^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 1) # SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 2) #
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 3) # Parallel Line Internet Protocol (PLIP) network device configuration
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 4) #
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 5)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 6) config PLIP
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 7) tristate "PLIP (parallel port) support"
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 8) depends on PARPORT
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 9) help
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 10) PLIP (Parallel Line Internet Protocol) is used to create a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 11) reasonably fast mini network consisting of two (or, rarely, more)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 12) local machines. A PLIP link from a Linux box is a popular means to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 13) install a Linux distribution on a machine which doesn't have a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 14) CD-ROM drive (a minimal system has to be transferred with floppies
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 15) first). The kernels on both machines need to have this PLIP option
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 16) enabled for this to work.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 17)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 18) The PLIP driver has two modes, mode 0 and mode 1. The parallel
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 19) ports (the connectors at the computers with 25 holes) are connected
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 20) with "null printer" or "Turbo Laplink" cables which can transmit 4
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 21) bits at a time (mode 0) or with special PLIP cables, to be used on
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 22) bidirectional parallel ports only, which can transmit 8 bits at a
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 23) time (mode 1); you can find the wiring of these cables in
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 24) <file:Documentation/networking/plip.rst>. The cables can be up to
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 25) 15m long. Mode 0 works also if one of the machines runs DOS/Windows
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 26) and has some PLIP software installed, e.g. the Crynwr PLIP packet
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 27) driver (<http://oak.oakland.edu/simtel.net/msdos/pktdrvr-pre.html>)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 28) and winsock or NCSA's telnet.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 29)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 30) If you want to use PLIP, say Y and read the PLIP mini-HOWTO as well
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 31) as the NET-3-HOWTO, both available from
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 32) <http://www.tldp.org/docs.html#howto>. Note that the PLIP
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 33) protocol has been changed and this PLIP driver won't work together
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 34) with the PLIP support in Linux versions 1.0.x. This option enlarges
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 35) your kernel by about 8 KB.
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 36)
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 37) To compile this driver as a module, choose M here. The module
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 38) will be called plip. If unsure, say Y or M, in case you buy
^8f3ce5b39 (kx 2023-10-28 12:00:06 +0300 39) a laptop later.