mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
1538 lines
52 KiB
Plaintext
1538 lines
52 KiB
Plaintext
<!doctype linuxdoc system>
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<article>
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<title>FBB Packet-radio BBS mini-HOWTO
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<author>Miroslav "Misko" Skoric, YT7MPB,
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<tt/m.skoric@eunet.yu/
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<date>v1.11, 2001-11-27
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<abstract>
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<nidx>linux windows nt amateur packet radio</nidx>
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This mini-HOWTO covers the installation and use of
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the most popular amateur packet-radio BBS
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software "FBB". That software works under Linux,
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DOS and Windows operating systems. It serves as a
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bulletin board system (BBS), a mailbox for
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personal messages, a database for various texts,
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documents and binary files, a server for small
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useful calculations etc. Packet radio is a way of
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connecting computers via amateur radio stations.
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</abstract>
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<sect>Introduction
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<p>
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I have been using FBB amateur radio software since
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early nineties. It was the time of DOS operating
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system, so most of us, system administrators (or, so
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called system operators - sysop's), used various
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packet radio software for DOS. Versions of FBB
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packet radio BBS software for DOS, today are
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known as "DosFBB".
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<p>
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I still administer one DosFBB database in the SRV
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(Amateur Radio Union of Vojvodina, a part of SRJ).
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It is DosFBB v7.00g23 that runs on a 486DX computer
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with 16 MB of RAM and Hercules b/w graphics. Since
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last December, it runs without any re-boot (excepting
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some power failures). Before that, it was a bit
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tricky to set up all memory management properly, in
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order to avoid "frozen" system. Although this server
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runs under DOS, its "radio clients" don't depend
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on that. In fact, users of that DosFBB might run
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their client software under DOS, Windows, Linux
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or any other operating system that offer amateur
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packet radio abilities.
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<p>I have also used DosFBB v5.15c at home. Three years
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ago, when I got my new box, Pentium 166 with 32 MB of
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RAM and VGA color graphics, I switched to a Windows
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version of FBB ("WinFBB"). Author of the software, an
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radio amateur from France, Jean-Paul F6FBB, has made many
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versions of WinFBB, including 16 bit variant for
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Windows 3.x and Windows 9x as well as 32 bit variant for
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Windows NT. I have run both variants until now
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(at the moment it is 16 bit WinFBB v7.00g25 that runs
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ok under Windows NT 4.0).
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<p>New: Since Spring 2001, I run WinFBB v7.00i
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(17 March 2001) under Windows 2000 Professional.
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<p>The main
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difference between DosFBB and WinFBB is that the
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second one offers you to do other jobs with your
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computer, while FBB is running as just any other
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application. Beside that, it is always nice to
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copy a text from another application (for example,
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from an Internet email) and to paste it into a
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packet radio message, or vice versa.
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<p>In the mean time, I upgraded my system to the
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Celeron 400 MHz with 96 MB of RAM and a big hard
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disk that has enough room to install Linux and try
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LinFBB ...
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<p>New: In July 2001, I added 128 MB of RAM so my
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home system is very confortable now.
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<p>Finally, you should be aware what I want to
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have here:
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<tscreen><verb>
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1. WinFBB when I run Windows.
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2. LinFBB when I run Linux. It should be an
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Xwindows application that may be
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started/stopped similarly to WinFBB.
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That's why X11 LinFBB package is used.
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3. LinFBB when I run Linux, but as a daemon
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that runs in the background. In addition,
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an interface for a local user (myself)
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is needed, as well as an interface to
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monitor the radio chanell.
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4. All three versions must be capable to
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use the same configuration files, i.e.
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to be able, for example, to begin from
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the exact position where the other
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version finished its previous session.
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5. I am not an expert in Linux, so I am
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only able to install "factory-made"
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packages for Linux (just like to install
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self executing software packages under
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Windows). So, no (re)compilations here :-)
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</verb></tscreen>
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<sect>How to install X11 (Xwindows) version of LinFBB
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<p>
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<itemize>
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<item>First of all, you should have running Linux
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with a GUI installed. I am fully satisfied
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with Gnome GUI but I suppose that KDE will
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be ok too (or any other GUI available).
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<p>
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<item>Download or copy LinFBB (the main ftp site
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is <url url="http://ftp.f6fbb.org/" name=
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"ftp.f6fbb.org"> but there are many mirror
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sites too). For example, if you get a file
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like <tscreen><verb>x700e_full.tgz</verb></tscreen>
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it means that it is X11 version 7.00e and it
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contains all you need in tgz archive to install
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the BBS. On the other hand, a name like
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<tscreen><verb>xd700g_full.tgz</verb></tscreen>
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means that it is not X11 but daemon version 7.00g
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and it is also complete to unpack. Further,
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<tscreen><verb>x700f01.tgz</verb></tscreen>
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and <tscreen><verb>x700g.tgz</verb></tscreen>
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are "upgrades" to any previous "full" package.
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For example, after I have upgraded to <tt>x700g.tgz</tt>
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I started to run X11 LinFBB 7.00g (04 August 1998).
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Btw, X11 versions are not maintained anymore, but
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I still run it here. It has some bugs but I like it.
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<p>
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<item>Copy the archive file in <bf>/tmp</bf> directory.
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<p>
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<item>You have to make a "base" directory where
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your FBB will be installed. For example you
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may type: <bf>mkdir /usr/local/fbb</bf> if you want
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FBB to be there. You have to be logged as
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'root' or 'superuser' to install FBB.
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<p>
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<item>Then, you should locate yourself in that
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directory: <bf>cd /usr/local/fbb</bf>.
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<p>
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<item>Now, you should unpack the archive:
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<bf>tar xvzf /tmp/x700b25.tgz</bf> (<-- use the right
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name of the archive here).
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<p>
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<item>When you finished unpacking the archive,
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you may continue installing the software:
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<bf>./install.sh</bf> is the command for that. The
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setup will ask you for the 'base' directory
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where FBB will be installed. If you chose
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<bf>/usr/local/fbb</bf> again, you will be told that
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such directory already exists and all files
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will be overwritten. It is ok, so you should
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answer yes. If everything is ok, you should
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see on the screen that fbb system
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directories are created. At the beginning
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of that procedure, program will ask you for
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bbs's callsign, name of the city, QTH
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locator, your name etc. That details will
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become a part of <bf>/usr/local/fbb/init.srv</bf>
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file.
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<p>
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<item>After that, you MUST check this file
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<bf>again</bf> manually in order to fix some other
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details needed (because installation script does
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not fix all parts within that file).
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<p>
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<item>Well, so far - so good. After you have checked
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all configuration files, you may start the
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software: <bf>./xfbb.sh</bf> (<-- type this within
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an xterm or something similar). When you
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start your BBS for the first time, it will ask
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you to create some files it needs, so you
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should answer "yes" to the questions.
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</itemize>
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<p>
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<sect>How to install LinFBB in addition to existing WinFBB
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<p>
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<em>Notice: Folks, you see, at my place, I have a
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dual-boot system, consisting of Windows NT and
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Linux (each of them having their own partition(s)
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and file system). I wanted to have 'independent'
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operating systems that won't see each other. So I
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made two NT's partitions as NTFS partitions and
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rest of the space used Linux as ext2 partitions.
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Well, first I have installed WinFBB under NT and X11
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LinFBB under Linux. Both of them worked, but there
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was a big "problem": I could not share their
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system files. You might say: So, what a big deal.
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But, my FBB's should serve as packet-radio forwarding
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stations (regardless of which one I boot at the
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moment), so it was really needed for new LinFBB
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to "know", for example, the position where WinFBB
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has stopped the mail exchange last time (and vice
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versa, of course).</em>
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<p>
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<itemize>
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<item>Well, in order to allow both WinFBB under
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Windows NT and LinFBB under Linux to use
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some common files, it is needed to put these
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files in a place where both operating systems can
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"see". So I do that by re-installing
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WinFBB onto a FAT (FAT16) partition that is
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recognized by NT and Linux too. The best way to do
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that is to install a "fresh" copy of WinFBB on
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a FAT partition and to copy complete "old"
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WinFBB from NTFS partition over the fresh
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installation (whenever you are asked to
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rewrite existing files, you should answer
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"yes").
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<p>
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<item>When that is finished, you should have a "clone"
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of the existing old WinFBB, but this time on
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the FAT partition that is visible from under
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Linux. Anyway, you should check if the "new"
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installation is able to run as the "old" one.
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<p>
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<item>I could also recommend you to check the file
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tree of WinFBB in order to become more
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familiar with it. The file tree of LinFBB
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is a bit different so it is advisable to
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note various details here and there.
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<p>
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<item>Some files can't be used as they are under <em>both</em>
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operating systems (without some neccesary
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changes). That's why some file names should
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be renamed (or, at least, you should make
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appropriate copies of some files):
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<p>
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<tscreen><verb>
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init.srv -> init_w.srv
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forward.sys -> forw_w.sys
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port.sys -> port_w.sys
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protect.sys -> prot_w.sys
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</verb></tscreen>
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<p>
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FBB is able to recognize and accept those renamed files.
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<p>
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<item>Make a backup of the actual WinFBB (I do this
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by copying the whole WinFBB file structure into
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the other Windows partition that <em>won't</em> be
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shared with Linux, like NTFS one). You'll never
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know when a catastrophe may happen, so as a result,
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you won't be able to start neither of WinFBB or new
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LinFBB. As a precaution, the backup might be the
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easiest way to recover at least the old WinFBB for
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a while (until you configure your new LinFBB, ok?).
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<p>
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<item>Now, you should restart your machine and boot
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into Linux. Log on as 'root' or make 'su' from a
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user's account.
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<p>
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<item>Mount a shared FAT directory (where FBB files are):
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<bf>mount -t vfat /dev/hda2 /mnt/win</bf>
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(for example).
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<p>
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<item>Copy LinFBB archive to <bf>/tmp</bf> directory.
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<p>
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<item>Position yourself to the 'base' directory:
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<bf>cd /usr/local/fbb</bf> (for example).
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<p>
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<item>Unpack the archive: <bf>tar xvzf /tmp/filename</bf>.
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<p>
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<item>Start the installation script <bf>./install.sh</bf>
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and, after asked for the 'base' installation
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directory, chose <bf>/usr/local/fbb</bf>. It doesn't
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matter if the program warns you that such
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directory already exists so existing files
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will be overwritten (by the way, if you
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choose a mounted directory shared with NT,
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many original WinFBB files, located there, would be
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over-written by LinFBB files, so after returning
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to Windows, WinFBB might not be functional
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like before).
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<p>
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<item>Copy <bf>/usr/local/fbb</bf> to <bf>/mnt/win/fbb</bf> but do
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*not* rewrite existing files with the new files
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having the same names.
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<p>
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<item>Copy <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init_w.srv</bf> to
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<bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv</bf> file.
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<p>
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<item>Edit <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv</bf> to what is
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needed for Linux. You may use the existing
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file <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init.srv</bf> as an example.
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<p>
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<item>Copy newly edited <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init_l.srv</bf>
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over the <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/init.srv</bf> (if you do
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not do that, maybe you wouldn't be able to start LinFBB
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using <bf>./xfbb.sh</bf>, like me at first).
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<p>
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<item>Copy <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/port_w.sys</bf> to
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<bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/port_l.sys</bf> file.
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<p>
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<item>Edit <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/port_l.sys</bf> to
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what is needed for Linux and LinFBB. You may use the
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existing file <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/port.sys</bf>
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as an example.
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<p>
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<item>Edit <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/xfbb.sh</bf> in order to fix
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the right path.
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<p>
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<item>Ensure that you are in FBB's main directory:
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<bf>cd /mnt/win/fbb</bf> (for example).
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<p>
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<item>Start the script <bf>./xfbb.sh</bf> to run LinFBB.
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If everything is ok, your LinFBB under Linux
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should run with the same configuration as
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your "old" WinFBB under Windows. From this point,
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both FBB's should behave very similar (actually,
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I must admit that WinFBB has much better visual
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quality than X11 LinFBB, but probably the reasons
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for that you may find in Windows-vs.-Linux-GUI
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quality battles). FYI, my actual WinFBB is v7.00g25
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(05 January 2000) and X11 LinFBB is v7.00g (04 August
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1998).
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<p>
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<item>Although this combination WinFBB/X11 LinFBB works ok, I
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have noticed some problems. For example, LinFBB
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was not able to use <tt>amsat</tt> forward_to_file routine
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(located in <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/fwd</bf> directory),
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because that file was composed like this (for example):
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<p>
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<tscreen><verb>
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A AMSAT
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*
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P @
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*
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C D:\FBB\SYSTEM\SAT\AMSAT.TXT <-- looks familiar to DOS/Windows only
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*
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G AMSAT
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*
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--------
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</verb></tscreen>
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<p>
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On the other side, LinFBB's <tt>amsat.sys</tt> (located
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in <bf>/etc/ax25/fbb/fwd</bf> directory) has suggested
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something like this:
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<p>
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<tscreen><verb>
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A AMSAT
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*
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P @
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*
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C /var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt <-- looks familiar to Linux only
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*
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G AMSAT
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*
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--------
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</verb></tscreen>
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<p>
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Well, then I copied LinFBB's <tt>amsat.sys</tt>
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into <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/fwd</bf> directory so
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it could become functional. As a result, I got
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<em>two</em> <tt>amsat.txt</tt> files, one of them
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for each of WinFBB/LinFBB, and of course, both files
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appeared on different locations: the first one was
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<bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system/sat/amsat.txt</bf> and it
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was filled by WinFBB; the other one was in
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<bf>/var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt</bf> and was filled by
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LinFBB. I didn't like it that way.
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<p>
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In order to have only <em>one</em> result,
|
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regardless of FBB version, the newly copied
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<tt>amsat.sys</tt> had to be slightly changed:
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<p>
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<tscreen><verb>
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A AMSAT
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*
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P @
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*
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*C /var/ax25/fbb/sat/amsat.txt
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C /mnt/win/fbb/system/sat/amsat.txt
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*
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G AMSAT
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*
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--------
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</verb></tscreen>
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<p>
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As you can see now, when LinFBB is active, its
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<tt>amsat.sys</tt> will not forward into
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its "native" location of <tt>amsat.txt</tt>.
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Instead of that, it will go to the location
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of the WinFBB's <tt>amsat.txt</tt> and just
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add some new materials into it, ok?
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<p>
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Well, now it's up to you to decide what to do
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with your growing <tt>amsat.txt</tt>. An old
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DosFBB manual says that the 'batch' file
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(I suppose, the old good <tt>APPEL.BAT</tt>)
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should be adopted in order for <bf>SATUPDAT.EXE</bf>
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can update <em>sat</em> tracking data and, after
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that, to erase AMSAT.TXT because it is not
|
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needed anymore. Well, I haven't found a way to
|
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manage that in both WinFBB and LinFBB. Actually,
|
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whenever I perform housekeeping from either of them,
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it seems that AMSAT.TXT remains intact. Happily,
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it doesn't grow too much, so it's not a big problem.
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Any suggestion here?
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</itemize>
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<p>
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<sect>How to install Protus password utility
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<p>
|
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<em>Notice: Well, I have been using Protus
|
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connection filters for a long time now. At
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first, it was version 3.1/1.2 for DosFBB515c
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and, later, version 3.3 for Dos/WinFBB700.
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I have found Protus as very useful utility
|
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because of its implementation of BBS-to-BBS
|
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forwarding protection using MD2 algorythm.
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One of the reasons I am going to cover Protus
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in this document is a fact that its author
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haven't made a manual in english yet. I keep
|
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trying to translate the original manuals
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from spanish into english, but it is a hard
|
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process. Any good 'spanish-to-english'
|
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translator is welcomed to contact me:
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<htmlurl url="mailto:m.skoric@eunet.yu"
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name="m.skoric@eunet.yu">.</em>
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<p>
|
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Protus offers several interesting features:
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<p>
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<itemize>
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<item>It can send a presentation message to
|
|
all users, informing about possibility
|
|
to make users' access more safe,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>It can send messages to users who have
|
|
normal access, informing about utility's
|
|
existence,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>It can send messages to users who have no
|
|
valid access (before disconnecting them),
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>It can send messages to new users who have
|
|
connected the BBS for the first time, informing
|
|
them about the password utility.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>It can send messages to users who have entered
|
|
wrong password (before disconnecting them),
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>It can inform sysop about almost everything
|
|
related to users' connections (new user on
|
|
the system, unsuccessful connections etc),
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Messages mentioned above could be translated
|
|
into various languages and used similarly as various
|
|
language files that FBB uses,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Messages mentioned above could be different
|
|
for different BBS ports,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Protus could be activated/deactivated at various
|
|
intervals of time using CRON.SYS system file,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Passwords could be managed remotely, using an
|
|
external server, developed by Jose EB5IVB,
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>...
|
|
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Well, let's see what should be done in order to
|
|
implement secure access to the FBB packet
|
|
radio BBS, using Protus type of, so called, <em>c_filter</em>:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
|
|
<item>Users of Dos/WinFBB versions of Protus
|
|
already know that it is needed to create a new
|
|
directory <bf>\FBB\PROTUS</bf> where several *.PRT
|
|
files should be placed. In addition, the
|
|
main C_FILT*.DLL files should be copied
|
|
into <bf>\FBB\BIN</bf> as well as a couple of "system",
|
|
(i.e. config) *.PRT files that are going to be
|
|
within <bf>\FBB\SYSTEM</bf> directory.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>After the sysop has copied all files into
|
|
the proper locations, it is needed to make
|
|
some configuration. The most important files
|
|
are two "system" ones: <tt>CONFIG.PRT</tt> and <tt>USERS.PRT</tt>
|
|
that should be carefully adopted to any
|
|
particular situation. Other *.PRT files will
|
|
work as they are in original, but they might
|
|
be translated because they are originated
|
|
in spanish (those files are just textual
|
|
information that are sent to users who
|
|
connect to the BBS). For your information,
|
|
I usualy don't care much about, because my
|
|
BBS's are so called "open systems". It means
|
|
they work quite normal for <em>all</em> users in the
|
|
same way as they worked <em>before</em> implementing Protus.
|
|
Only a couple of callsigns have password
|
|
installed and, when connecting, they know
|
|
what they are doing, so, they don't need
|
|
any additional info. Your mileage may vary.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>So far - so good. When everything mentioned is
|
|
done, you have to restart your FBB in order
|
|
for Protus utility to be activated. In all
|
|
connections to your BBS (including console),
|
|
you should see a line like this: <bf>{PROTUS-4.0}</bf>
|
|
just after a line [[FBB-7.00-AB1FHMRX$]. It
|
|
only gives an information that Protus is active on the
|
|
system. Users of your system who don't have
|
|
their passwords, connect just normally as before.
|
|
Users who's callsigns have password implemented,
|
|
are prompted for password just after their connections.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>The author of Protus, Jesus EB5AGF, has made
|
|
several working "modes" of its utility. It
|
|
is possible for users to get various kinds
|
|
of security: a fixed phrase as a password
|
|
(similar when you connect to the Internet
|
|
via telephone line, but this way the phrase
|
|
can be masqueraded within the longer answer);
|
|
a changeable answer to the 5 numbers (just
|
|
like usual FBB sysop's password); a mode
|
|
that uses automatic answer from user's client
|
|
packet programs; implementation of MD2 and
|
|
MD5 algorythms; FBB-to-FBB automatic forward
|
|
protection etc. FYI, my WinFBB is equipped
|
|
with 16-bit Protus 4.0 (13. August 1999).
|
|
There is also a 32-bit module of the same date
|
|
that would be called from within 32-bit WinFBB
|
|
(I haven't tested those two).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, the situation regarding working location
|
|
of Protus files under LinFBB is somewhat different.
|
|
I have become familiar to the directory structure
|
|
that DosFBB and WinFBB versions of Protus have
|
|
been using, so I considered that it was enough
|
|
just to copy the same directory structure when
|
|
I started the installation of Protus under LinFBB.
|
|
It was wrong. After having pulled out the
|
|
remaining hair, the things started to work, so,
|
|
now I am going to tell you what to do.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>I have already told you that I have
|
|
been running here both WinFBB under Windows NT
|
|
and LinFBB under Linux (see also <tt>Linux+WinNT
|
|
mini-HOWTO</tt> and <tt>Lilo mini-HOWTO</tt>). That means
|
|
all Protus stuff has already been installed in
|
|
a way WinFBB has required, except <em>Linux</em>
|
|
executable of <em>c_filter</em> file. I
|
|
put that file into <bf>/fbb/bin</bf> directory and,
|
|
after the next restart of LinFBB, I got the
|
|
info mentioned above: {PROTUS-4.0}. But the
|
|
password protection was not likely to work.
|
|
I was told to make a new directory <bf>/var/ax25/fbb/protus</bf>
|
|
and put *.prt files there. I <em>didn't move</em> *.PRT
|
|
files from <bf>\FBB\PROTUS</bf> but <em>copied</em> them into
|
|
the new location, because I wanted Protus to
|
|
run further under WinFBB as before. The utility
|
|
still didn't want to run, unless I copied
|
|
<em>also</em> *.PRT files from <bf>\FBB\SYSTEM</bf> to the
|
|
new location (<bf>/var/ax25/fbb/protus</bf>). After I
|
|
did that, Protus became fully functional.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, I suppose, the above info would be
|
|
useful for those of you who intend to run
|
|
*both* Windows and Linux FBB's on the same machine.
|
|
For the majority of LinFBB-only users, it is just
|
|
important to make <bf>/var/ax25/fbb/protus</bf>
|
|
where <em>all</em> *.prt files should be placed. <em>Only</em>
|
|
c_filter executable should go to <bf>/fbb/bin</bf>
|
|
and that's it.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>About FBB-to-FBB protection: *both* partners
|
|
have to install Protus. Password for the
|
|
forwarding partner's callsign must be the
|
|
same at *both* sides of the link. The versions
|
|
of Protus don't need to be the same (neither
|
|
the versions of FBB, neither the operating
|
|
systems, HI!). Anyway, MD5 algorythm will only
|
|
work if both parties have Protus 4.x and
|
|
above (I still don't use that, but it is not
|
|
a problem, because my two boxes, DosFBB/Protus3.3 and
|
|
WinFBB/LinFBB/Protus4.0, make all things ok with MD2).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>One of the interesting features of Protus is to
|
|
log unsuccessful connections. Due to the
|
|
<em>different</em> locations of *.prt files here, I have
|
|
separate logs for WinFBB and LinFBB c_filtering.
|
|
Those of you who are going to run only one version of
|
|
FBB, will have <em>one</em> complete log of connection
|
|
errors, your users make when they try
|
|
connecting your BBS.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>As it was told earlier, if you implemented
|
|
password protection for only <em>some</em> of your
|
|
users (but not for all of them who connect
|
|
normally) - your system is considered as
|
|
an "open" one. It means that will be logged
|
|
only unsuccessful tries to enter the system
|
|
by "protected" callsigns. But, if you decided
|
|
that your BBS can be accessed by <em>only</em> those
|
|
callsigns who are protected with Protus, it
|
|
means that your system is the "closed" one.
|
|
Then, there is no way a user could enter your
|
|
FBB unless its callsign has given a password
|
|
within your Protus. Any unauthorized try to
|
|
connect your BBS is logged.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>In addition,
|
|
you may decide to have a "guest" access or
|
|
a "read-only" as <em>default</em> for some ports
|
|
and/or for users who enter the wrong password.
|
|
Many combinations are possible. You could
|
|
even password protect your own FBB console!
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>To finish with this topic for now, just to
|
|
inform you that my X11 LinFBB is equipped
|
|
with Protus v4.1b7 (15. February 2000). It
|
|
has some minor bugs, for example, it logs
|
|
incoming connections with a SSID of -48 if
|
|
a user doesn't have a SSID at all (of
|
|
course, a SSID of -0 would be expectible
|
|
in such case).
|
|
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect>How to install daemon version of LinFBB
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>Notice: You see, folks, that I keep trying to get
|
|
as many as possible versions of this great
|
|
software (Jean-Paul, F6FBB, must be very proud after
|
|
reading these words now). What I think when mention
|
|
"as many as possible versions" means that we have
|
|
learned how to get both WinFBB and X11 LinFBB on
|
|
the same computer. But, that's not all. There is a
|
|
variety of daemon versions of LinFBB. In this section
|
|
we are going to discuss how to *add* a daemon LinFBB
|
|
to the existing two: X11 LinFBB and WinFBB!</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
|
|
<item>Well, many amateurs have suggested me to install
|
|
a couple of packages that weren't look to me as
|
|
too much needed for LinFBB daemon - to be run.
|
|
Anyway, I installed those packages <em>before</em>
|
|
the installation of LinFBB itself:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
libax25.rpm
|
|
ax25apps.rpm
|
|
ax25tool.rpm
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Now it is the right time to install <tt>fbbsrv.rpm</tt>
|
|
package. The archive was composed to make its
|
|
own directories, as "base" directories. The last new
|
|
version to start with, that I have managed to find as
|
|
a <tt>.rpm</tt> package, was 7.01f Release 4 (09. December
|
|
1999).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>A file called <bf>fbb.conf</bf>, serving as the
|
|
replacement for <bf>init.srv</bf>, is placed in the
|
|
location: <bf>/etc/ax25/fbb.conf</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item><em>Unless</em> you are going to install daemon-<em>only</em>
|
|
system, you should make a backup of the
|
|
following existing files:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
dirmes.sys
|
|
etat.sys
|
|
heard.bin
|
|
inf.sys
|
|
statis.dat
|
|
tpstat.sys
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Now you have to edit <bf>/etc/ax25/fbb.conf</bf>
|
|
and change some paths in case you already
|
|
have X11 LinFBB installed on a <em>different</em>
|
|
path. Here you have some examples that cover
|
|
my particular situation...
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of data files, instead of /var/ax25/fbb,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of config files, instead of /etc/ax25/fbb,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/system</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of message files, instead of /var/ax25/fbb/mail,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/mail</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of compressed files, instead of /var/ax25/fbb/binmail,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/binmail</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of users, instead of .../home/fbbdos/...,
|
|
should be ...<bf>/mnt/win/fbb/users</bf>... (case you
|
|
don't mind that both your WinFBB and LinFBB users handle
|
|
the same location for users' files)
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of YAPP files, instead of /home/fbbdos/yapp,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/users/yapp</bf> (the same
|
|
reason as above)
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of documentation files, instead of
|
|
/var/ax25/fbb/docs, should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/docs</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Directory of pg programs, instead of /usr/local/pg,
|
|
should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/pg</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Path and filename for import file, instead of
|
|
C:\FBB\MAIL.IN should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb/mail.in</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Now you have to edit <bf>/usr/sbin/xfbb.sh</bf>
|
|
and change some paths in case you already
|
|
have running X11 version of LinFBB on a <em>different</em>
|
|
path. Here you have an example that cover
|
|
my particular situation...
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Base directory of XFBB software, instead of
|
|
/var/ax25/fbb, should be <bf>/mnt/win/fbb</bf>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>So far - so good. Now it is the time to start
|
|
LinFBB daemon. The command for that is in the
|
|
location: <bf>/usr/sbin/xfbb.sh</bf> and it may
|
|
be executed within an <em>xterm</em>. If
|
|
everything is OK, you should get several
|
|
system messages on your screen, ending with
|
|
something like:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
xfbbC/X server running ...
|
|
xfbbd ready and running ...
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, daemon itself can't be used to access the
|
|
BBS so it is needed to activate a <em>client</em>
|
|
that is <bf>/usr/sbin/xfbbC</bf>. It has a couple
|
|
of parameters (a callsign/password pairs that are
|
|
stored in <bf>/fbb/passwd.sys</bf>). Note that xfbbC can
|
|
also be activated within another <em>xterm</em>.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>If you are like me, you would like to activate one
|
|
more <em>xterm</em> with xfbbC in a way to monitor
|
|
your radio frequency. If you have enough room on
|
|
your screen, you may place all three <em>xterm</em>
|
|
windows side by side.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>When you finish your xfbbC console session, it is suitable
|
|
to use the same <em>xterm</em> to eventually stop the
|
|
daemon. First of all, with the command <bf>ps ax</bf>
|
|
you should locate PIDs of xfbb.sh shell and daemon itself,
|
|
that you may <bf>kill</bf> after that.
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect>How to install an "upgrade" to daemon version of LinFBB
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect1>LinFBB v7.02g
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>Notice: Well, the main trouble I have discovered with 7.01f
|
|
daemon was the absence of Protus c_filter protection. As I told you
|
|
before, Protus is a "third-party" product, so it might have
|
|
some problems with the compatibility to LinFBB itself. Anyway,
|
|
it is also possible that a daemon version of LinFBB has some
|
|
special requirements over some "third-party" software.</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
|
|
<item>I also noticed that my version of Protus was <em>newer</em>
|
|
than the version of daemon LinFBB I had at first. Beside
|
|
that, some hams, as well as F6FBB himself, have suggested me
|
|
to upgrade LinFBB. I have also found a "problem" that I am
|
|
still new in compiling Linux software, so, I'd rather
|
|
look for pre-compiled packages to install easily.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Jose, HI8GN, has offered daemon LinFBB v7.02g as a
|
|
<tt>.rpm</tt> package (18 September 2000). I got it
|
|
from his site:
|
|
<url url="http://hi8gn.dynip.com/indice.html" name=
|
|
"http://hi8gn.dynip.com/indice.html">. But, when I tried
|
|
to install it <em>over</em> the previous version 7.01f, it
|
|
complained about some existing LinFBB files.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Then I had to uninstall the old package, after what
|
|
some config files remained in their locations, but
|
|
with new <tt>.rpmsave</tt> extensions. It was nice,
|
|
so I could use them later to update my new-installed
|
|
config files.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Btw, the installation of Jose's package was performed
|
|
without problems, but the new daemon was not likely to run
|
|
as I expected, although I tried to configure it as best
|
|
as I could. Not quite sure, but it looked to me that F6FBB
|
|
is likely to implement some changes not only to the main
|
|
executables but to shell files too. So, I have decided to
|
|
save copies of these new
|
|
<tt>xfbbd</tt> and <tt>xfbbC</tt> executables from 7.02g
|
|
package (I have made it with adding extensions like
|
|
.702 to the files). After that, I *uninstalled* the rest
|
|
of that 7.02 <tt>.rpm</tt>, in order to install the previous
|
|
version of LinFBB once again - the version that I was
|
|
satisfied with.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>So far - so good. The "old" 7.01f version was installed again
|
|
and tested one more time to be sure it was ok. Then, I just
|
|
copied the previously saved executables from the new package,
|
|
over the "old" executables. In a couple of minutes, the new
|
|
daemon LinFBB v7.02g has come in place and function. Comments...?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, the new daemon is likely to check for some more directories
|
|
than the older version (mostly regarding <tt>7plus</tt>
|
|
operations). Next, its <tt>xfbbC</tt> console client looks better
|
|
than the previous version. But, I still miss
|
|
<tt>xfbbX</tt> client, that I have found not functional.
|
|
I hope it will be fixed soon. Finally, Protus
|
|
<tt>c_filter</tt> utility is active too.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>An interesting question might be: is that now a really upgraded
|
|
LinFBB daemon or not? Actually, I haven't changed the "old"
|
|
script <tt>xfbbd.sh</tt> with the new one, because during the
|
|
first tests with the new 7.02 I was getting lots of error messages.
|
|
Looks that the directory structure was a bit complicated for me
|
|
to set properly within the new version of <tt>xfbbd.sh</tt>.
|
|
After I returned to <tt>xfbbd.sh</tt> from 7.01 package, the
|
|
BBS finally started to be run, though without some functions
|
|
like over-night maintaining (that one problem I solve in a way
|
|
to boot the BBS as WinFBB under Windows NT where that task is ok).
|
|
In addition, there are still some mysterious messages telling
|
|
that <tt>m_filter</tt> has not been found or something like that.
|
|
The next tasks are to solve these issues.
|
|
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect1>LinFBB v7.03
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>Notice: As I have said in the previous section,
|
|
I haven't found an easy way to upgrade FBB's (its main
|
|
executables), without temporary uninstalling an
|
|
older version, then to install the new version - in
|
|
order to get new executables. After that is done, a
|
|
reverse procedure must be put in place.</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
|
|
<item>Well, it was needed to get 7.03 package (09 December 2000)
|
|
as an <tt>.rpm</tt> package from
|
|
<url url="http://www.f6fbb.org/versions.html"
|
|
name="www.f6fbb.org/versions.html">,
|
|
that was suggested by Jean-Paul, F6FBB. Anyway,
|
|
soon after there appeared several mirror sites,
|
|
offering 7.03 too.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>If you use <em>GnomeRPM</em>, it is easy to uninstall
|
|
your actual LinFBB (If you just try to install new
|
|
<tt>.rpm</tt> over the existing LinFBB you will get
|
|
some error messages complaining that you already have
|
|
FBB installed on the computer). Anyway, after
|
|
the uninstallation, there you will find some config
|
|
files as <tt>.rpmsave</tt> files, so you could use
|
|
them later again.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Installation of 7.03 package will give you
|
|
new executables in <bf>/usr/sbin</bf> directory.
|
|
Those new executables should be temporary given
|
|
extensions like <tt>.703</tt> (for example).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>So far - so good. Now you should *uninstall* the
|
|
7.03 package (of course, <tt>.703</tt> files won't
|
|
be unistalled automatically).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Once again, you should *install* the <em>last</em>
|
|
one version of LinFBB daemon, that works ok with its
|
|
own <tt>xfbb.sh</tt> (in my case, that is 7.01f).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>For sure, many of you might find it odd, but
|
|
now it is the right time for the executables from
|
|
<bf>/usr/sbin</bf> (I mean of all fbb executables,
|
|
except those who were renamed to <tt>.703</tt>) to get
|
|
their new extensions (in my case, that is <tt>.701</tt>).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, after that is performed, <tt>.703</tt> files
|
|
should *lose* their previously attached extensions,
|
|
in order to become usable.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Folks, on that point I usually hold my breath, <bf>cd</bf>
|
|
to <bf>/usr/sbin</bf> and type: <bf>xfbb.sh</bf>
|
|
following with an Enter. If everything is fine, several
|
|
lines should scroll on the screen, ending with
|
|
something like:
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
xfbbC/X server running ...
|
|
xfbbd ready and running ...
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>If you don't get something similar on your <em>xterm</em>
|
|
'window' (or on other appropriate terminal
|
|
utility), you're out of luck, so you might go
|
|
thru the procedure once again in order to be
|
|
sure you did all what was needed to be done :->
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item><bf>/usr/sbin/xfbbC</bf> is the easiest way to
|
|
check if your new 7.03 is in the game
|
|
or not. When I mention xfbbC it is good to let
|
|
you know, that I kept living in a belief that
|
|
xfbbC is also useful for regular telnet users
|
|
(who are also supposed to 'connect' to the BBS via
|
|
the same computer's console, where LinFBB is
|
|
running from). But, I have discovered that my
|
|
users, who were <em>not</em> declared as sysops,
|
|
are allowed to read all messages (including all
|
|
private messages), as well as to have some
|
|
other sysop's abilities. I did think it was
|
|
a matter of probably wrong declared security flags.
|
|
But, it was not.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Recently, I was informed that <bf>xfbbC</bf>
|
|
is suitable only for sysops, but other users
|
|
(who also might have local keyboard access)
|
|
should rather try:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
telnet localhost 6300
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>... where 'localhost' and '6300' may vary from
|
|
system to system. I was pleasently surprised
|
|
when discovered that <bf>telnet</bf> is much more
|
|
useful for regular users than <bf>xfbbC</bf>.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Folks, I think of making a section about the
|
|
FBB's system configuration. Until something
|
|
like that appear on the net, you should know
|
|
that all of those callsigns who are going to
|
|
use <bf>xfbbC</bf> have to be added into
|
|
your <tt>passwd.sys</tt> file. And, all of
|
|
those who are going to <bf>telnet</bf> into
|
|
the BBS have to be declared as users with
|
|
a 'M' flag (modem users). It is up to your
|
|
security precautions, if either of them will
|
|
have <em>'root'</em> abilities to the Linux box.
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>My next issue is to use an old 286/12 MHz box,
|
|
having 1 MB of RAM and running DOS 5.0 as a
|
|
'telnet client' computer. That box also has
|
|
a NIC and I would like to 'connect' to the
|
|
BBS computer from that 'telnet client' box.
|
|
Due to my preparation for starting another
|
|
LinFBB in the local school club, where I
|
|
should have several old 286 boxes, would
|
|
be nice to offer more than one kid to
|
|
'connect' the BBS simultanously, using
|
|
a bunch of 'telnet client' computers.
|
|
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect1>LinFBB v7.04
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>Notice: Maybe I have already told you that I
|
|
use Red Hat 6.2 at home. That's why I usualy look
|
|
for <tt>.rpm</tt> packages that have been made for
|
|
that Linux distribution. And not only that. I have
|
|
also tried Red Hat 7.1 but it seemed not to support
|
|
Xwindows LinFBB 7.00g (04 August 1998). When I saw
|
|
that, I switched back to Red Hat 6.2.</em>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
|
|
<item>Well, <tt>xfbb-7.04-2.i386.rpm</tt> (07 August 2001)
|
|
have been downloaded from
|
|
<url url="http://www.f6fbb.org/versions.html"
|
|
name="www.f6fbb.org/versions.html">
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Folks, this time I decided to install v7.04
|
|
as a completely "fresh" installation, i.e.
|
|
without parts of a previous daemon on the disk.
|
|
It means that I have uninstalled previous
|
|
daemon version of LinFBB and, in addition,
|
|
removed all older executables (of course, before
|
|
the uninstalation, I made the backup of some
|
|
config files that are not version depending
|
|
(like <tt>/etc/fbb.conf</tt>), in order not
|
|
to edit usual "defaults" again and again :-)
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>The setup procedure has reported some dependency
|
|
issues. I didn't want to get bored with them
|
|
so I did install the package once again with
|
|
"--force" and "--nodeps" options.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>So far - so good. Then I replaced a couple of
|
|
default files with the saved ones, then mounted
|
|
WinFBB's FAT partition, made a pray and started
|
|
LinFBB's daemon. In order to accomplish that, it
|
|
was a new experience to try HI8GN's
|
|
script <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb start</bf> within an
|
|
<em>xterm</em> to start the thing. Although there
|
|
was no usual
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
xfbbC/X server running ...
|
|
xfbbd ready and running ...
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
on the screen, TNC's <em>PTT</em> lamp showed
|
|
that a beacon was transmitted.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Then I wanted to use HI8GN's <bf>/usr/sbin/monitor</bf>
|
|
to see what's going on on the frequency. Although
|
|
I got something like
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Connecting localhost ... Ok
|
|
Authentication in progress ... Ok
|
|
Monitoring channel 0 ...
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
there wasn't any traffic on the screen. In order to really
|
|
monitor the channel, I had to start another <em>xterm</em>
|
|
and type:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
telnet localhost 6300
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
and from FBB's prompt enter the gateway, type
|
|
the "M" command you are familiar with etc. But,
|
|
interestingly, as soon as I telnet'ed to the
|
|
BBS, <bf>/usr/sbin/monitor</bf> window, mentioned
|
|
above, started
|
|
to copy whatever was going on the telnet xterm
|
|
(until that telnet session was closed). I wondered
|
|
if that was ok or not because I expected to see
|
|
the traffic passing thru the channel -
|
|
regardless being connected to the system or
|
|
not. Any suggestion here?
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, then I wanted to use
|
|
<bf>/usr/sbin/bbs</bf> in order to connect
|
|
to the client_console (<em>xfbbC</em>). Looks
|
|
that there was a line in HI8GN's script:
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
xfbbC -c -f -h localhost -i [callsign] -w [password]
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
with missing ./ (dot+slash) before xfbbC, so the script
|
|
was not likely to be executed, but reported that a
|
|
command couldn't be found. Anyway, <em>xfbbC V3.01</em>
|
|
itself seemed to work Ok. It *is* possible to monitor the
|
|
channel from here too (using the "M" command under the
|
|
gateway), but this is also a bad solution because
|
|
while "Monitor ON", it is not confortable to do
|
|
anything else. Solutions welcomed!
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Though <em>xfbbC</em> session can be easily
|
|
terminated with "B" ("bye") command, a fooled
|
|
<bf>/usr/sbin/monitor</bf> can not. Its
|
|
process have to be found with <bf>ps ax</bf>
|
|
and then killed.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>At the end of the game, daemon itself should
|
|
be stopped. HI8GN's script <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb stop</bf>
|
|
returns:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Shutting down xfbbd: [OK]
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
but <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb status</bf>
|
|
reports:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Checking, the FBB daemon
|
|
xfbbd (pid) is running...
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Looks that <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb stop</bf> does not terminate
|
|
daemon *every* time the command is executed, but re-start it
|
|
(the only difference is the new PID of the process and
|
|
<bf>ps ax</bf> also shows this new PID). So, there is
|
|
a question why it returns that [OK] when it is
|
|
obvious that daemon is not stopped, but re-started.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Well, if you are like me, you may also want to experiment
|
|
with sysop's commands under <em>xfbbC</em> session.
|
|
For example, "/R" command (Reboot PC) shuts down
|
|
<em>xfbbC</em> and <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb status</bf>
|
|
reports:
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Checking, the FBB daemon
|
|
xfbbd dead but subsys locked
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
while "/A" command (Stop BBS) does the same but returns:
|
|
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Stop-request accepted, no connection.
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
before shutting down <em>xfbbC</em> itself.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Further tries to re-start either <em>xfbbC</em>
|
|
or fbbd (using <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb start</bf>) are not
|
|
successful, unless <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb stop</bf> is
|
|
executed in addition:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Shutting down xfbbd: [FAILED]
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Then <bf>/usr/sbin/fbb status</bf> reports:
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Checking, the FBB daemon
|
|
xfbbd is stopped
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
so, daemon might be re-started again. Here it is
|
|
also mysterious why it returns that [FAILED]
|
|
when it is obvious that daemon is really
|
|
stopped.
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
There are some other commands: "/K" (Reboot BBS with
|
|
housekeeping), "/M" (Reboot BBS imediatelly) and
|
|
"/L" (Reboot BBS, waiting users to disconnect) -
|
|
all of them with slightly different behaviour.
|
|
Anyway, those three have something in common: they
|
|
re-start daemon (with different PIDs, of course).
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<item>Finally, what I would like to have is to
|
|
manage housekeeping and other maintaining
|
|
tasks. 'Till now, that is not accomplished.
|
|
I suppose that I should make some more
|
|
customization of system paths. Any suggestion
|
|
is welcomed.
|
|
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<sect>Further information
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<sect1>Copyright
|
|
<p>
|
|
Copyright (c) 2001 by Miroslav "Misko" Skoric, YT7MPB.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify
|
|
this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
|
|
License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the
|
|
Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections,
|
|
with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
|
|
A copy of the license is available from
|
|
<a href="http://www.fsf.org/licenses/fdl.html">http://www.fsf.org/licenses/fdl.html</a>.
|
|
|
|
<sect1>Disclaimer
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
Use the information in this document at your own
|
|
risk. I disavow any potential liability of this
|
|
document. Use of the concepts, examples, and/or
|
|
other content of this document is entirely at
|
|
your own risk.
|
|
|
|
All copyrights are owned by their owners, unless
|
|
specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in
|
|
this document should not be regarded as
|
|
affecting the validity of any trademark or service
|
|
mark.
|
|
|
|
Naming of particular products or brands should not
|
|
be seen as endorsements.
|
|
|
|
You are strongly recommended to take a backup of
|
|
your system before major installation and backups
|
|
at regular intervals.
|
|
|
|
<sect1>News
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
|
|
This is not the first release of this mini-HOWTO. I
|
|
hope to improve it whenever possible. Beside that,
|
|
there are other documents that may help you to
|
|
use amateur radio stuff on your computer. You may
|
|
look for AX.25 (mini-)HOWTO at the same location
|
|
where you get FBB mini-HOWTO.
|
|
|
|
<em>This mini-HOWTO would be improved from time
|
|
to time. If you think that the HOWTO on your
|
|
Linux installation CD is some out-of-date, you
|
|
may check for newest release on the Internet. It
|
|
could be found within the main <url
|
|
url="http://www.linuxdoc.org/"
|
|
name="Linux Documentation Project">
|
|
homepage.
|
|
</em>
|
|
|
|
<sect1>Credits
|
|
<p>
|
|
<em>This version of mini-HOWTO can thanks to:</em>
|
|
|
|
<tscreen><verb>
|
|
Jean-Paul Roubelat, F6FBB, the author of FBB.
|
|
Per Olsen, LA6CU, the author of FBB documentation.
|
|
Jesus R., EB5AGF, the author of Protus.
|
|
Jose Marte, HI8GN, the packager of 7.02g package.
|
|
</verb></tscreen>
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any comments or suggestions can be mailed to my
|
|
email address:
|
|
<htmlurl url="mailto:m.skoric@eunet.yu"
|
|
name="m.skoric@eunet.yu">.
|
|
|
|
<sect1>HOWTO
|
|
<p>
|
|
<nidx>disk!information resources!HOWTOs</nidx>
|
|
These are intended as the primary starting points to
|
|
get the background information as well as show you how to solve
|
|
a specific problem.
|
|
Some relevant HOWTOs are <tt/Bootdisk/, <tt/Installation/, <tt/SCSI/ and <tt/UMSDOS/.
|
|
The main site for these is the
|
|
<url url="http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/"
|
|
name="LDP archive">
|
|
at Metalab (formerly known as Sunsite).
|
|
|
|
<sect1>Mini-HOWTO
|
|
<p>
|
|
<nidx>disk!information resources!mini-HOWTOs</nidx>
|
|
These are the smaller free text relatives to the HOWTOs.
|
|
Some relevant mini-HOWTOs are
|
|
<tt/Backup-With-MSDOS/, <tt/Diskless/, <tt/LILO/, <tt/Large Disk/,
|
|
<tt/Linux+DOS+Win95+OS2/, <tt/Linux+OS2+DOS/, <tt/Linux+Win95/,
|
|
<tt/Linux+WindowsNT/, <tt/Linux+NT-Loader/, <tt/NFS-Root/,
|
|
<tt/Win95+Win+Linux/, <tt/ZIP Drive/, <tt/FBB packet-radio BBS/.
|
|
You can find these at the same place as the HOWTOs, usually in a sub directory
|
|
called <tt/mini/. Note that these are scheduled to be converted into SGML and
|
|
become proper HOWTOs in the near future.
|
|
|
|
<sect1>Local Resources
|
|
<p>
|
|
<nidx>disk!information resources!local</nidx>
|
|
In most distributions of Linux there is a document directory installed,
|
|
have a look in the
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///usr/doc"
|
|
name="/usr/doc"> directory.
|
|
where most packages store their main documentation and README files etc.
|
|
Also you will here find the HOWTO archive (
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///usr/doc/HOWTO"
|
|
name="/usr/doc/HOWTO">)
|
|
of ready formatted HOWTOs
|
|
and also the mini-HOWTO archive (
|
|
<url url="file:///usr/doc/HOWTO/mini"
|
|
name="/usr/doc/HOWTO/mini">)
|
|
of plain text documents.
|
|
|
|
Many of the configuration files mentioned earlier can be found in the
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///etc"
|
|
name="/etc">
|
|
directory. In particular you will want to work with the
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///etc/fstab"
|
|
name="/etc/fstab">
|
|
file that sets up the mounting of partitions
|
|
and possibly also
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///etc/mdtab"
|
|
name="/etc/mdtab">
|
|
file that is used for the <tt/md/ system to set up RAID.
|
|
|
|
The kernel source in
|
|
<url url="file:///usr/src/linux"
|
|
name="/usr/src/linux">
|
|
is, of course, the ultimate documentation. In other
|
|
words, <em>use the source, Luke</em>.
|
|
It should also be pointed out that the kernel comes not only with
|
|
source code which is even commented (well, partially at least)
|
|
but also an informative
|
|
<url url="file:///usr/src/linux/Documentation"
|
|
name="documentation directory">.
|
|
If you are about to ask any questions about the kernel you should
|
|
read this first, it will save you and many others a lot of time
|
|
and possibly embarrassment.
|
|
|
|
Also have a look in your system log file (
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///var/log/messages"
|
|
name="/var/log/messages">)
|
|
to see what is going on and in particular how the booting went if
|
|
too much scrolled off your screen. Using <tt>tail -f /var/log/messages</tt>
|
|
in a separate window or screen will give you a continuous update of what is
|
|
going on in your system.
|
|
|
|
You can also take advantage of the
|
|
<htmlurl url="file:///proc"
|
|
name="/proc">
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|
file system that is a window into the inner workings of your system.
|
|
Use <tt/cat/ rather than <tt/more/ to view the files as they are
|
|
reported as being zero length. Reports are that <tt/less/ works well here.
|
|
|
|
<sect1>Web Pages
|
|
<p>
|
|
<nidx>disk!information resources!WWW</nidx>
|
|
<nidx>disk!information resources!web pages</nidx>
|
|
There is a huge number of informative web pages out there and by their very
|
|
nature they change quickly so don't be too surprised if these links become
|
|
quickly outdated.
|
|
|
|
A good starting point is of course the
|
|
<url url="http://www.linuxdoc.org/"
|
|
name="Linux Documentation Project"> home page,
|
|
an information central for documentation, project pages and much, much more.
|
|
|
|
Please let me know if you have any other leads that can be of interest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
<sect>Getting help
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<nidx>(your index root)!assistance, obtaining</nidx>
|
|
|
|
In the end you might find yourself unable to solve your problems and need
|
|
help from someone else. The most efficient way is either to ask someone
|
|
local or in your nearest Linux user group, search the web for the nearest
|
|
one.
|
|
|
|
Another possibility is to ask on Usenet News in one of the many, many
|
|
newsgroups available. The problem is that these have such a high
|
|
volume and noise (called low signal-to-noise ratio) that your question
|
|
can easily fall through unanswered.
|
|
|
|
No matter where you ask it is important to ask well or you will not be
|
|
taken seriously. Saying just <it/my disk does not work/ is not going
|
|
to help you and instead the noise level is increased even further and if
|
|
you are lucky someone will ask you to clarify.
|
|
|
|
Instead describe your problems in some detail that
|
|
will enable people to help you. The problem could lie somewhere you did
|
|
not expect. Therefore you are advised to list up the following information
|
|
on your system:
|
|
|
|
<descrip>
|
|
<tag/Hardware/
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
<item>Processor
|
|
<item>DMA
|
|
<item>IRQ
|
|
<item>Chip set (LX, BX etc)
|
|
<item>Bus (ISA, VESA, PCI etc)
|
|
<item>Expansion cards used (Disk controllers, video, IO etc)
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<tag/Software/
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
<item>BIOS (On motherboard and possibly SCSI host adapters)
|
|
<item>LILO, if used
|
|
<item>Linux kernel version as well as possible modifications and patches
|
|
<item>Kernel parameters, if any
|
|
<item>Software that shows the error (with version number or date)
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
<tag/Peripherals/
|
|
<itemize>
|
|
<item>Type of disk drives with manufacturer name, version and type
|
|
<item>Other relevant peripherals connected to the same busses
|
|
</itemize>
|
|
|
|
</descrip>
|
|
|
|
Remember that booting text is logged to <tt>/var/log/messages</tt> which can
|
|
answer most of the questions above. Obviously if the drives fail you might not
|
|
be able to get the log saved to disk but you can at least scroll back up the
|
|
screen using the <tt/SHIFT/ and <tt/PAGE UP/ keys. It may also be useful to
|
|
include part of this in your request for help but do not go overboard, keep
|
|
it <em/brief/ as a complete log file dumped to Usenet News is more than a
|
|
little annoying.
|
|
|
|
</article>
|