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Jeff Kirsher18e635f2011-08-03 03:01:58 -07001#
2# Parallel Line Internet Protocol (PLIP) network device configuration
3#
4
5config PLIP
6 tristate "PLIP (parallel port) support"
7 depends on PARPORT
8 ---help---
9 PLIP (Parallel Line Internet Protocol) is used to create a
10 reasonably fast mini network consisting of two (or, rarely, more)
11 local machines. A PLIP link from a Linux box is a popular means to
12 install a Linux distribution on a machine which doesn't have a
13 CD-ROM drive (a minimal system has to be transferred with floppies
14 first). The kernels on both machines need to have this PLIP option
15 enabled for this to work.
16
17 The PLIP driver has two modes, mode 0 and mode 1. The parallel
18 ports (the connectors at the computers with 25 holes) are connected
19 with "null printer" or "Turbo Laplink" cables which can transmit 4
20 bits at a time (mode 0) or with special PLIP cables, to be used on
21 bidirectional parallel ports only, which can transmit 8 bits at a
22 time (mode 1); you can find the wiring of these cables in
23 <file:Documentation/networking/PLIP.txt>. The cables can be up to
24 15m long. Mode 0 works also if one of the machines runs DOS/Windows
25 and has some PLIP software installed, e.g. the Crynwr PLIP packet
26 driver (<http://oak.oakland.edu/simtel.net/msdos/pktdrvr-pre.html>)
27 and winsock or NCSA's telnet.
28
29 If you want to use PLIP, say Y and read the PLIP mini-HOWTO as well
30 as the NET-3-HOWTO, both available from
31 <http://www.tldp.org/docs.html#howto>. Note that the PLIP
32 protocol has been changed and this PLIP driver won't work together
33 with the PLIP support in Linux versions 1.0.x. This option enlarges
34 your kernel by about 8 KB.
35
36 To compile this driver as a module, choose M here. The module
37 will be called plip. If unsure, say Y or M, in case you buy
38 a laptop later.