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Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions

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On 05/31/2018 10:07 PM, Stefan Monnier wrote:
>> I have two computers with USB ports.
>> I wish them to communicate as simply as mid-20th-century computers did.
> 
> What kind of "communicate" do you need there?

Essentially any ;/
In fact one of the thought experiments I was pursuing was how to do file 
copying/sharing over RS232 - even I would not actually attempt to implement.

> 
> The "way back machine" to simulate a "null modem" serial cable exists,
> as you've seen, but it's rarely the best solution for nowadays's needs,

"Best" is not an invariant absolute.

> since nowadays connecting two computers is something completely normal,
> supported by a deluge of tools, but they all expect a "network"
> connection rather than a serial cable.
> 
> In most cases those two computers also have ethernet or wifi "ports" so
> you can connect them via such a network (which usually offers faster
> transmission than a serial cable, lets you seamlessly multiplex several
> connections, and lets you use the many tools working over the network to
> connect computers).

An explicit requirement is a wired, NOT WiFi, connection.
I that seriously. My internet access is a WiFi hotspot with its WiFi 
capability disabled.

> 
> In some cases one of the two computers's USB port is an "OTG" port,
> meaning that it can act either as "master" or not, in which case you can
> just use a regular USB cable (and usually you then configure the OTG
> side to pretend it's a network card, so it ends up looking to the
> software like you've connected the two machines via an ethernet cable.
> That's what I use between my BananaPi "router" and my office desktop).

I saw it and it meets most (all?) my requirements except my reading 
suggested:
   1. obsolete
   2. available only for Windows/Mac
   3. no way to determine if any of machines were equipped

> 
> If none of that are options, you can resort to using an "ethernet
> dongle" on both sides and an ethernet cable between the two.

That's a 1 versus 3 items required per connection.

> 
> All of those things will typically work "out of the box" on a vanilla
> Linux kernel (the usbnet drivers have been incorporated years ago).
> 
> Oh, and in case those computers are somewhat old, they may also come
> with Firewire ports, and those (contrary to USB) don't have the
> "slave/master" distinction so you can connect your computers this way
> with a plain normal Firewire cable (and make it appear to the software,
> again, as some kind of ethernet-like connection).
> 
> 
>          Stefan
> 
> 

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USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-05-31 16:30 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Reco <recoverym4n@gmail.com> - 2018-05-31 16:50 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2018-05-31 18:10 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 11:50 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-06-01 02:00 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 12:00 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-06-01 12:30 +0200
        Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-06-01 14:30 +0200
          Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-06-01 15:30 +0200
            Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 16:10 +0200
              Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-06-02 06:50 +0200
              Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2018-06-07 06:50 +0200
                Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2018-06-07 11:00 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2018-06-01 16:10 +0200
        Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Joe <joe@jretrading.com> - 2018-06-01 19:40 +0200
        Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 21:20 +0200
          Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> - 2018-06-01 23:10 +0200
          Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2018-06-02 02:50 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-06-01 05:10 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-06-01 05:20 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 12:30 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-06-01 14:30 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-06-01 19:40 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com> - 2018-06-01 08:30 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-06-01 10:30 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-01 12:30 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-06-01 16:20 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2018-06-07 06:50 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Tixy <tixy@yxit.co.uk> - 2018-06-07 09:10 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2018-06-07 14:40 +0200
  Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions David <bouncingcats@gmail.com> - 2018-06-18 14:20 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Michael Stone <mstone@debian.org> - 2018-06-18 14:50 +0200
      Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions rhkramer@gmail.com - 2018-06-18 16:00 +0200
    Re: USB "null modem" cables and related Linux driver questions Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net> - 2018-06-18 15:40 +0200

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