ARCHIVED: In Mac OS, what is Open Transport?

Note: This document does not apply to Mac OS X.

Open Transport is the networking software of Mac OS. It includes the TCP/IP and AppleTalk control panels, which serve as replacements for the MacTCP and Network control panels of Classic Networking. Open Transport requires at least a 68030 processor and Mac OS 7.1, but works best with Mac OS 7.5.3 or later and a PowerPC processor.

Mac OS 7.6 and later includes Open Transport by default. Open Transport was an optional install in Mac OS 7.5.3, and a very buggy version was included in Mac OS 7.5.2. Current releases of Open Transport are not available for download. You can update older versions to 1.1.2 by downloading it from Apple's software library at: http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/English-North_American/Macintosh/Networking-Communications/Open_Transport/ Download all the files that begin with OT_1.1.2 .

Open Transport is faster and more stable than Classic Networking. You can set multiple network settings for your computer, and switch between them without rebooting. If you are still using Classic Networking, unless your system doesn't meet Open Transport's minimum requirements or you need to run very old networking software, upgrade to Open Transport.

Note: If you have a Performa or Power Macintosh 52xx, 53xx, 62xx, or 63xx (excluding the Performa 6360), you must use Open Transport 1.1.1 or higher. Versions prior to 1.1.1 (including version 1.1 which shipped with the System 7.5 Update 2.0) will not work with these models.

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