2 Qs

[Chaky]

Hi ppl.

When it comes to stripping down ya' hardware and getting it back together in 10 min or less, I'm your guy. Also counts for intentionally crushing OS and rebuilding it.

But when it comes to networking I usually say:"Net..what?"

I have 2 Q's:

1. I have 2 PC wired via LAN (cross-wire) - my farmost achievement in the world of netw..something.
PC No. 1 has Pinnacle PCTV SAT card installed (Satellite receiver). There's software too (ProgDVB). With that software I am able to watch and transmit video stream to PC No. 2 which is more like home entertainment system (hooked on TV).
I have an option of:
- unicast
- broadcast
- multicast

Which one do you recommend? And why?
Have in mind that all of the software settings, regarding the broadcasting, have to be typed in manually and there's little or no documentation for the software, and that documentation that is there, is in some alien language.

Also have in mind that I'm using ActiveArmor, and I'm not too sure of how to configure it so it wouldn't prevent the flow.
This concludes Q no.1.

Q #2:

My mobo has "1394 Net Adapter" on (quote) "Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller" along side with NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller. All that is on-board.

Later one is in use.

IEEE 1394 isn't.

When I first installed OS there was constant message that IEEE 1394 cable is not unplugged, which was true, so I've disabled the device in device manager.
Few days back, I've enabled the device (I was troubleshooting some stuff) and now the 1394 connection status says "connected", but it is NOT!!!! I've looked around device manager and I've noticed that one of the drivers (enum1394.sys) for the IEEE 1394 Host Controller is ver. 5.1.2600.0 while others are 5.1.2600.2160 (SP2). Checked my SP2.exe and there's no newer version of that enum13.sys.

*confused look*

[Bench]

IEEE 1394 is better known as Apple's "firewire" - I have no idea why Windows would think its connected to something. IMHO, the best thing you can do with that adapter is leave it disabled in Device manager, unless you happen to own a device which needs it... Better still, maybe disable it in your BIOS configuration altogether.

Unicast, Multicast and Broadcast refer to the destination of a signal over the network - a unicast signal is intended for a single destination only (given a single destination address). Multicast is a signal intended for multiple destinations within a network ( the signal has multiple destination addresses) , wheras broadcast is all destinations on a network (Network address schemes such as IP have a special reserved broadcast address).

For a network with just one other computer, I can't see that it makes any difference which one you use (broadcast might be easier to setup, but that depends on the software).

[Chaky]

THX for advice.

Regarding the firewire...
I had to rebuild my windows from scratch yesterday, and when I did fresh install, it was again "connected". I specifically remember that when I first installed the system that the status was "disconnected".
Also, friend of mine came by my place with his laptop. HP something. I've noticed same thing with his laptop.

Coincidence?