Miami feature list

Miami is still under development. The first release version is expected to be ready in July 1996.

Miami is Copyright © 1996 by Holger Kruse. All rights reserved.

Intended features as of 20-Jul-1996 (subject to change)

• replaces AmiTCP ("bsdsocket.library") and AS-225R2 / I-Net 225 ("socket.library") in an API-compatible way, i.e. standard clients and servers for AmiTCP or AS-225R2 usually also work with Miami. The first Miami release version has builtin support for bsdsocket.library only, but the few remaining socket.library clients can be used with the PD socket.library emulation library from Aminet.
• contains a complete TCP/IP protocol stack for point-to-point connections to your Internet provider allowing you to access the Internet. Miami is based on the latest BSD TCP/IP code (Net/3 as distributed in 4.4BSD/Lite version 2). Supports RFC-1323 extensions for higher performance TCP.
• is a "true" TCP/IP implementation, not a "hack" that requires a shell account with additional programs running at your Internet provider. Miami does support the TCP/IP emulators "Slirp" (by Danny Gasparovski) and TIA though, so Miami can also be used together with shell accounts.
• supports SLIP, CSLIP and PPP as built-in protocols without the need for SANA-II drivers. The PPP implementation is rather fast and comprehensive and supports, for example, PAP, CHAP, authentication protocol fallback for Win-NT servers, and VJC TCP header compression. The PPP code is based on the thoroughly tested code of ppp.device, but all PPP parameters are configured automatically by Miami.
• has an integrated graphical user interface (based on MUI 3.3, copyright by Stefan Stuntz) for *all* configuration and runtime parameters, including the settings for TCP/IP, interfaces, PPP, protocols, dialing, inetd, user database etc.
• does not require the installation or modification of any external textfiles, libraries, devices, environment variables, tool types etc. The configuration is done completely through the graphical user interface, and all parameters are stored in a single IFF settings file. Functions to import/export many settings from/to ASCII text files (as used e.g. by Unix hosts or by AmiTCP) are available, too.
• has a builtin script-driven dialer with support for multiple phone numbers and optional interactive mode. In the demo version up to 3 phone numbers are supported. In the registered version there is no limit.
• supports auto-redialing on several phone numbers during dialing.
• supports static and dynamic IP addresses for SLIP, CSLIP and PPP.
• supports BootP and has an automatic dial log analyzer to support dynamic IP addresses even with SLIP and CSLIP.
• supports teach-in dialing, i.e. in most cases you do not even have to write a dial script, but only need to connect to your provider once manually in interactive mode, and Miami will "learn" how to automatically log in by itself the next time you want to connect, i.e. Miami will generate a suitable dial script by itself.
• has many of the popular demons (TCP/UDP servers) already built in, e.g. inetd, identd and fingerd.
• has a dynamic hostname cache to reduce the number of DNS lookups and thus speed up TCP connection setup, in particular with WWW browsers.
• has an extension to allow some Miami-aware servers (e.g. new versions of AmiWin, the builtin inetd etc.) to keep listening for connections (without having to shutdown these applications) even if you have to hangup and reconnect, and receive a different dynamic IP address in the process.
• is completely localized. (English/German at this time. Many other languages are in preparation.)
• supports several new MUI 3.x features (such as "drag&drop", "bubble help" and "context menus") as well as extensive context-sensitive online help.
• registered version only: supports automatic redial/reconnect on hangup (works best with static IP addresses), and automatic execution of ARexx scripts when certain events occur (start, end, online, offline etc.).
• registered version only: phone bill data can be exported to a text file.
• comes with an additional configuration utility "MiamiInit" that allows you to get connected to the Internet without configuring Miami first. All you need to do is answer a few questions with information your Internet provider gave you. MiamiInit then dials up your Internet connection, verifies your data and tries to find out all remaining configuration parameters by itself. MiamiInit will only ask additional questions if it was unable to determine some required parameters by itself. Extensive online help is available throughout this process. MiamiInit, like Miami, is completely localized and has a graphical user interface using MUI 3.3.
• is available as a free demo version (with limited online time -- also available for third-party licensing), and as a complete, registered version without any such limitations. The registration fee is US$ 35.00. Registered users of ppp.device who would like to switch from ppp.device to Miami receive a US$ 10.00 discount off the Miami registration fee (limit: one per ppp.device registration).

Future plans for Miami include:

• support for a SAMA-II device (point-to-point, like 'iwan.device', and bus-type, e.g. Ethernet).
• Better support for ISDN and some new PPP features. This largely depends on the support from the manufacturers of Amiga ISDN boards though.
• configurable phone bill display.

• supports automatic "disconnect on inactivity"/"reconnect on activity" for SLIP, CSLIP and PPP if your Internet provider has assigned you a static IP address.
• the phone bill display can also be used to control the disconnect/reconnect behavior (i.e. you can e.g. tell Miami Deluxe to always hang up the line on inactivity a few seconds before new connection charges occur).
• supports more than one interface (CSLIP/SLIP/PPP or SANA-II) at a time.
• supports IP Multicasting
• allows you to restrict access to your system and log any access attempts based on the port numbers, protocol type, source IP address and other parameters.
• can be used as an IP router (e.g. to connect a local network to your Internet provider).
• supports the "BSD packet filter" feature to monitor IP traffic.
• will be available as an upgrade for Miami, i.e. registered Miami users will receive a full credit of their Miami registration fee towards a registration of Miami Deluxe, and can import their existing Miami configuration into Miami Deluxe. The registration fee for Miami Deluxe will probably be less than US$ 80.00 (not precisely known at this time). Registered users of ppp.device who would like to switch from ppp.device to Miami Deluxe receive a discount off the Miami Deluxe registration fee (limit: one per ppp.device registration; cannot be combined with the Miami upgrade offer).

I am also considering to make special versions of Miami available to Internet providers at reduced license fees. These special versions would be preconfigured for one single Internet provider, but ONLY work with this one Internet provider. If you are a Internet provider interested in licensing Amiga Internet software please tell me what you think about this.