jimb@faatcrl.UUCP (Jim Burwell) (08/17/90)
I recently went out to ftp.cisco.com and grabbed the "release note" for version 8.1 of the Terminal Server operating sytem. I was hopeing they did something to make SLIP more flexible, and to my delight, they did exacly what I wanted them to do: They made the internet address setting for SLIP dynamic. This eliminated a big problem I had with slip and phone line hunt-groups/rotaries (how do you know what line you are on, etc,etc). From reading the note I figured it would let you type in a command to set the internet address for SLIP on that line, makeing it easy to work with using the tip command designed for dial-up SLIP use distributed in the Toronto SLIP package. So I went out and grabbed the binary image of the OS from the ftp site, reset a few jumpers in our MSM, and had it TFTP booting the new OS in about an hour and a half. Now the fun part. I figured that the release note didn't have any documentation about any of the spiffy new features it described because it would be easy to figure out using the OS's on-line help. I was wrong. After using lots of creative commands in an attempt to set our SLIP address dynamically, I gave up and decided to go back out to the ftp site to get the docs for 8.1. Was I in for a shock. There were no docs available! Reading the README thingy that comes up on that site when you try to get a directory a little more closely, I noticed that it said that docs were available for $50 a copy. Sigh. When I first learned of the availability of new revisions of the OS on a public FTP site, I thought, "what a cool company! They don't charge for OS upgrades!". I suppose I was being naive, which I'm prone to do at times. :-) TANSTAAFL proves to be true again. Someone, please prove me wrong. By the time the people I work with grind the paperwork through for approving the purchase of the docs, we'll be at CISCO revision 13.79 or something. :-) (the way things work, it would probably be faster/easier to get 'em to buy another Cisco box. Hopefully they'd ship the latest OS and docs with it :-). C'ya, Jim -- UUCP: ...!rutgers!faatcrl!jimb Internet: jimb@faatcrl.UUCP Under brooding skys and watchful eyes On convulsive seas of false urgency We walk empty corridors in vain - "No Exit", Fate's Warning
hobson@madness.rutgers.edu (Kevin Hobson) (08/18/90)
In article <67@faatcrl.UUCP> jimb@faatcrl.UUCP (Jim Burwell) writes: > Now the fun part. I figured that the release note didn't have any > documentation about any of the spiffy new features it described because > it would be easy to figure out using the OS's on-line help. I was wrong. > After using lots of creative commands in an attempt to set our SLIP > address dynamically, I gave up and decided to go back out to the ftp > site to get the docs for 8.1. Was I in for a shock. > > There were no docs available! Reading the README thingy that comes up > on that site when you try to get a directory a little more closely, I > noticed that it said that docs were available for $50 a copy. Sigh. > When I first learned of the availability of new revisions of the OS > on a public FTP site, I thought, "what a cool company! They don't > charge for OS upgrades!". I suppose I was being naive, which I'm prone > to do at times. :-) TANSTAAFL proves to be true again. > > Someone, please prove me wrong. By the time the people I work with grind > the paperwork through for approving the purchase of the docs, we'll > be at CISCO revision 13.79 or something. :-) (the way things work, it > would probably be faster/easier to get 'em to buy another Cisco box. > Hopefully they'd ship the latest OS and docs with it :-). The command you are looking for is "slip interactive". This will turn on SLIP on a already assigned ip address terminal port. But you do not have to do this since it is on by the default when you assigned the SLIP IP address. So line 1 slip address ip-address-number slip interactive [optional command] Once you configured this port, login into your cisco dial-up with your tip program and say "slip" at the exec prompt. Turn on SLIP on your local machine. You should now be talking SLIP between the cisco and the host machine to your network. The default SLIP parameters are a mtu of 1500 bytes and maximum output queue size of 2 packets from the SLIP client to the network. The on-line help (exec-level) is for general terminal parameters changes, not system wide configuration changes. Added a "slip address ip-address-number" is a configuration change. And yes, they do ship the newest release software release and manual with a cisco box order. Upgrading to the newest ROMS within the warranty period is free. The last ROMS upgrade, I ask and received a manual, also. -- Kevin Hobson Internet: hobson@rutgers.edu Rutgers - The State University UUCP: {backbone}!rutgers!hobson P.O. Box 879, CCIS, Hill Center, Busch BITNET: hobson@{cancer,pisces}.BITNET Piscataway, N.J. 08855-0879 PHONE: (908) 932-4780