Use ethernet rather than wireless?

I'm trying to transfer some big files across my home wireless network between my macbook and iMac (both running latest version of leopard).


But even though I've got my ethernet cable connected to both (as a direct connection - not through a router or hub), leopards seems to insist on using the wireless connection which is obvious much slower.

Is there a way to tell leopard to start using the ethernet connection?

For direct connection as you mention I'm not sure if an ethernet cable is the way to go ... I seem to recall using something called a crossover cable ... Or you could use Firewire ....

A crossover cable is used when directly connecting the Ethernet ports of two machines to transfer data between them. It is also used (in some cases) to bridge two switches together (say you wanted to expand a 10 port switch, you could hook up another switch via a crossover cable).

To the OP: In this case, what's happening is that your Mac doesn't have its network cards configured to have a preference for one interface over another. So, you have to turn one of them off until the transfer is completed. You can do this easily by clicking on the Airport control icon in the menu bar (looks like a fan) and then clicking "Turn Airport Off" on both machines. Plug in the Crossover cable and then wait about 15-20 seconds and then start the transfer.

802.11g runs at 54Mb/s and 802.11b runs at 11Mb/s, both in absolutely ideal conditions. So, if you're not running 802.11n, which has a theoretical rate of 248Mb/s, 10/100 Ethernet is your best bet. Spawn also mentioned a Firewire transfer, which is possible, but I believe you'd need a special cable for that.

Question: Since you have a wireless router, why wouldn't you just connect both computers to the switch on the back of the router and then do your transfer that way? That would negate the need for special cables. Unless you're using an Airport Express (which doesn't have a switch), that would be the way to go.

cwa107 said:

A crossover cable is used when directly connecting the Ethernet ports of two machines to transfer data between them. It is also used (in some cases) to bridge two switches together (say you wanted to expand a 10 port switch, you could hook up another switch via a crossover cable).

To the OP: In this case, what's happening is that your Mac doesn't have its network cards configured to have a preference for one interface over another. So, you have to turn one of them off until the transfer is completed. You can do this easily by clicking on the Airport control icon in the menu bar (looks like a fan) and then clicking "Turn Airport Off" on both machines. Plug in the Ethernet cable and then wait about 15-20 seconds and then start the transfer.

802.11g runs at 54Mb/s and 802.11b runs at 11Mb/s, both in absolutely ideal conditions. So, if you're not running 802.11n, which has a theoretical rate of 248Mb/s, 10/100 Ethernet is your best bet. Spawn also mentioned a Firewire transfer, which is possible, but I believe you'd need a special cable for that.

Click to expand...

That's fantastic help cwa107 .... I'm slightly envious of your knowledge of AirPort ...

Spawn__Dooley;540477 said:

That's fantastic help cwa107 .... I'm slightly envious of your knowledge of AirPort ...

Click to expand...

Well, I'm a network admin by trade, so it sort-of comes with the territory

That's fantastic advice again cwa107 - speedy too. I couldn't have asked for more.

A side note: you can turn your wireless back on AFTER the initial setup (turn off wireless, put in cable, transfer file(s)) because leopard will still use the ethernet connection.

StevenH said:

That's fantastic advice again cwa107 - speedy too. I couldn't have asked for more.

A side note: you can turn your wireless back on AFTER the initial setup (turn off wireless, put in cable, transfer file(s)) because leopard will still use the ethernet connection.

Click to expand...

That's right, you want to disconnect the Ethernet and then turn the AirPort back on when you're done.

In the Windows world you can set up network adapters to work in collaborative mode, but I'm not sure how that works in OS X to be honest (or if it's even an option).

cwa107 said:

That's right, you want to disconnect the Ethernet and then turn the AirPort back on when you're done.

Click to expand...

That's not exactly what I meant. You don't have to disconnect the Ethernet before you turn airport back on. You can still leave the ethernet in whilst you turn AirPort back on. After Airport is back on, Leopard will still use the ethernet connection for transferring files.

StevenH said:

That's not exactly what I meant. You don't have to disconnect the Ethernet before you turn airport back on. You can still leave the ethernet in whilst you turn AirPort back on. After Airport is back on, Leopard will still use the ethernet connection for transferring files.

Click to expand...

That behavior might not remain consistent, however - see if that continues to be the case after a reboot.