Networking multiple SheepShavers?

About SheepShaver, a PPC Mac emulator for Windows, MacOS X, and Linux that can run System 7.5.3 to MacOS 9.0.4.

Moderators: Cat_7, Ronald P. Regensburg, ClockWise

Post Reply
WXLM-VJustice
Space Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:34 am

Networking multiple SheepShavers?

Post by WXLM-VJustice »

Hello:

I'm interested in attempting to re-create Macintosh network environments from my childhood (early-to-mid-2000s) and was wondering how difficult it would be to network multiple instances of SheepShaver together to re-create a reasonable approximation of a school network or three?
WXLM-VJustice
Space Cadet
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:34 am

Re: Networking multiple SheepShavers?

Post by WXLM-VJustice »

Hi Everyone:

I just wanted to post a quick update. I got TCP/IP networking working as follows:

1. Download and install, then configure one instance of the OpenVPN TAP driver for as many virtual macs as needed
2. Rename each new virtual TAP device something memorable in network & internet connections (Start > Run > ncpa.cpl) (since I was simulating a school network with 4 machines the obvious choices were “Teacher”, “student1”, “student 2”, and “student 3”.). Optionally put the word “Lab” at the end or beginning that way you can easily identify your virtual adapters later
3. Configure a virtual network using VMWare workstation’s Virtual Network Editor then install a Windows server 2003 standard and configure DNS and DHCP
4. Use windows “bridge network” feature to bridge the VMWare network adapter and all the virtual TAP devices
5. Configure each instance of SheepShaver to use the appropriate virtual TAP device (this is where reasonable names come in for the virtually TAP devices)
6. Start up the windows server first (thus it acts as a router) then start up each virtual mac.
7. Check in each mac’s TCP/IP control panel if it’s receiving a dynamic IP from your DHCP server in the range you specified (for me it was 10.64.0.100-254)). If it’s getting an IP from the network as expected, then feel free to move to step 8; If it’s not receiving a dynamic IP, check your work in the previous steps.
8. Optionally assign static IPs or DHCP reservations
9. Configure file sharing control panel on each mac to give an owner name, owner password, and computer name.
10. Have fun.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this guide, please feel free to let me know. As of right now, this is just a rough outline of the process that worked for me and I’m sure someone could smooth out the edges to get a more complete guide working. I encourage The community to take the information from this post and make it better than us helping someone else in the future.

Now the only question is how on earth do I get Apple talk working over virtual ethernet?

** edited to fix a typo or two and added a setp ***
Last edited by WXLM-VJustice on Tue Aug 03, 2021 5:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply