[comp.dcom.modems] DOS BBS on a Unix Box

evanc@isishq.fidonet.org (Evan Champion) (05/26/91)

A friend of mine is trying to set up a DOS BBS (Searchlight BBS) which uses 
a FOSSIL driver, on a Unix box (I believe it is Xenix, most likely the 
latest version).  He is having lots of toubles, one of them being that the 
modem would answer and only garbage would be sent.  The system is a 386 with 
a 16550AFN locked at 38400 bps, and a USR HST (latest version).  Thanks for 
any help.

Evan

root@zswamp.uucp (Geoffrey Welsh) (05/28/91)

In a letter to All, Evan Champion (evanc@isishq.fidonet.org ) wrote:

 >A friend of mine is trying to set up a DOS BBS (Searchlight 
 >BBS) which uses a FOSSIL driver, on a Unix box (I believe
 >it is Xenix, most likely the latest version).  He is having
 >lots of toubles, one of them being that the modem would
 >answer and only garbage would be sent.  The system is a 386
 >with a 16550AFN locked at 38400 bps, and a USR HST (latest 
 >version).  Thanks for any help.

   I have found that Xenix and VP/ix (Interactive System's DOS emulator for 
ISC Unix and SCO Xenix) work reasonably well with DOS devices that access the 
'standard' DOS serial ports *if* you tell VP/ix that the port belongs to 
VP/ix, and keep your hands off.  Naturally, this only applies to the standard 
ports (i.e. COM1=$03F8,IRQ4, COM2=$02F8,IRQ3) and won't work at all well with 
'dumb' multiserial boards like the Arnet Multi-4 and Multi-8.

   I did my testing with Telix on a 386 running SCO Xenix 2.3.2 and the VP/ix 
1.0 (I think) about two years ago; the box had a multiserial board in it, so 
it wasn't a major hassle to reserve one of the two DOS-type serial ports for 
my VP/ix experiments.

   Have your friend check the BBS' VP/ix configuration file to make sure that 
it claims exclusive access to the serial port in question.
 

--  
Geoffrey Welsh - Operator, Izot's Swamp BBS (FidoNet 1:221/171)
root@zswamp.uucp or ..uunet!watmath!xenitec!zswamp!root
602-66 Mooregate Crescent, Kitchener, ON, N2M 5E6 Canada (519)741-9553
"He who claims to know everything can't possibly know much" -me