traw@euroies.UUCP (Tony Raw) (06/20/86)
We have several different terminals at our site connected to a Sun 2 (and other hosts) via a Bridge Communication Server and Ethernet. My problem is quite simple - since getty is no longer called, what is the best method for informing UNIX of the terminal type ? (neither setting .cshrc environment variables nor defining pty*(s) in ttytype are adequate solutions). Grateful for any advice ...
phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (07/01/86)
In article <318@euroies.UUCP> traw@euroies.UUCP (Tony Raw) writes: >We have several different terminals at our site connected to a >Sun 2 (and other hosts) via a Bridge Communication Server and Ethernet. > >My problem is quite simple - since getty is no longer called, >what is the best method for informing UNIX of the terminal type ? >(neither setting .cshrc environment variables nor defining pty*(s) >in ttytype are adequate solutions). I have used both a Bridge CS100 and an Encore Annex and prefer the Annex by far. For your particular problem the Annex offers an rlogin style of connection. The network administrator tells the Annex what type of terminal your port is connected to and the Annex tells the host when you connect. The Annex has a few other advantages: 1) boots over network instead of from floppies. Makes upgrading firmware a breeze. You can have multiple boot servers running on your hosts, the first one that answers is used. 2) Uses Unix syntax instead of something weird that Bridge invented. How nice to say telnet and rlogin instead of connect. Because Unix ruptime is supported, you can use symbolic names instead of network addresses without having to program them into the floppies of each terminal server like you have to on the CS100. 3) Configured over network instead of from floppies. If you have a lot of ports to configure all alike, you can use your editor to prepare a file and then feed it into the Network Adminstrator program. 4) All host executable code is supplied in source format on a tar tape. 5) Unix "ruptime" command to see which hosts are up before you try to connect to one. 6) Unix RIP support means you can dynamically use multiple routers without any extra effort. Bridge requires you to define a default router on the floppy. You only get one. If you need to access one and someone else on the box needs to access a different router, you lose. 7) You get to deal with people who care about TCP instead of people who really don't understand (and don't want to understand) anything but XNS. For example, Bridge doesn't fully implement ICMP. (no echo response) Also, for file transfer they recommend the use of kermit like programs. They don't understand why you would want to do the things Excelan and Micom do, which is to provide full Ethernet TCP/IP functionality *and* offload telnet overhead from the host. All they offer for the host is something which looks like a DMF on the Unibus side and telnet on the Ethernet side. (IVECS) This may be great for terminal support but it's not what I would call real networking. Also I have doubts about the quality of their telnet implementation if they don't even fully implement ICMP, which is a required part of TCP/IP. -- Bring back The Phone Company! Phil Ngai +1 408 749 5720 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.dec.com