Document telser.doc ============================================================= telser 1.20 -- serial telnet(d) device for TCP/IP and AS225r2 Documentation - March 6, 1995 - ============================================================= Copyright (c) 1994-1995 by Sam Yee. All rights reserved. 1. Legal Stuff ============== 1.1. Copyright -------------- The program, telser and its associated files are written and copyrighted by Sam Yee. telser is SHAREWARE and the UNREGISTERED version of telser may be distributed freely providing the following conditions hold: o Distributors may not charge more than the cost of a diskette used in the distribution of this program. o Distributors may only distribute the unmodified copy of the original program, along with its documentation, and copyright notices intact. o Commercial distribution is only possible with written permission from the author. 1.2. License Agreement ---------------------- The REGISTERED versions of telser may not be redistributed. Redistribution is illegal, immoral, and strictly prohibited. The licensed keyfile may be used on more than one machine if you own those machines and that they are not for business use. Otherwise, different keyfiles are required for each machine. 1.3. Disclaimer --------------- This program and its documentation are provided "as is". No warranties are made with respect to the accuracy, reliability, performance or operation of this software and information. You are using this program at your own risk. The author is not liable for any damages that may have been caused by using this software. 2. Introduction =============== telser.device ("telser") is a modem simulator over a TCP telnet/rlogin connection. It simulates basic `modem commands', so you can use telecommunication ("comm") programs over a network connection. To your comm program, it thinks it's talking to a modem. Terminal emulation, file transfers, scripting, etc. are all handled by your comm program. Connecting to a host is as simple as typing "ATDT abc.edu,23" or even simpler if you add the host to your comm's phonebook. telser supports most of the telnet/rlogin negotiation commands and options. For example, you may elect to notify the remote host on changes to your terminal emulation type, and window size. An intuitive "gadtools" graphical user interface is supplied to control your connections. You also have the option to automatically connect to a host after starting up your comm program. Instant logins at the click of a button! telser can also run in host mode, which means it would accept incoming telnet/rlogin calls. Calls may be tracked by telser's caller ID feature. You can easily set up a "multi-line" BBS over the internet! telser is capable of unlimited device units, which means you can have unlimited incoming and outgoing connections. It supports both TCP/IP packages on the Amiga, namely AmiTCP (tested with 3.0b2 and 4.0/4.1) and AS225r2. 3. Demo Restrictions ==================== The demo version of telser allows one device unit. Opening a second unit causes a device busy result code. If you use telser often you are recommended to register. When you register you get unlimited device units and help keep this project alive... 4. Requirements =============== telser runs on any Amiga(tm) with version 2.04 of the OS, running AmiTCP or AS225r2. AmiTCP 3.0b2 and 4.0 demo has been tested, and it does not work with 2.3. telser uses very little memory (perhaps 90K). To make telser even more memory efficient, make it resident. Then every device unit you open will use about 20K. 5. Installation =============== The telser archive contains the following files: telser_install - Installer script telser_install.info - icon for above bin/telser - telser main program for AmiTCP bin/tstelnet - comm program that uses telser.device TelserMon - telser monitor commoditiy TelserMon.info - icon for TelserMon c/telser - telser main program for AS225r2 db/telser.conf - configuration file for each device unit db/telser.hosts - list of host aliases db/telser.mdm - stores modem configuration db/telser.terms - list of terminal types db/telserd.conf - configuration file for serv/telserd devs/telser.device_amitcp - device driver that talks to bin/telser devs/telser.device_as225r2 - device driver that talks to c/telser doc/telser-Axsh-setup.doc - Axsh setup tutorial in text format doc/telser-Axsh-setup.doc.info -- icon for above doc/telser-Axsh-setup.guide - Axsh setup tutorial in AmigaGuide(r) format doc/telser-Axsh-setup.guide.info - icon for above doc/telser.doc - telser documentation in text format doc/telser.guide - telser documentation in AmigaGuide(r) format doc/telser.guide.info - icon for the above doc.info - icon for doc/ directory libs/rawin.library - linemode editing handling library serv/telserd_amitcp - telser daemon ("server") for AmiTCP serv/telserd_as225r2 - telser daemon for AS225r2 src/tstelnet.c - sample source that uses telser.device src/tstelnet.makefile - makefile of course s:telser.key - registration keyfile for telser Once unpacked, the above files reside in the telser/ directory. AmiTCP Installation ------------------- To install telser for AmiTCP, unpack the archive into AMITCP: 1> lha x DH0:telser100.lha AMITCP: Copy and rename the device driver telser.device_amitcp into devs: 1> copy AMITCP:telser/devs/telser.device_amitcp devs:telser.device clone Rename the executables: 1> rename AMITCP:telser/serv/telserd_amitcp AMITCP:serv/telserd AS225r2 Installation -------------------- To install telser for AS225r2, unpack the archive into INET: 1> lha x DH0:telser100.lha INET: Copy and rename the device driver telser.device_as225r2 into devs: 1> copy INET:telser/devs/telser.device_as225r2 devs:telser.device clone Rename the executables: 1> rename INET:telser/bin/tstelnet INET:c/ 1> rename INET:telser/serv/telserd_as225r2 INET:serv/telserd Installer Script ---------------- A Installer script ("telser/telser_install") is included to automate the above procedures. Just click on the install icon and way you go. 6. Configuration ================ telser is a very configurable program. Most of the configuration files can be manipulated by the save buttons in section `Telser Options Window'. The rest must be editted with a text editor. In most files, a "#" or ";" ignores ("comment out") lines. 6.1. Device Unit Configuration ------------------------------ db/telser.conf allows you to configure each unit of telser.device. The follow is how db/telser.conf looks like: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ #unit default host (alias) map serial break to OPENWIN LINGER DEBUG logfile # Nothing or or or # OpenWindow NOOPENWIN NOLINGER NODEBUG # AbortOutput # AreYouThere # Break # EraseChar # EraseLine # GoAhead # InterruptProcess # NoOperation # SynchOperation 0 "" OpenWindow OPENWIN NOLINGER DEBUG T:telser.log 2 home OpenWindow OPENWIN NOLINGER DEBUG T:telser.log 3 home OpenWindow NOOPENWIN NOLINGER DEBUG T:telser.log ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Unit field: The unit number the comm program will use. Host (Alias) field: This field tells telser which host should a connection be attempted once the comm program is started. Enter "" if automatic connection is not desired at telser.device opening time. You may use an IP address, host alias, or a real hostname for this field. Map Serial Break To field: Most comm programs allow the user to send a physical break signal to the modem. This feature is inapplicable to a telnet connection. Instead, telser allows the user to do various things when he/she tries to send a "virtual" break. When such a break is sent, telser can be directed to do the following: Nothing: ignore the virtual break signal OpenWindow: Open telser's main window if it's not already opened. If already opened, bring the window to front. AbortOutput: Send a telnet Abort Output command to host. AreYouThere: Send a telnet Are You There command to host. Break: Send a telnet Break command to host. Note that this break is nothing like a modem break. EraseChar: Send a telnet Erase Character command to host. EraseLine: Send a telnet Erase Line command to host. GoAhead: Send a telnet Go Ahead command to host. Interrupt Process: Send a telnet Interrupt Process command to host. Often this command kills the foreground process on Unix machines. NoOperation: Send a telnet No Operation command to host. SynchOperation: Send a telnet Synchronize Operation to host. Consult Telnet RFC's (e.g., RFC854) for more information about Telnet commands and options. OpenWin/NoOpenWin field: This flag tells telser to open its window when your comm program starts up. If OpenWin is specified, the window will be opened, or if NoOpeWin no window will be opened. Linger/NoLinger field: This flag allows you to terminate your comm program without closing the telnet connection. This is useful when you need to switch comm programs. When Linger is specified, telser will not quit when the comm program exits. Otherwise, if NoLinger is specified, the connection will be closed and telser terminates when the comm program quits. This flag sets the Linger checkbox in section `Telser Options Window'. Some BBS packages need this option on. Debug/NoDebug field: When Debug is specified, all telnet negotiation options and commands will be logged. Logfile field: Specify the file name where all logs should go. Enter "" to disable logging to file. The logfile is written after telser exits. For an explanation on the format of log entries see section `Logging'. This file can be manipulated by the "Save Unit Options" button in section `Telser Options Window'. This file is not necessary for the operation of telser. If a unit or the file is missing defaults will be used. 6.2. Telnet Hosts Configuration ------------------------------- db/telser.hosts looks something like this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- # telnet options # bitmap (if set) # 0 - initiate negotiation # 1 - do binary # 2 - do echo # 3 - do sga # 4 - will ttype # 5 - will naws # 6 - will linemode # 7 - will tspeed # 8 - will lineflow # 9 - force linemode # 10 - ignore neg. #alias hostname or IP port term bits rlogin? login id login-script # 01234567890 home localhost 23 ansi 11111111010 archie archie.rutgers.edu 23 ansi 11111111010 school fraser.sfu.ca 23 vt100 11111100010 y samy work incognito.com 23 vt220 11111111010 fun res.com 0 vt100 11111111010 n root amitcp:db/res.login ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alias field: An alias for the host you want to connect to. Hostname or IP field: The real name or IP address of the host you want to connect to. Port field: The port you want to telnet into. Normally this is 23, but for MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) sites, this can be something like 6667. Specify 0 if you don't care which port you are connecting to. Term field: The terminal emulation you will be using for the connection. Note that telser does not handle terminal emulation per se. It is up to your comm program to do so. Term is provided so that the host you are connected to will automatically know what term you are using. You must enable automatic terminal emulation if you want to notify the host about the terminal you are using. Telnet options bit #4 is used for this purpose. Telnet Options Bitmap field: This bitmap allows you to specify what is to be performed during telnet negotiation. Putting a "1" at a bit position sets it. The bits are defined as follows. Bit 0: We initiate telnet negotiation with the host. If 0, telser will not talk first during Telnet negotiation. Bit 1: We ask the host to go into binary mode. Bit 2: We ask the host to echo what we typed. We will not do any echoing. Bit 3: We ask the host to Suppress Go Ahead. Bit 4: We tell the host we will be sending our terminal type. Bit 5: We tell the host we will be sending our window size. Bit 6: We tell the host we will be going into linemode. In linemode, editing is done locally. This speeds up command line editing immensely. Bit 7: We tell the host we will be sending our terminal speed. Bit 8: We tell the host we can do local flow control. If host grants permission, when user presses ^S (XOFF), incoming TCP data is stopped until user presses ^Q (XON). When incoming flow is stopped, outgoing flow is still possible. Bit 9: We do linemode whether host allows it or not. In linemode, command line editing is performed locally. This bit does not result in any negotiation with the host. Bit 10: If set, the telnet protocol is not used. Telnet control codes (if any) are passed directly to the comm program. This is required to connect to some TCP ports, such as UUCP and MUD servers. Of course the host can refuse any of our requests. To understand what these Telnet options and commands do, refer to their RFCs (Request-For-Comments). The following RFCs deal with the telnet protocol: 652, 653, 727, 854, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 860, 885, 930, 1073, 1079, 1143, and 1372, rlogin field: This field indicates whether the host should be connected with the rlogin protocol. Enter "Y" for yes, or "N" for no. If "N" then the login id field is ignored. The rlogin protocol typically uses TCP port 513. See `Telser Main Window'. login: field: This field specifies the login ID to be used for the rlogin protocol. See `Telser Main Window' login-script field: The script file used for auto-login. See section `Login Scripts' on the script language. This file can be manipulated by the "Save Telnet Options" button in section `Telser Options Window'. 6.3. Terminal Emulation Configuration ------------------------------------- db/telser.terms allows you to specify the list of terminal emulations your comm programs can support. They can be used to notify the host on what emulation you are using. db/telser.terms looks something like this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- #term cols rows ansi 80 24 dumb 80 24 vt52 80 24 vt100 80 24 vt102 80 24 vt200 80 24 vt220 80 24 vt240 80 24 vt300 80 24 vt320 80 24 vt340 80 24 vt420 80 24 rip 80 48 unknown 80 24 xterm 160 128 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Term field: The terminal type supported by your comm program. Cols field: The number of columns of your comm window. Rows field: The number of rows of your comm window. This file is what gets displayed in the terminal list box in `Telser Main Window'. Telnet negotiation on terminal type and window size will use these definitions. 6.4. Modem Profile Configuration -------------------------------- db/telser.mdm stores the modem profile for each telser.device unit. The profile is loaded every time telser.device is opened with a particular unit. db/telser.mdm looks something like this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0] B0 E1 F1 M1 ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The number in [] is the unit number of the modem. What follows are the registers, etc. for that unit. In this case, telser.device unit 0 will use the above. You normally don't need to edit this file directly. Do your stuff with the "AT" commands in your comm program and type "AT&W" to save it to this file. 6.5. Server Mode Configuration ------------------------------ db/telserd.conf stores the units that telserd should attempt to use when an incoming call is detected. db/telserd.conf looks something like this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- #unit ring-interval max-rings startup-command cleanup-command logfile # (seconds) "" for none "" for none "" for none 0 2 2 "" "" t:telserd.log 2 2 2 "" "" t:telserd.log ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Unit field: The telser.device unit to check for the possibility of making a connection. If this unit is not already opened or busy, the next one will be attempted. Ring-Interval field: The number of seconds between "RING" messages are sent to the unit. Max-Rings field: The maximum number of "RING"s to send to the unit before giving up. After giving up, the next unit is tried. Startup-Command field: The command to execute before actually trying to talk to the unit. If the command fails (errorcode non-zero), this unit is ignored. Cleanup-Command field: The command to execute after the telnet connection is closed. Logfile field: The file where all logs are written to. If logging is undesirable, enter "" for this field. The logfile is written after telserd exits. In addition to editing the above file you must also edit db/inetd.conf and db/services. Your db/inetd.conf file should look like this: telnet stream tcp nowait root amitcp:serv/telserd -telserd If you are using the current version of AS225 or newer, you must omit the "root" word from the above line! Your db/services file should look like this: telnet 23/tcp Usually, the services file is already set up by your TCP package. To get your BBS running over telser, you must make sure db/telserd.conf contains the unit number that is opened by the BBS software. Also, db/telser.conf should have an entry for the unit used. All units to be used by telserd should not have auto-login enabled!!! i.e., make sure the "host" field is blank (""). You wouldn't want your BBS automatically dial out everytime the device is openend. If you are using AXsh with telserd, make sure you have LINGER on or AT&D0!!! It may apply to other BBS packages as well. 6.5.1. Using telserd Server on Multiple TCP Ports ------------------------------------------------- If you need telserd to launch from different TCP ports, you may do so by passing the telserd program a different telserd.conf file. telserd.conf specifies which telser.device units to connect the remote user to. The command line options are: serv/telserd -telserd -c db/telserd2.conf (-telserd is the name of the newly created process. telserd2.conf is your alternative telserd config file. The filename is arbitrary.) In addition, you must also edit your db/services and db/inetd.conf files: db/services: telnet2 1234/tcp (port 1234 is just an example.) db/inetd.conf: telnet2 stream tcp nowait root serv/telserd -telserd -c db/telserd2.conf Note that telnet2 is used in both files. This allows inetd to determine which daemon to launch when service is requested at a port. This setup is useful if you want to run different programs from different ports. For example, your AXsh runs from port 23, BBS runs from port 3000, and AmigaMUD runs from 6667. 6.5.2. Using telserd in rlogind mode ----------------------------------- By default, telserd acts as a telnetd server, but it can also act as a rlogind server. This is accomplished by passing the "-r" or "RLOGIN" parameter to telserd. db/services must have the "login" service specified and db/inetd.conf must determine which daemon to load for "login". Example: db/services: login 513/tcp db/inetd.conf: login stream tcp nowait root serv/telserd -telserd -r The standard rlogin port is 513, but you may change it. When the user logs on, the environment variables are set: USER, , and BAUD. is the telser.device unit. For example, when I rlogin from my school the variable contents are: USER2=samy,TERM2=vt100,BAUD2=9600. If you are writing an application that uses telser, you may take advantage of these variables. While the user is logged in, the standard way to forcibly terminate the connection is by pressing "~." (carriage-return tilde period). When the user disconnects, the above three environment variables are cleared. 7. How telser works =================== In client mode: <--> <--> [telser] <-..-> [telnetd] ((( LOCAL HOST))) (TCP/IP) ((( REMOTE HOST ))) Your opens telser.device and talks to it. telser.device relays all your serial commands to [telser]. [telser] also handles the telnet/telnetd protocol. [telser] communicates with telnetd (or other daemons) on the remote host. In server mode: <--> <--> [telser] <--> [telserd] <-..-> [telnet] ((( LOCAL HOST))) (TCP/IP) (( REMOTE )) Your opens and waits for an incoming call. The remote user uses the [telnet] program to connect to [telserd]. ([telserd] is launched by inetd.) [telserd] simply moderates messages between [telser] and [telnet]. Once [telserd] makes a connection, it sends a "RING" message to [telser], which is then passed back to the . If [telser] is set up to auto-answer it would do an auto-matic connection with [telserd]. Otherwise, the must explicitly send an "ATA" command to [telser] to "answer" the call. 8. Using telser.device ====================== To use telser.device, run your comm program the usual way. Select the option to change the serial device and unit. Change from "serial.device" to "telser.device". And if you need to have automatic connections, define a unit in db/telser.conf. See `Device Unit Configuration' for details. If telser.device is opened successfully you should be able to send modem commands to it. To make a connection with a host either type "ATDT ,[]" from your comm program or enter the host information and click on the Connect button in the `Telser Main Window'. To disconnect from host, either log off from the host, or type "+++ATH", or press the Disconnect button from the `Telser Main Window'. After disconnection, a "NO CARRIER" message is returned. When you are done, just exit your comm program. telser will stay in memory and/or close any connection depending on the following condition. If LINGER on or AT&D0, telser will not exit. If LINGER on and AT&D2, telser will disconnect if connected, but will not exit. If LINGER off and AT&D2, telser will exit and close any connection. Under any other condition, telser stays running. Controlling telser from the Shell --------------------------------- If a telser client is still running (when running with the linger option on) but it is not servicing a comm program, it may be terminated by sending a ^C break signal to it with the "break" command. For example: 1> status 2> break C To open a telser client's window, send it an E signal. e.g., "break E". To close the window, "break D". A telser process can also be controlled by `TelserMon'. 9. Using tstelnet ================= tstelnet is a really simple comm program that opens telser.device and allows you to connect to a host. tstelnet starts from device unit 0 and goes through to 20 until telser.device is opened successfully. You may of course specify a specific unit to attempt. By trying each unit you can use tstelnet to act like the "telnet" program. Usage: tstelnet [-ddevice,unit] host-name [port] Examples: tstelnet archie.rutgers.edu tstelnet mud.com 6667 tstelnet -dtelser.device,100 amiga.rules.com tstelnet essentially sends "ATDT ,[port]" to the telser.device. If the host name is not given, the user is prompted for the host and port. The following prompts are displayed: Telnet Host: abc.edu Port [23]: tstelnet is particularly useful for telnetting out of a BBS because it is 8 bit clean, so file transfers will work. Note that tstelnet is not limited to the usage of telser.device. You can use it as a comm program for a real serial port. e.g., "tstelnet -dserial.device,0 1-604-434-3665" would open serial.device unit 0 and tone-dials 1-604-434-3665. To exit tstelnet just hit ecape three times. (Three ^C break signals would also work.) For your enjoyment, the C source code to tstelnet is included in the src/ directory. 10. TelserMon ============= TelserMon is a commodity program that allows you to monitor the status of each telser unit. The program should go into your SYS:WBstartup/ drawer, so it is run every time your system boots into Wokrbench. In the TelserMon.info icon, the following tooltypes are supported: DONOTWAIT If specified, this is a standard tooltype which tells Workbench not to wait for the program to return before it (WB) continues to execute. CX_PRIORITY= Specifies the priority the commodity should run at. Default: CX_PRIORITY=0 CX_POPUP= Specifies whether the TelserMon window should open when it starts. Default: CX_POPUP=YES CX_POPKEY= Specifies the key to press (or "hotkey") to bring up the monitor window. Some of the standard qualifier keys are: lshift - left shift rshift - right shift capslock - Caps Lock control - Ctrl lalt - left Alt ralt - right Alt lcommand - left Amiga rcommand - right Amiga Default: CX_POPKEY=control alt t TCPDIR= This specifies the directory where db/telser.conf is stored. telser.conf lets TelserMon know which units it should check. Default: TCPDIR=AmiTCP: TelserMon can also be run from the command line, and it also uses the same arguments as the icon tooltypes. When the TelserMon window opens, it looks like the following: +--------------------------------------+-+ |[]| TelserMon 1.20 - © 1995 by Sam Yee|Z| |--------------------------------------+-+ | Unit CLI Owner Connected Host | |+------------------------------------+-+| || 11 10 prog fraser.sfu.ca | || || | || || | || || | || || | || || | || || | || || |_|| || |^|| || |v|| |+------------------------------------+-+| |+---------+---------+---------+--------+| || Open | Close | Break | Hide || |+---------+---------+---------+--------+| +----------------------------------------+ Unit column: The unit number being monitored. CLI column: The CLI number of the telser process. Owner column: The name of the program that opened the unit. If this column is empty, this unit has no owner. Connected Host column: The host the unit is connected to. If the host is empty, no connection is made. Open button: When pressed, the window associated with the selected unit is opened. Essentially, an E signal is sent to the CLI. Double clicking on a unit in the units list box is effectively the same as clicking on the unit and then Open. Close button: When pressed, the window of the unit is closed. A D signal is sent to the CLI. Break button: Terminate the selected telser unit if it has no owner. Hide button: This button causes the TelserMon window to close. The window can again be opened by pressing the hotkey. TelserMon can be terminated by either hitting the close gadget on the window or by sending the program a ^C break signal. 11. Gadtools Graphical User Interface ===================================== As mentioned before, your telnet connections can be managed with a GUI. The GUI may be opened on any public screen by setting the environment variable "TELSERPUBSCREEN" to point to the name of the screen. For example: 1> setenv TELSERPUBSCREEN TERM 1> copy ENV:TELSERPUBSCREEN envarc: ; permanently saves it If the public screen cannot be opened, the Workbench screen is used instead. Note that some comm programs, such as Term, opens the serial device first before opening its screen. In this case, if telser was told to open its GUI at start up time, it will not appear in the comm's screen. To solve this problem, simply close the GUI and re-open it. Note that the environment variable can be changed at any time and will take effect the next time the GUI is re-opened. Telser has 3 windows in which you can change things. 11.1. Telser Main Window ------------------------ If you specify it, when telser.device is opened a window that looks like the below opens. The OpenWin/NoOpenWin option in section `Device Unit Configuration' can determine whether this window will be opened at device opening time. Alternatively, you may send a "virtual" break signal to telser, as described in section `Device Unit Configuration', or typing "AT[" in command mode. +--------------------------------------------------+-+-+ |[]| [0] Telser 1.10 - Copyright 1994-5 by Sam Yee |%|Z| |--------------------------------------------------+-+-+ | Unregistered version +------+ | | Select Host Select Term | Help | | | +----------------+-+ +--------+-+ +---------+------+ | | |home |#| |ansi |#| | Connect | | | |archie |#| |dumb | | +----------------+ | | |school |_| |vt52 |_| | Disconnect | | | |work |^| |vt100 |^| +----------------+ | | |fun |v| |vt102 |v| | Send Commands | | | +----------------+-+ +--------+-+ +----------------+ | | +------------------+ +----------+ |Change Term Type| | | |fun | |vt100 | +----------------+ | | +------------------+ +----------+ |Change Win Size | | | | |rlogin? +-----+ +----+ +----------------+ | | +-+ Port |6667 | Cols |80 | | Options | | | +----+-----+ +----+ +----------------+ | | login: |root | Rows |24 | | | +----------+ +----+ | | Script |amitcp:db/| +--------+-------+ | | +----------+ log |Save As | Clear | | | +-------+-----+----------------------------------+-+ | | |[94-Oct-30 13:25:43] Trying localhost... | | | | |[94-Oct-30 13:25:43] Connection established. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-+ | | | |^| | | | |v| | | +------------------------------------------------+-+ | +------------------------------------------------------+ The title bar displays the unit number (e.g., "[0]") of telser.device. You can safely close the window if you don't need it anymore. All other windows associated with this window will be closed as well. Hitting the Escape key also closes the window. The second line of text displays who telser is registered to. The gadgets are defines as follows. Select Host: Select a host you want to connect to. To attempt a connection, click once on a host and click on the Connect gadget. Otherwise double-click on the host. If you want to connect to a host not in the list, simply enter it in the edit box below the list box and click on the Connect button. Port: This edit box enables you to establish a connection with a host at particular port number. In this example, the familar port 6667 is used. rlogin?: The rlogin protocol allows you to connect to a site automatically, without enter a login ID or even a password. You should see the Unix man pages on rlogin(d) before trying this feature. Rlogin posts a security risk, so use it with caution. Rlogin requires both the local username and the remote username to be sent to the host. The local user name is retrieved from the $USER environment variable. The remote name (or login id) can be specified in the db/telser.hosts file or manually entered from the username field below. If this checkbox is checked, use the rlogin protocol to do the connection. After it's checked, the login: gadget is activated and the port number is cleared if it is set at 23 (telnet). For the port number, you may enter 513 (rlogin) or just leave it at 0 to use the default. If the rlogin checkbox is unchecked, the login id gadget is ghosted out. Note that rlogin is a simple protocol, unlike telnet, so the only thing you can do while connected (if host permits) is changing the window size. File transfers may not work properly because rlogin is not 100% 8-bit clean. However, on some sites, file transfers work better with rlogin! login: The remote login id to use for the rlogin protocol. It is ghosted out if rlogin is not used. Script: The script file to execute after connecting to the host. See section `Login Scripts' Select Term: Select the terminal type you will be using for this connection. Once a term has been selected, the Cols and Rows edit boxes reflect the type of terminal. However, Cols and Rows can still be manually changed. Note that telser will only notify the host which terminal you are using if you tell it to. See `Telser Options Window' Cols: This edit box allows you to specify the number of columns your comm program supports. Rows: The number of rows your comm program supports. Help: Brings up the AmigaGuide(r) help file. Connect: Attempt a connection with the specified host. Once a connection has been established, this buttons is ghosted out. Disconnect: Disconnect from the host you are connected to. If you are not connected to a host, this button is ghosted out. Send Commands: When a connection is made, you may control the telnet connection by clicking on this button. It will then bring up a window with many buttons you can push. See `Telnet Send Commands Window' Change Term Type: If you are already connected, you may tell the host what your new terminal type is. Change Win Size: If you are already connected, you may tell the host how big your comm program's window is. Programs like "vi" on Unix will auto-adjust itself to reflect the change in window size. Save As: Save the logs to a particular file. A file requester will open up to request for a filename. Clear: Clear the logs. No warning is given prior to the clear. 11.2. Telser Options Window --------------------------- This window allows you to manipulate options for a telnet connection or a telser unit. +-----------------------------------------------+-+-+ |[]| [0] Telser Options |%|Z| |-----------------------------------------------+-+-+ | Telnet Client Negotiation Options | | _ _ | | |_| Ignore Negotiation |_| Will Flow Control | | |_| Initiate Negotiation |_| Will Terminal Type | | |_| Do Binary |_| Will Window Size | | |_| Do Echo |_| Will Terminal Speed | | |_| Do Suppress Go Ahead |_| Will Linemode | | |_| Force Linemode | | | | telser.device Unit Options | | | | Map Serial Break To _ | | +---------------------+ |_| Open Window | | |@| Open Window | |_| Linger [ ] Debug | | +-+-------------------+ | | | | +---------------------+ +---------------------+ | | | Save Telnet Options | | Save Unit Options | | | +---------------------+ +---------------------+ | +---------------------------------------------------+ The "[0]" above indicates that these options are for telser.device unit 0. Telnet Host Options: These options are defined in `Telnet Hosts Configuration' Telser Unit Options: These options are defined in `Device Unit Configuration' Save Telnet Options: Save these telnet options to the db/telser.hosts file. Save Unit Options: Save these telser.device unit options to the db/telser.conf file. 11.3. Telnet Send Commands Window --------------------------------- When a telnet connection has been established, sometimes it is useful to send telnet commands to the host. This window will allow you to do just that. +-----------------------------------------------------------+-+-+ |[]| [0] Send Telnet Commands |%|Z| |-----------------------------------------------------------+-+-+ | +-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | | | Abort Output | Erase Character | Interrupt Process | | | +-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | | | Are You There | Erase Line | No Operation | | | +-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | | | Break | Go Ahead | Synch Operation | | | +-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+ | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ The "[0]" above indicates that these options are for telser.device unit 0. All these commands are documented in "Map Serial Break To field" of section `Device Unit Configuration'. 12. Logging =========== All log entries have a time/date stamp. The logs are written at the time telser.device closes, unless of course you click on the "Save Log" button in the `Telser Main Window'. Most of the log entry types are defined as follows. Connection closed by foreign host. telnetd on the other end has closed our connection Connection closed. you forcibly close the connection connect() error Unable to connect to host at a particular port number. Check your host name and port number and try again. Port number 0 is the default. Connection established. A successful outgoing connection has been made with the host. local: ; remote: ; term: ; baud: While handling incoming rlogin connections, this log entry displays the local name the user wants to log in with, the remote name of the user, terminal type used, and baud rate he/she is at. Received ^C break signal You sent a break signal to the telser process. If you are connected, you will no longer. received TCP urgent data rlogind connection established. A successful incoming rlogind connection has been made. select() returns : error Internal error caused by select() socket() error Unable to open a socket tcp/rlogin: unknown service The ermote host does not have rlogind running. tcp/telnet: unknown service The remote host does not have telnetd running. telnetd connection established. A successful incoming telnetd connection has been made. Trying ... Client is trying to open a telnet connection with Note that this may take a while if the host is unreachable. Hitting a key on your keyboard won't abort it. unknown host: is not in your hosts file or your name server. Try again with an IP address instead. Refer to your TCP/IP package for other network error codes. 13. Modem Commands ================== The basic Hayes(r) compatible modem commands and options are supported by telser.device. Also, several new commands are used by telser. Note that many commands and options are there for compatibility reasons and are ignored. The effective commands and options are defined as follows. Command/ Function Options -------- ---------------------------------------------------------- A Manually answer an incoming call. A/ Re-execute the last command. Useful for redialing. It does not take AT or . AT Attention: lets the telser know that commands are being issued to it. DP or DT Attempt to connect to a host. E.g., "ATDT archie.rutgers.edu,23". The 23 following the host name is the port number. DSn Connect to the host stored at host list position n. See &Zn. E.g., "ATDS3" En Command mode local echo. E0 Echo OFF E1 telser.device displays keyboard commands Fn Online local echo. F0 Echo ON F1 Echo OFF (default) H0 Disconnect from host. In Information display. I0 Three digit version number. I4 Display current modem settings. I5 Display nonvolatile memory (NVRAM) (ie., from file) settings. I7 Return version information O0 Return online. Qn Result Codes displayed/suppressed. Q0 Display result codes Q1 Quiet mode; no result codes. Sr=n Set register r to n. Sr? Show contents of S-Register r. V0 Verbal/numeric result codes. V0 Numeric codes V1 Verbal codes Xn Result code set. Result Code X0 X1 X2 X3 X4 ---------------------------------- 0/OK . . . . . 1/CONNECT . . . . . 2/RING . . . . . 3/NO CARRIER . . . . . 4/ERROR . . . . . 5/CONNECT 1200 . . . . 6/NO DIALTONE . . 7/BUSY . . 8/NO ANSWER . . 10/CONNECT 2400 . . . . 13/CONNECT 9600 . . . . 18/CONNECT 4800 . . . . 20/CONNECT 7200 . . . . 21/CONNECT 12000 . . . . 25/CONNECT 14400 . . . . 26/CONNECT 19200 . . . . 27/CONNECT 38400 . . . . 28/CONNECT 57600 . . . . 29/CONNECT 115200 . . . . Z Reset to software defaults. &Cn Carrier Detect (CD) signal. &C0 CD override &C1 Normal CD operations &Dn Data Terminal Ready operations. &D0 DTR override; so DTR drop would not cause a disconnection from host. &D2 Normal DTR operations; telser disconnects when DTR drops. &V Same as "ATI4" &W Write current configuration to NVRAM (ie., db/telser.mdm). &Zn=s Write host name string s to NVRAM at position n. +++ Escape to Online-command mode, or if S14=1, disconnect from host and escape to command mode. [ Open the telser window. E.g., "AT[". ] Close the telser window. E.g., "AT]". +CID=n Caller ID +CID=0 disable caller ID. +CID=1 enable caller ID: display IP address of caller +CID=2 enable caller ID: display hostname of caller +CID=3 enable caller ID: display both address and name When caller ID is on, incoming calls will cause the following lines to be displayed: RING CID = IP address and/or hostname *cmd Special modem commands for sending telnet commands. *AO Abort Output *AYT Are You There? *BRK Break *EC Erase Character *EL Erase Line *GA Go Ahead *IP Interrupt Process *NOP No Operation *SYNCH Synch Operation $ Display quick command summary. E.g., "AT$" S-Registers Register Default Function -------- ------- ---------------------------------------------- S0 0 Sets the number of rings on which to answer in Auto Answer mode. S1 0 Counts and stores the number of rings from an incoming call. S2 43 Stores the ASCII decimal code for the escape character. The default is '+' (43). A value of 128-255 disables the escape code. S3 13 Stores the ASCII decimal code for the Carriage Return Character. S4 10 Stores the ASCII decimal code for the Line Feed Character. S5 8 Stores the ASCII decimal code for the Back- space character. S14 0 If set to 1, the connection will be closed up on receipt of the escape code, returns to command mode and sends the NO CARRIER result code. S19 0 Sets the duration, in minutes, for the Inactivity Timer. To disable it set it to 0. When the timer goes off, any connection will be closed. S50 0 When in host mode, the number of seconds to wait before returning the CONNECT string. 13.1. Connection Result Codes ============================= Telnet connection result codes are mapped to the following modem result codes. NO CARRIER unknown host or disconnection closed NO ANSWER unable to connect to host because host is down NO DIALTONE unable to open a socket BUSY unknown service CONNECT ... connection established. 14. serial.device compatibility =============================== The basic serial.device commands are supported. The ones that are not supported are simply ignored and a successful result code is returned to the comm program. Most comm programs are supported. Some examples are: Term 4.1/4.2, VLT 5.867, NComm 3.0, Terminus 2.0c/d, Termite 1.00 demo, Platinum Works! Comm, JPTC, TinyTerminal, and X-Comm. Note that when using telser with Terminus, the "Ignore ODU" option in settings/port must be turned off. When switching to telser.device in X-Comm, make sure you activate the port (Device/Active) and then flush it (Device/Flush Port). AXSH 1.3, DLG 1.0 BBS/OS, AmigaMud, and CNet BBS has also been tested to work. The comm programs that don't work include hft, and Baud Bandit. If you are a comm/BBS program author and telser doesn't work with your program let me know. 15. Login Scripts ================= telser supports a limited scripting language which enables you to auto-login into a host. Lines in the script file can be commented out by preceding the lines with ";" or "#" characters. Commands are not case sensitive. Command arguments that contain spaces must be quoted. The script commands are described as follows. DELAY Delay some seconds before executing the next line in the script. Example: DELAY 5 delays 5 seconds DTENTHS <10th-seconds> Delays some 10th seconds before executing the next line. Example: DELAY 5 delays 1/2 seconds END Ends the executing of the script. This is optional and required only if early termination of the script is desired. MESSAGE Sends a string to the comm program. The string is the same format as SEND. Example: MESSAGE "About to auto-login...\r\n" SEND Sends a string to the host. The string may contain special control codes, which are defined as follows: \b - backspace (control-H) \e - escape (control-[) \f - form-feed (control-L) \n - newline (control-J) \r - carriage-return (control-M) \t - tab (control-I) Example: SEND "samy\r" sends samy to the host. Usually sent when the host prompts "login: " WAIT Waits until a string is received before executing the next line. Example: WAIT "login: " waits until the "login:" string is received before moving on. The script file may reside anywhere, and its name is specified in the telser.hosts file. (See section `Telnet Hosts Configuration'). Hosts may share the same script files. This is particular useful if you connect to several hosts using the same user id and password. Example script file: ; this script auto logins into my U message "Auto logging into school...\r\n" wait "ogin: " send "samy\r" wait "assword:" send "nicetry\r" If telser's scripting capability is primitive for your needs, you can always use the script language built in your comm program. You are not recommended to use login scripts if your Amiga is used by someone you don't really trust. They can steal your passwords! 16. Troubleshooting =================== ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: Nothing happens after I see the "CONNECT" string. Cause: Telnet negotiation failed. Solution: Turn BINARY mode off from the `Telser Options Window'. On some Suns, use the terminal "UNKNOWN" when logging in. After you logged in, issue "setenv TERM ". (The Suns I have access to don't suffer this problem.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You can't enter your user id and password. Cause: The host expects a different end-of-line character that terminates a line of input. Solution: On some Suns, use ^J (linefeed) instead of carriage-return. If possible, remap your carriage-return key to linefeed. It may also help if you uncheck the "Do Binary" checkbox in the `Telser Options Window'. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You can't log into Amiga NetBSD systems. Cause: Telnet negotiation failed. Solution (maybe): Telser's LINEMODE options are not 100% implemented. Hopefully, it'll be completed in the future releases. Meanwhile, try the host again with LINEMODE set off in the `Telser Options Window' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You can log into a BSDI BSD/386 or BSD 4.4 system, but it won't respond to your keystrokes. Cause: Telnet negotiation failed. Solution: telser doesn't support ("real" or "kludge") LINEMODE completely, so turn off LINEMODE in the `Telser Options Window' and try again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: When you use DTR drop to hang up telser you don't see the full "NO CARRIER" string. Cause: DTR drop involves closing and re-opening the device. Some comm programs flush the device after it opens it, but before the first read. Therefore, the "NO CARRIER" can be partly flushed out. Solution: Do not use DTR drop to hang up. Instead use +++ATH\r. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: When telser.device is opened the second time, the comm program reports busy. Cause: The unregistered version of telser allows only one unit at a time. You are recommended to register. See `Registration Form' You chose the same unit as the first comm program. Solution: If you are already a registered user, make sure the telser.key file is in S: Chose a different unit and try again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You can't do file transfers. Cause: Intolerable time delays affecting the underlying transfer protocol. Solution: Play with the protocol parameters such as relaxed timing, packet sizes, etc. If all else fails, you can always "uuencode" the file and ascii capture the output from the "cat" command. Try to log on with the rlogin protocol and do file transfers. It works on some systems, like IRIX. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You cannot abort dialing. Cause: TCP/IP is taking a long time finding a route to the host. Solution: Issue a "status" command and then use "break" to send a Ctrl-C break signal to the telser process responsible for the telser.device unit you are using. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You see garbage after you connect. Cause: Wrong TCP port Solution: Make sure you telnetted to the correct port (typically 23), and rlogin to the right port also. Telnetting to a rlogin port or rloginning to a telnet port will display garbage and possibly get disconnected. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You cannot get telser to work with CNet BBS. Cause: modem setup incorrectly. Solution: (written by Dan Fraser (IRC nick: Optic)): There are some simple changes that must be made to allow telser to work properly with CNet BBS. First, load CONFIG and configure a new CNet port as if you were installing a new modem. Completely remove the "Init#1", "Init#2", "Terminal", and "Term link" modem strings. Set the "Idle baud" to whatever speed you would like to use with telser (ie: 19200). Remember to change the serial device to "telser.device". Ensure that the "Ans. pause" field is set to at least 10. Now, load the port in CNet's control panel, open its screen, and enter terminal mode. Type "ATS0=0&D2&W" to make the necessary changes to telser's config. Exit terminal mode, and your telser port is all ready to go. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Problem: You cannot get telser to work with TSL 2.0e (Terminus) from Workbench Causes: unknown Solution: As reported by Dan Zerkle: If I start Terminus directly from the workbench (without TSL), it's fine. It's also fine to run TSL from the shell. To summarize: Shell Workbench Terminus OK OK TSL OK HANGS I now suspect that is is due to a bug or incompatibility in TSL, not telser. 17. History =========== Ver. YY/MM/DD Changes ---- -------- -------------------------------------------------------- 1.20 95/03/06 - save telnet options now saves the rlogin preferences and login ID. - at startup, if window is opened, it will not be become active. (Suggested by Vincent Hodges) - telserd can now take config filename from command line. Therefore, it can now service different ports. (Suggested by Vincent Hodges) - now works with Platinum Works! comm program - can disable telnet negotiation. This is needed for some MUD servers and UUCP. - added modem register S50 to allow CONNECT string report to be delayed while in hostmode - added simple script capabilities (Suggested by Dennis Lee Bieber) - added TelserMon to monitor telser units - can now handle incoming rlogin connections - file transfers much improved 1.10 95/01/29 - Checkbox gadgets are now scaled. - ZModem upload/downloading much improved. - Spurious characters problem fixed. - Caller ID can now report hostname as well as IP address. - RLogin protocol now supported, as suggested by Eddy Carroll. - serial EOF mode supported, but not fully tested. - asynchronous connect, but stuff like address resolution is still synchronous. You can abort host "dialing" some of the time, but not always. - known enforcer hits removed - added telnet flow control negotiation - linemode can now be forced 1.00 95/01/01 - Original release 18. Acknowledgements ==================== Thank-you's go to... - The AmiTCP group at Helsinki University for their great work, - Stephan Sürken for Text2Guide, which made creating AmigaGuide documents easy, - All the beta-testers (TOO many to list.), especially those who made reports. Special thanks to: David Zvekic (IRC nick: Ensoniq) for major testing with the AS225 version; NJ Verenini (IRC nick: Spumoni) for testing the AmiTCP version and writing the AXsh installation guide; Robert Reiswig (IRC nick: RobR) for writing the Installer script; and Dan Fraser (IRC nick: Optic) for writing the CNet BBS installation tip in the Troubleshooting section, - David Swasbrook (author of SwazBlanker, IRC nick: Swaz) for helping debug TelserMon's popup key, and - All registered users. Without you, there probably wouldn't have been as many enhancements since 1.0. 19. Registration Form ===================== ----------------------- telser Registration -------------------------- Surname___________________________ Given Name_________________________ Company Name_________________ Type of Business________________________ Street Address________________________________________________________ City______________________________ Prov./State________________________ Postal/ZipCode_____________________ Country___________________________ E-Mail_________________________________________ uuencoded files OK?___ Networking software and hardware in use_______________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Hostname of BBS telserd is used on____________________________________ Where did you obtain telser?_______________________ Version Number____ Suggestions for future releases or new programs_______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Registration fee: $15US for unlimited units. Canadian users may send $20CAN. Method of payment: [ ] Money order [ ] Personal check, please allow 3-4 weeks for clearance. No personal checks from outside of Canada and US. [ ] Cash (wrapped with sufficient paper). I hold no responsibility for missing cash. I have read the section `Legal Stuff' and agree with it. _________________________ ___________________________________________ (Date) (Signature) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 20. Contact Address =================== Registration fees, questions, ideas, comments, bug reports, etc. should go to: Snail Mail: Sam Yee 4595 Nanaimo St. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5N 5J5 Internet: samy@sfu.ca (IRC nick: Encoder in channel #amiga) FidoNet: 1:153/765 (Terra Firma BBS (604) 434-3665)