The Hub

Mac Software

There are several clients available for OSX, and feel free to explore on your own to find the one you like. However, only the ShakesPeer client will be specifically discussed in this guide, which requires OS X 10.3 Panther or later.

Download and Install the Software

ShakesPeer is available for download on this page. Select the "Download" link in the menu on the left and then select the "Click Here" link to download the software. Now select any of the "Download" links under the "Download" column. Once the "Download" link is selected, a transfer dialog will appear; select "Open" to begin the download. After the download is completed, OS X will automatically mount the .dmg file which will open up the ShakesPeer application folder. Open the system's application folder and drag the ShakesPeer icon into the system's application folder.

Software Setup

To run the software, open the "Applications" folder and select "ShakesPeer" from the list. When the software is run for the first time, you will have to do the initial configuration. The preferences can be accessed by selecting the "ShakesPeer" menu and then highlighting and clicking "preferences." You are required to enter your Nick (screen name). Feel free to also enter your email address and/or a description of yourself, your shares, or something else. The connection type doesn't actually affect anything, but there's no reason not to select LAN(T1) or LAN(T3), since we all are on the campus LAN. When done, click "Network" at the top of the Preferences window. Under the network settings, select active mode from the Connection mode drop down menu. Then enter port 5190 under the port entry and check the "Detect Automatically" box for the IP address. After the network is properly configured, the next step is to setup the folder options for sharing and for downloads. First, a folder will have to be specified to store incomplete downloads. This will store the files that have not finished downloading before they are added to the completed folder. Click the select button, navigate to the desired folder, and then select the open button. Next a completed downloads folder will have to be set. The process is similar to that of the incomplete downloads. Navigate to the select button after the "Complete folder" field, click it, then select the appropriate folder that will store your downloads. Since the download directories have been set, you can now configure the folders that you will share. Start by clicking on the "Add" button, then navigate to the directory that you specified for your completed downloads. Select the folder and click "Open." Repeat the procedure for any additional folders you would like to share (such as the location of your music, video, or other content you have to share). You can share as many folders as you'd like. When you have finished adding folders exit out of the window. The final step in the configuration of ShakesPeer is to setup the bookmark for the UMNp2p hub. Select the "Bookmarks" menu in the left-hand pane. Once selected list will appear of the hubs that you will have bookmarked. To create the entry for UMNp2p, click the "New" button. A new blank entry will appear at the top of the list. Double click the "Address" field and enter the address that you received in the email. You can then tab to the next field and enter your username, such as [UMN]Username, and then tab to "Password" field and enter the password that you received. You will also want to check the box to the left of the entry you just created, to automatically connect to this hub whenever ShakesPeer is started.

OS X Firewall Setup

This section will cover the configuration of the firewall for OS X. It is extremely important that you follow these instructions closely, if you do not, you will most likely experience difficulties using ShakesPeer.

To access the firewall settings, you will have to enter your system preferences. This can be done by clicking on the apple logo in the upper left-hand corner and then selecting "System Preferences" from the menu. Once system preferences appear, you will have to select the sharing icon located under the "Internet & Network" section. This will then open another window. In this window you will have to select the "Firewall" button in the middle of the window. Once the firewall button is selected, you will want to see if the firewall is on or not. If the button says start, you should click it to start the firewall. After the firewall is started, you will have to add an exception for ShakesPeer. Click the "New" button, and it will bring up an additional configuration window. In this window you will have to set the port name, the TCP/UDP port numbers, and the description. Use the pull down menu and select "Other" for the port name. Enter the number "5190" for the TCP and UDP port numbers. A description of the application should be entered in the description field, "Shakespeer" was entered in this case. When you are finished you should select the "OK" button. If you scroll to the bottom of the "Allow" list, you should be able to see the description that you just added with a check mark by it. Once you confirm that the box is checked, you can close the window. If you now switch back to ShakesPeer, you can select the "Connect" button in the bottom right-hand corner of the "Bookmarks" menu. A new entry will appear in the "Navigation" bar on the left-hand side labeled UMNp2p. When you select this entry, a new window will open, which is the general hub chat and userlist. You can search by entering something in the "Search" field on the top tool bar, or view people's file lists by control-clicking (right clicking) their username and selecting "Browse user's files". Then just double-click whatever file you want to download, and you should have it within a matter of minutes.