet card as part of the installation process. It requires a free PCI slot to install. Drivers for Mac OS 8.5 and up, including OS X, are available for it at: http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloads1-3.aspx?series=16&Software=True#16Others |
| 3.3.2 | Vicom Internet Gateway |
| 'Vicom Internet Gateway' can be found at: http://www.vicomsoft.us/ |
| 3.3.2 | IPNetRouter |
| 'IPNetRouter' can be found at: http://www.sustworks.com/site/prod_ipr_overview.html It is scheduled to be "carbonised", therefore making it a native Mac OS X application. |
| 3.3.3 | Brickhouse |
| 'Brickhouse' can be found at: http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/brickhouse.html It includes a "wizard" to help set up your connection, and supports the use of a single ethernet port for both ADSL/cable modem data and local network data. Note that, by default, it uses the 192.168.1.x IP range rather than the 192.168.0.x range of addresses. You can change this if you wish. Its other function is to set up the UNIX-based firewall that comes with Mac OS X. It does this superbly. Note that if you are connected to the cable (not ADSL) network, remember to configure the firewall to not block the "heartbeat" (in the 5050 to 5055 port range). |
| 3.3.4 | IPNetShareX (previously known as gNAT) |
| 'IPNetShareX' can be found at: http://www.sustworks.com/site/prod_gnat_readme.html Unlike its forthcoming "big brother", the carbonised 'IPNetMonitor', it is freeware. Its sole purpose is as a software router. It provides excellent help files to guide you though the process. You may find 'Software Base Station' (described below) useful in setting up 'IPNetShareX'. |
| 3.3.5 | geeRoute |
| 'geeRoute' can be found at: http://geeroute.zero.com.hk/ It currently includes no options -- just open the app and it's on. Note that it uses the 192.168.150.x IP range rather than the 192.168.0.x range of addresses (this makes no functional difference, but it's easy to miss and therefore fail to get it working). |
| 3.3.6 | Software Base Station (for Mac OS X) |
| Mac OS X 10.0.x and 10.1.x do not provide a simple way to use a machine as a Software Base Station as they have for Mac OS 9. Will Clarkson (http://www.willclarkson.com) has created a combined tutorial and setup application called 'Software Base Station'. It can be downloaded at: http://airportswbsx.sourceforge.net/software.shtml Alternately, upgrade to Mac OS X 10.2 and go to the 'Sharing' panel of 'System Preferences'. |
| 3.4 | Connecting a Mac and a PC |
| 3.4.1 | DAVE |
| 'DAVE' can be found at: http://www.thursby.com/ It is a commercial product, but a downloadable demo is available. This software emulates Windows networking on your Mac, allowing your Mac to browse the 'network neighbourhood', as well as share files to Windows computers. This solution is not appropriate if you have many Macs and only one PC. |
| 3.4.2 | PC MacLan |
| A broadly similar product, 'PC MacLan', can be found at: http://www.miramarsys.com/ Again, this is a commercial product, and a downloadable demo is available. Unlike 'DAVE', this sofware attacks the problem from the other end -- it installs on your Windows computer, giving it AppleTalk networking protocols. It allows your PC to browse a Mac network, as well as share files to Macintosh computers. This solution is not appropriate if you have many PCs and only one Mac. |
| 3.4.3 | Sharity |
| As Mac OS X 10.1 does not allow you to "browse" through Windows servers -- you must know the exact name of the server -- you may also find 'Sharity' useful. This application provides more features in connecting to Windows servers. It can be found at: http://www.obdev.at/products/sharity/ There are several licensing options, including a free personal use licence. Note: Mac OS X 10.2 resolve the server browsing issue. You should investigate that first. |
| 4 | Miscellaneous |
| 4.1 | Telstra Usage Meter |
| Telstra has made available the application 'Telstra Usage Meter'. More information can be found at: http://www.bigpond.com/broadband/newplans/usagemeter/ It is a Carbon application, and works in Mac OS 8.5 and up (including Mac OS X). Unfortunately all it does is open the appropriate page in your browser; 1.5 megabytes for a slow-launching bookmark... |
| 4.2 | PondUsageX |
| Eliot Alfirevich has created 'PondUsageX', a Mac OS X application to check your usage. It summarises the key info in a small window, and can predict what your bill will be if you're using more than your chosen plan allows... I wouldn't leave it open all the time as it's a little processor-hungry. More information can be found at: http://users.bigpond.net.au/Alfirevich/PondUsageX/ |
| 4.3 | Launch! Usage Meter |
| The 'Launch!' log-in application includes a usage meter, but it can only be used by those on Telstra's cable network. The 'Launch! Usage Meter' makes that usage meter available to ADSL users as well. It includes a pictorial display of your usage in the program's icon in the 'Dock'. More information can be found at: http://users.bigpond.net.au/jcurmi/software/mac/launchusagemeter |
| 5 | Other Sources of Info |
| 5.1 | Telstra Web Pages |
| By default, typing 'www' in your web browser should take you to http://telstra.com. If not, you may need to add 'bigpond.net.au' and 'vic.bigpond.net.au' (substitute your state if not in Victoria) to your "search domains" in the TCP/IP control panel. Links to support and other pages can be found at http://telstra.com/default.asp?bp=s#Telstra BigPond. Note that using an external proxy will prevent you accessing the BigPond Broadband support pages. You can around this by adding 'telstra.com' to the proxy exceptions list in your browser. |
| 5.2 | Newsgroups |
| There are currently ten bigpond.broadband.* newsgroups, with bigpond.broadband.tech.mac of particular relevance. A pointer to the WWW version of this FAQ will be made regularly in this group. These groups can only be seen by users of BigPond Broadband, through the local news server, accessible with the name 'news-server'. Other relevant (and publically available) groups include aus.net.access, aus.computers.mac, and comp.sys.mac.comm |
| 5.3 | Other |
| Further information can also be found at locations such as: The Australian Broadband FAQ (http://whirlpool.net.au/faq-ab.cfm) Whirlpool - Australian Broadband News (http://whirlpool.net.au) Cableguy - Setup and Config advice (http://www.ozcableguy.com) |
| 6 | Credits |
| 6.1 | Maintainer |
| This FAQ is maintained by David J Richardson (mac-bpb-faq@davidj.richardson.name). A couple of related items are hosted at his site at http://davidj.richardson.name/. The HTML version of this FAQ is hosted courtesy of Simon Wright (simon@whirlpool.net.au) on Whirlpool (http://whirlpool.net.au/faq-mac.cfm). |
| 6.2 | Contributors |
| Parts of this FAQ were sourced from the 'Big Pond Advance & Mac OS FAQ' by Simon Wright (simon@whirlpool.net.au), last updated in 1999. Other valuable contributors include: Jamie Curmi (jamie@curmi.com) Adrian Bourke (adrianb@bigpond.net.au) Charles Nancarrow (charles.nancarrow@icorp.com.au) Vicki (icons@bigpond.net.au) mattyd (mduncan2@removethis.bigpond.net.au) Robert A. Jewell (rajewell@NOSPAMmac.com) Chris Thompson (http://www.usyd.edu.au/anaes/messagect.html) Bill Northcott (w.northcott@unsw.edu.au) tbennet1@bigpond.net.au ctetaz@bigpond.net.au Sean McNamara (sean@macassist.com.au) Peter Hocking (wefixpcs@csi.com) Nick Loveday (nloveday@bigpond.net.au) Hugh Rayner (hughrayner@mac.com) Sydney Low (syd@pobox.com) Norton Chia (unifirst@iprimus.com.au) John Polias (nislon@mac.com) tdim@netspace.net.au Steven Stanley (steven.stanley@jcu.edu.au) Chrisp (whirlpool@lineof200.com) jwarne@gmail.com If you believe you have been missed in these credits, or wish your name or email address removed, please contact me at mac-bpb-faq@davidj.richardson.name |
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