MacIP refers to a standard for encapsulating

Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. IP ...

(IP) packets within the

AppleTalk AppleTalk is a discontinued proprietary suite of networking protocols developed by Apple Computer for their Macintosh computers. AppleTalk includes a number of features that allow local area networks to be connected with no prior setup or the ...

DDP protocol. This allows

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

computers with LocalTalk networking hardware to access the normally

Ethernet Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

-based connections for

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are ...

based network services. This was an important bridging technology during the era when Ethernet and TCP/IP were rapidly growing in popularity in the early 1990s. Software implementing MacIP, such as MacTCP or

Open Transport Open Transport was the name given by Apple Inc. to its implementation of the Unix-originated UNIX System V, System V STREAMS networking stack. Based on code licensed from Mentat's Mentat Portable Streams, Portable Streams product, Open Transport w ...

, was installed on the computer and a MacIP Gateway was placed elsewhere on the network. Applications that communicate with TCP/IP (such as

Telnet Telnet (sometimes stylized TELNET) is a client-server application protocol that provides access to virtual terminals of remote systems on local area networks or the Internet. It is a protocol for bidirectional 8-bit communications. Its main ...

) have their IP packets encapsulated in DDP for transmission across the LocalTalk network to the MacIP Gateway. The MacIP Gateway strips off the DDP encapsulation and forwards the IP packet on the IP network. The gateways were often implemented as part of a LocalTalk-to-Ethernet bridge device, small hardware systems primarily designed to allow communications between LocalTalk and EtherTalk equipped

machines (like the Mac II and a

LaserWriter The LaserWriter is a laser printer with built-in PostScript interpreter sold by Apple, Inc. from 1985 to 1988. It was one of the first laser printers available to the mass market. In combination with WYSIWYG publishing software like PageMaker ...

). MacIP routing was often implemented as an optional adjunct to the AppleTalk routing.

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...

supported AppleTalk in their proprietary

IOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

(up to and including version 12.4(15)T14, on select platforms) which in turn could provide MacIP-Services.

History

The practice of encapsulating IP packets within DDP was originally developed at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

as the Stanford Ethernet - AppleTalk Gateway (SEAGATE) by Bill Croft in 1984 and 1985. The SEAGATE hardware was commercialized by Kinetics in 1985. The Kinetics Internet Protocol (KIP) was used to integrate with their FastPath LocalTalk-to-Ethernet bridge.

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...

embraced the use of the encapsulation technology, which came to be known as MacIP. One of the mandates for the

Internet Engineering Task Force The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...

(IETF) "IP over AppleTalk"

working group A working group is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. Such groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdisciplinary collab ...

was to document existing MacIP implementations and to develop a specification for MacIP that could be proposed as a standard. A draft document was submitted, however it was not accepted as a standard and has subsequently expired.A Method for the Transmission of Internet Packets Over AppleTalk Networks [MacIP
/nowiki>">acIP">A Method for the Transmission of Internet Packets Over AppleTalk Networks [MacIP
/nowiki>/ref>

References

External links

MacIP Internet DraftTCP/IP Packets: How AppleTalk Encapsulation Works
* ttp://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3649/is_199503/ai_n8727169 Network World article "Apple IP Gateway spurs ANF on MacIP standard"br>Page describing how to use Cisco routers as MacIP gateways
Macintosh operating systems APIs Internet protocols Network layer protocols

History

See also

References

External links