Direct Cable Connection

With Direct Cable Connection, you can establish a direct serial or parallel cable connection between two computers in order to share the resources of the computer designated as the host. If the host is connected to a network, the guest computer can also access the network. For example, if you have a portable computer, you can use a cable to connect it to your work computer and network. To establish a local connection between two computers, you need a compatible serial or null-modem parallel cable.

Before you can transfer files from the host to the guest computer, the files must be in a shared directory, and File and Printer Sharing services for either Microsoft or NetWare networks must be enabled in the Network option in Control Panel. You can also apply share-level security to the shared files. For information, see Chapter 11, "Logon, Browsing, and Resource Sharing" and Chapter 14, "Security."

Note

This capability is similar to that available with Interlink for MS-DOS 6.x, which allowed users to transfer data through the serial port between two personal computers.

Before you install and configure Direct Cable Connection, you need to decide:

• What remote access and network protocols do you need to install on the guest and host computers? They must both be running at least one common network protocol in order to connect. The host computer can act as a gateway to an IPX/SPX or NetBEUI network, but not to a TCP/IP network.
• What kind of cable do you need? Direct Cable Connection works with serial and parallel cables. For details, see "Direct Cable Connection" earlier in this chapter.
• Do you want to assign a password to the host computer? If you assign a password on the host, all users connecting from the guest computer will be prompted for it. After connecting, the guest can access resources on the host computer according to the type of security applied to it, that is, user-level or share-level security. For more information, see Chapter 14, "Security."

Note After the host connects to the network, it can access shared resources on the guest computer.