info-vax@ucbvax.UUCP (12/05/85)
> I am looking for a means of exchanging mail between VMS systems > which are not on any network. The obvious possibility is > something like Unix UUCP/Usenet/MMDF or the Phonenet > software used by CSNET. However, I need an implementation which > will run between VMS systems, not Unix. Both public domain > and reasonably priced software is of interest. Here's a list of all the mechanisms I know of to accomplish this: CSNET uses a Pascal implementation of MMDF, called PMDF, which runs quite well on VMS systems using the CSNET Phonenet for transport. I don't have this, but you might contact a friend of mine, Ned Freed (ned@oksma1.CSNET), for more information. He has it running and hooked into the standard VMS MAIL utility. Joiner Associates has an implementation of RSCS protocols for VMS that allow you to communicate with other BITNET systems. I do not know if this could use an ASYNC line and talk to just another VAX or if you have to be part of BITNET itself, but if you contact JA I'm sure they could tell you. This also uses the foreign protocol hook to VMS MAIL. We have a port of UUCP to VMS, but this requires that you have a UNIX license on your VMS machine. Finally... You could also use DECnet! With VMS 4.2, DECnet now supports dynamic switched async connections. The way this works is you dial out on an async port, log into the other system, then type the magic SET TERMINAL command. The line then becomes a DECnet line. You can shut the line down later from NCP and the two terminal ports switch back to being standard terminal lines. Now, by itself this doesn't provide exactly what you want, but... A simple program could be written to control an auto-dial modem, login to the target system following a login script, then issue the SET TERMINAL/PROTOCOL=DDCMP/SWITCH=DECNET then make the magic call to DYNSWITCH.EXE that RTPAD does. SET HOST/DTE can be made to dial a modem, but I don't know of any way to get it to follow a script to login automatically. Once the DECnet connection is up, the program can just copy files to the remote host and retrieve anything that might be waiting to come back. For store and forward MAIL, you can again make use of the foreign protocol hook in MAIL. Just queue the message somewhere and invoke the program that makes the DECnet link automatically. The whole idea here is to build a simple, on demand only, batch network (like UUCP) using DECnet for transport. I've mapped out an outline for the pieces necessary, but unfortunately haven't had the time to write the code. I may give it a try after DECUS. If anyone else wants to, go ahead, but I'd appreciate a copy of it! /Kevin Carosso engvax!kvc @ CIT-VAX.ARPA Hughes Aircraft Co.