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Date:         Wed, 8 Apr 1992 11:04:29 CDT
From:         Tim O'Connor <OCONNORT@elmer1.bobst.nyu.edu>
Subject:      Free LAN Software: Details

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
(Please skip this message if you don't care for detailed descriptions.)

Today I've received quite a few mail messages from people who want to know
about free or cheap networking software for PCs and Novell networks.  Based
on the reaction this weekend, I'm passing along some details.  This message
assumes that you have some basic DOS skills and can already, somehow, do
anonymous FTP.  (For a good introduction to *that* subject, have a look at
the admirable "Zen and the Art of the Internet.")

One person asked:

> Your project sounds great, but could you PLEASE provide specific
> information???

We run a Novell 3.11 network in the library.  The building Ethernet is
bridged to the campus LAN, which has connections to the Internet.

Each networked PC has a Western Digital Ethernet card, which simultaneously
speaks TCP/IP and IPX.  After the Novell login, our users see a menu.  It
offers basic PC applications (WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, R:Base, Windows),
DOS functions (diskette formatting, file copying, and so on), and several
Novell- or network-specific choices (network connections, e-mail, bulletin
boards).

People can pick NETWORK CONNECTIONS, and the system presents a series of
submenus, listed by categories: Bobst Library systems, NYU systems, online
catalogs in the NYC area, commercial databases via Internet or SprintNet,
and fill-in-the-blanks (connect to the Internet host of your choice, using
VT100 or 3270 terminal emulation).

Virtually all NETWORK CONNECTIONS are scripted.  People select from the
menu, and our system connects them right to the remote host's login
prompt.  If the host has a generic login (like "library" or "guest"), we
sign people right in.  If it's a commercial database -- which may cost
money -- people provide account numbers and passwords.  FTP is still in
beta testing; so is the Usenet news reader.  Both are a bit more complex
than telnet connections.

E-mail is automatically routed.  If the recipient is on our machine, that
mail never leaves the server.  If the recipient is on a campus machine, or
at any Internet or BITNET host, the mail goes to the campus mailer, and out
on its way.  (Some of our users regularly exchange mail with people on
Compuserve and MCI, too.)  People with accounts on the campus VAX can issue
"auto-forward" messages; their VAX mail gets delivered to their Novell
accounts automatically.

New users get a 55-page picture book that shows screen displays and offers
some helpful tips.

Enough about us.  Now, the software.

The Western Digital cards need three programs loaded when the PC boots.
The first is a packet driver, so the PC recognizes the Ethernet board.  We
use the Clarkson packet driver, developed by Russell Nelson at Clarkson
University, and distributed freely.  The second is IPX.COM, generated from
the BYU shell driver.  The third is Novell's NETX, which comes with
Netware.  Pointers to the latest Clarkson drivers are available by
anonymous FTP from wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) as:

     /mirrors/msdos/ncsatelnet/pktdrvr.inf

The free BYU shell driver is used to generate the Netware shell (IPX.COM).
The self-extracting file, including software and help files, is available
by anonymous FTP from sun.soe.clarkson.edu (128.153.12.3) as:

     /pub/novell/novell.exe

For electronic mail, we use David Harris's Pegasus Mail, and Brad
Clements's Charon gateway. This is amazing low-cost and free software.
PMail is a very friendly & powerful mailer that allows for just about
everything: personal & systemwide address books, mailing lists, mail
filtering, group mailings, full-screen editing, and plenty more.  If you
have Internet access on your campus, you may be able to install Charon on a
spare XT or AT to act as a mail gateway between the Novell server and your
local Internet host.  You'll need your campus network manager's help for
that part, so the outside world will see your system.

PMail is free -- but if you wish to support the author's efforts, you can
buy a manual for $125; a site license for the manual is $250.  Charon is
free.  It comes with a detailed setup guide.  There is a fine Internet
mailing list for users of PMail and Charon; both David and Brad participate
in the list.  PMail and Charon are available from wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) as:

     /mirrors/msdos/lan/pm*.*
     /mirrors/msdos/lan/char*.*

For telnet and FTP, we use a version of NCSA Telnet, modified by Clarkson
University.  (Clarkson's allows for extensive scripting of telnet
sessions.)  This is free software.  You can get the NCSA version, also
free, with source code.  NCSA Telnet is available from wuarchive.wustl.edu
(128.252.135.4) as:

     /mirrors/msdos/ncsatelnet/tel*.zip

Clarkson's telnet (vt100 and tn3270) is available from sun.soe.clarkson.edu
(128.153.12.3) as:

     /pub/cutcp/tel*.*
     /pub/cutcp/tn3270*.*

If you have to connect two Ethernets together you might need a router or a
bridge.  You can buy one from a catalog (for a lot of money), or you can
devote an AT (with 512K, one floppy, no monitor or keyboard) to be a PC
Bridge or a PC Router.  This software is free and includes source code.  It
is available at wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) as:

     /mirrors/msdos/network/pcbr*.*
     /mirrors/msdos/network/pcrt*.*

If you need a machine that can act as an SMTP mail host, telnet/FTP host,
and list distributor; or that can let you ping network objects; or trace
the path between you and another computer (I use it to locate Internet
congestion between our Novell PCs in NYC and RLIN in Stanford); or do lots
more, you want KA9Q, a real whiz-bang program that is very powerful, but
can be tough to set up.  This software is free.  Source code is available.
Get it at wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) as:

     /mirrors/msdos/ka9q-tcpip/net*.*

Our "front end" -- the menus -- is Direct Access Network, made by Fifth
Generation Systems (the same company that produces Fastback).  We paid less
than $300 for our copy; we get unlimited use on the single server.  It
meters software and is a nice way to shield users from obscure LAN and DOS
commands.  It has some scripting capabilities.

The rest of our system is composed of DOS batches I wrote.  That part of
the system is exceptionally free!  The batches are robust and flexible.
Even better, I never had to touch a programming language.

As I've said in several forums, this kind of project is not as
technological as it may seem.  You need some basic PC skills to make it
work, but you don't need to be a programmer and you don't need an
engineering degree.

Read these next sentences carefully:

You may find that the most difficult part is convincing your management
that you are not blithely walking yourselves down a dead-end.  It's their
job to avoid dead-ends, and they *must* approach a project like this with
healthy skepticism.  It may be your job to innovate, so gather and present
your information carefully.  At NYU, we were fortunate to have strong
management support.  The project could not have succeeded without that.
Consider this if you're writing your own project proposal.

There are tools available right now that will let you save money and
provide friendly, powerful connections to the Internet world.  PACS-L is
one place to discuss this, in general terms.  There's a Novell list, and a
packet-drivers list, and a PMail list.  You have a big community of people
out here who will be happy to help you learn.

--tim o'connor

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
                            Tim O'Connor
Technical Support Coordinator    --    NYU Bobst Library Systems Office
INTERNET: OCONNORT@ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU -- BITNET: OCONNORT@NYUACF.BITNET
      **The usual organizational disclaimers RIGOROUSLY apply**
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU