From: erik@maui.til.com (Erik Horstkotte)
Subject: UUCP problems with Ultima
Organization: Togai InfraLogic, Inc.
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 16:42:29 GMT

I am having some rather mysterious trouble trying to connect our
Sun/4
here to another company's (I'll refer to their node as "them")
computers via UUCP (for the purpose of getting a newsfeed).  I would
appreciate any help anyone out there might be able to give me.

I have two apparently unrelated problems.  The first problem is the
most serious one, and keeps me from using the UUCP link at all.  The
second one just means I can't run it as fast as I think I should be
able to.

The first problem I have is that I cannot get the login sequence to
operate on the Sun, regardless of the communication rate.  If I set
the modem up for 2400 bps DCE with automatic V.42bis, setup, dialing,
and carrier detection seem to operate without a problem.  The problem
is that I never get a login: prompt.  If you look at the log output
from Uutry later in this article, you'll see that everything appears
to work fine, but there is no response to the carriage return that is
sent about five seconds after the CONNECT status is returned by the
modem.  According to my "them" contact, sending that carriage return
should give me a login: prompt within a second or two.  It doesn't.
Here's where it gets weird.  I dial the same phone number using White
Knight (a terminal program) on my Mac, through the same modem, and
hitting the carriage return *does* cause the login: prompt to appear.
So it appears that the carriage return that I think I'm sending is
either not sent at all from the Sun, or somehow mangled.  This seems
to mean that this is a Sun hardware or software problem, not a modem
problem.

The second problem I have is that I do not seem to be able to connect
in V.32 or V.32bis mode.  When I set the Ultima up for either of
these modes, I never get carrier detect when I dial "them".  I have
heard that the ProModem Ultima has some problems, and in fact was
withdrawn from the market.  Can anyone verify this?  What were the
problems?  I know for a fact that despite how the modem was
advertised, and what the front panel implies, the modem is incapable
of doing V.32bis and V.42bis at the same time.  One or the other, but
not both.

Local environment
-----------------

* Sun 4/330, running the unmodified GENERIC SunOS V4.1.1 kernel.
* A Prometheus ProModem Ultima modem connected to /dev/ttya.

Here are the contents of the UUCP control files.  They have been
edited to remove entries that should not enter into the discussion at
hand, and to change the names to protect the innocent (?).

/etc/uucp/Devices
-----------------

  ACU ttya - 38400 ultima-them
  ACU ttya - 9600 ultima-uunet

/etc/uucp/Dialers
-----------------

  #		[Page numbers in Ultima manual]
  # ATDT	[p 3-5]		Tone dial.
  # ATE1	[p 3-6]		Turn on command echo.
  # ATL1	[p 3-8]		Monitor speaker volume (1=low, 3=high).
  # ATMn	[p 3-8]		Monitor speaker control (0 = off).
  # ATQ0	[p 3-10]	Turn on result codes.
  # ATS0=0	[pp 3-10-12]	Do not auto-answer.
  # ATS2=255	[pp 3-10-12]	Set escape char to 0xff (disable).
  # ATS6=n	[p 3-34]	Set dial tone wait limit to n seconds.
  # ATS7=n	[p 3-34]	Set carrier detect wait limit to n seconds.
  # ATS9=n	[pp 3-34-35]	Set carrier detect recognize time to n/10 s.
  # ATS10=n	[p 3-35]	Set carrier detect lost time to n/10 s.
  # ATS12=255	[p 3-35]	Escape code "dead" time.
  # ATV1	[pp 3-12-14]	Result code format [Hayes, no busy redial]
  # ATX1	[pp 3-14-15]	Result code type [blind dial only]
  # ATZ		[p 3-15]	Reset to NVRAM settings.
  # AT&F	[p 3-18]	Reset to factory ROM settings.
  # AT*E0	[p 3-25]	Disable error correction.
  # AT*E9	[p 3-25]	Enable automatic V.42bis
  # AT*F0	[p 3-27]	Disable flow control.
  # AT*N1	[p 3-29]	Set DCE maximum rate to 2400.
  # AT*N3	[p 3-29]	Set DCE maximum rate to 9600.

  # Prometheus ProModem Ultima cranked down to V.32 only. Required for
connect
  # to uunet, which doesn't support V.32bis.

  ultima-uunet	=,-,	""
\dA\pTZTE1V1X1Q0S0=0S2=255S12=255L1*E0*F0*N3\r\c OK\r \EATDT\T\r\c
CONNECT

  # Prometheus ProModem Ultima trying to connect to "them".
  ultima-them	=,-,	"" AT&F\r\c OK \dA\pTZTE1V1X0Q0S0=0L1*N1*E9*F3\r\c
OK\r \EATDT\T\r\e\c CONNECT \d\d\c

/etc/uucp/Systems
-----------------

  # uunet, via Palo Alto, but no UUCP during business hours
  uunet Any ACU 9600 19999999999 "" "" ogin: xxxxxx ssword:
xxxxxxxxxx
  # "them"
  them Any ACU 38400 9999999 "" "" ogin: xxxxxx ssword: xxxxxxxxxx

I know next to nothing about the environment at the other end.  I
have
been told that they are using somewhat unusual equipment, in that the
modems are not connected directly to the computers, but instead are
routed through a network.  I am told that I once I have carrier
detect, I have to wait about five seconds, then send a carriage
return, and I should get a login: prompt.

Output from "Uutry -x9 -r them"
-------------------------------

  mchFind called (them)
  list (rmail) num = 1
  name (them) not found; return FAIL
  list (rmail) num = 1
  name (OTHER) not found; return FAIL
  _Request (FALSE), _Switch (TRUE), _CallBack (FALSE), _MyName (),
_Commands rmail
  chdir(/var/spool/uucp/them)
  conn(them)
  Device Type ACU wanted
  mlock ttya succeeded
  fixline(6, 38400)
  processdev: calling setdevcfg(uucico, ACU)
  gdial(ultima-them) called
  expect: ("")
  got it
  sendthem (<NO CR>AT&F^M)
  expect: (OK)
  AT&F^M^M^JOKgot it
  sendthem (DELAY
  APAUSE
  <NO CR>TZTE1V1X0Q0S0=0L1*N1*E9*F3^M)
  expect: (OK^M)
  ^M^JATZTE1V1X0Q0S0=0L1*N1*E9*F3^M^M^JOK^Mgot it
  sendthem (ECHO CHECK ON
  A^JATTDDTT77555577337755^M^MECHO CHECK OFF
  <NO CR>)
  expect: (CONNECT)
  ^M^JCONNECTgot it
  sendthem (DELAY
  DELAY
  <NO CR>)
  getto ret 6
  expect: ("")
  got it
  ""
  sendthem (^M)
  expect: (ogin:)
   EC^M^Jtimed out
  close caller (6)
  delock(ttya)
  Call Failed: LOGIN FAILED
  exit code 101
  Conversation Complete: Status FAILED

  TM_cnt: 0

I have used this same equipment to connect to UUNET, so I don't
*think* that the hardware or the OS is the problem.  Note that I *am*
using different entries in the Devices, Dialers and Systems files,
so the problem could theoretically be in any of those places.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I've burned entirely too
much time attempting to get this connection in business, and I have
run out of guesses as to what the problem might be.

-- 
Erik Horstkotte, Togai InfraLogic, Inc.
erik@til.til.com, uunet!til!erik - (714) 975-8522
Standard disclaimer: the preceding are my opinions, not TIL's.
Newsgroups: news.sysadmin