Hello,

>> This is my first post to this list.

Welcome!

>> This is my first venture into this world, so I'm a complete novice.
>> But at the same time,  I am most curious about this world because
>> I am trying to figure out ways of using my retired Performa 6360.

It's a very usable machine.

>> Simply because it's old doesn't mean it's useless. It can function
>> in some capacity.

Certainly. Quadras are more than powerful enough to do routing, DNS, 
backup email, stuff like that; a PowerPC Performa can do lots more than 
just that.

>> I understand that my Performa model is supported but has specific
>> issues with NetBSD, one of which is with its built-in video card.
>> To circumvent this issue, I understand that you can set up a serial
>> terminal connection with another computer to install NetBSD. Instead
>> of the serial terminal connection, can I incorporate my Performa
>> 6360 into my home network and install NetBSD from one of my Macs
>> on the network? My home network consists of a Power Mac G4 466, a
>> Powerbook G4 1.25, and a D-Link DI-624 Wireless router.

Yes, you can forgo the serial connection after things are set up, but 
you'll still need it to do the initial setup.

>> My particular Performa 6360 has been modified. It still has its
>> original 1.2 GB IDE hard drive, but it has been maxed out in terms
>> of RAM (128MB), its internal modem has been removed and replaced
>> with a COMM Slot II Ethernet card, and its original 160 MHz processor
>> has been upgraded with a Sonnet G3 400 card.

Nothing that isn't supported. The G3 is supported, but in order to turn on 
its L2 cache, you'll need to compile a custom kernel (or someone might 
offer to send you one already made).

>> Has anyone on this list tried to install NetBSD on a Performa 6360?
>> If so, what can you tell me about your experience?

Yes. I have a Performa type motherboard which I got out of a machine which 
was in the trash in NYC. It's happily running in a Quadra 630 case after I 
modified the motherboard to include its own 3.3 volt regulator.

With the comm slot ethernet and a gigabit PCI ethernet card (yes, 
overkill), it makes a wonderfully stable IP NAT / IPv6 router, and it also 
runs as one of my backup DNS and backup email servers. It also serves NFS 
to the local network, runs SETI, and a few other things. The uptime has 
been in the hundreds of days and the system has only been restarted to 
load newer kernels (like when 1.6.2 came out).

Excellent machine! And a 400 MHz G3 is no slouch, either.

John Klos