WATTCP

                                  Installation Notes

                                   by Erick Engelke



          Introduction          Introduction

               TCP/IP is not a program, it is a set of protocols which have
               been  implemented on many machines.  All machines running an
               implementation  of TCP/IP  and connected  to the  world wide
               Internet are capable of communicating with each other.

               There    are    several   popular    non-commercial   TCP/IP
               implementations for MS-DOS computers.   Each offers  special
               features but with  varied drawbacks.  I  don't believe there
               is a clear choice  of one implementation for all  needs, but
               users  are free to pick the best or most useful applications
               from each offering.

               These  notes  describe  the various  applications  available
               today.    Please remember  that  the  applications are  free
               software, you  may use them and pass  them on to others, but
               there is no warranty  and the support is very  limited.  You
               also may not sell the included programs.


          Installation          Installation
               WATTCP  only works  if you  have  a packet  driver, a
               special program which allows  your network interface card to
               talk with the WATTCP applications.

               Thanks to  some very  generous people,  particularly Russell
               Nelson, you probably will  not have to buy a  packet driver.
               If you are  using Ethernet  hardware you  can probably  find
               free  packet drivers  for  your cards  via anonymous  ftp to
               www.crynwr.com.
                           ____________________        ___________

               WATTCP only  supports  Class 1  drivers.   Officially
               these  are called  Ethernet  class drivers,  but many  other
               types  of  networks have  drivers  which  make them  emulate
               Ethernet hardware.  For example, any Novell system using IPX
               or any IBM compatible Token Ring  network can be made to act
               like Ethernet.  Even serial lines (SLIP) emulate Ethernet if
               you use  Michael Martineau's  ETHERSLIP driver  available by
               anonymous ftp from owl.nstn.ns.ca in in.coming/etherslip.                                  ______________    ___________________

               To start using WATTCP software you will need to get it
               configured.    There  are  two  options,  using BOOTP  or  a












               configuration file.

               If  you think  you may  have a  BOOTP server  on  your local
               subnet, copy  the file  TCPINFO.EXE into a  new subdirectory
               and  run the command  TCPINFO.  It  may take  a few seconds.
               After a maximum of 30 seconds, TCPINFO should tell you if it
               could get configured via  BOOTP.  If it could  not, or BOOTP
               is too slow, you will have to use a configuration file.

               You will  probably want a configuration file  anyways, as it
               allows some  extra things which  are not inherent  in BOOTP.
               WATTCP lets  you use a config file,  and pick up extra
               things from BOOTP.

               If you don't  really know  what you are  doing, continue  on
               with this section and make a config file.

               First  you will  need  some important  information from  you
               local TCP/IP guru.   Do not merely guess, these  values must
               be correct or you may do some damage and get yourself on the
               death threat list from your local network people.


               IP address (eg. 4.1.2.23)


                    my_ip =  ______.______.______.______


               local subnet mask (eg. 255.255.254.0, never 255.255.255.255)


                    netmask = ______.______.______.______


               local gateway (eg. 4.1.2.1)


                    gateway = ______.______.______.______


               primary name server (eg. 129.97.128.1)


                    nameserver = ______.______.______.______


               alternate name servers (up to 9 more if so desired)
               just keep repeating this line with new addresses.


                    nameserver = ______.______.______.______














               name domains list, (eg. UWaterloo.ca  or  edu)



               d   o   m   a   i   n   s   l   i   s   t                  =
                         __________________________________________________


               These  values must be  placed in  a file  called WATTCP.CFG.
               Below is a sample copy, remember, do  not use my values, get
               the correct ones!

                    print="using sample configuration" # sample comment
                    print="contact local network guru for more details"
                    my_ip=129.97.176.99
                    netmask=255.255.254.0              # sample comment
                    nameserver=129.97.128.24           ; sample comment
                    nameserver=129.97.128.196          # alt nameserver
                    nameserver=129.97.128.1            # 3rd nameserver
                    gateway=129.97.176.1
                    domainslist="uwaterloo.ca"

               The rules are simple, directive=value.  

               If quotes are not used in the value field, the value will be
               terminated by  the start of a  comment or by a  newline, and
               all white space (spaces and tabs) are removed.

               If you specify quotes around the value, only a second set of
               quotes  or a newline will  end the value  field and comments
               must  be preceded  by  an end  quote  mark.   Whitespace  is
               preserved inside quotes.


               Place the  WATTCP.CFG file in  the same subdirectory  as the
               TCP  application programs.  If  the file is  not found there
               the programs automatically look for the file in the  current
               subdirectory of the current  disk.  Failing that, a  message
               will  be  displayed but  the  program  will not  necessarily
               abort.

               You may  override the above directory  choices by explicitly
               setting the path in an environment variable.

               eg.  set wattcp.cfg=n:\internet

               The environment  variable is  checked first,  and  if it  is
               defined  that   configuration  file   is  used.     This  is
               particularly  useful on installations  where the software is
               located on  a fileserver,  but individual  workstations will
               need separate configuration files.


          Testing          Testing












               First,  to  ensure  that  you  entered  all  the  parameters
               correctly, run  TCPINFO.  It will list all system constants.
               If one or more  of them seem incorrect, check  your spelling
               in the WATTCP.CFG file.

               Next  we will test the  PING command to  see that everything
               works  and asks  another computer  if it is  up.   The first
               argument to  PING is  the name of  the other computer.   The
               second argument is the  number of retries.  Since  your guru
               supplied  the ip  address of  a gateway,  we will  first try
               that.

                    ping  129.97.128.1  5         don't  use  129.97.128.1,
                                                  use  your   gateway's  IP
                                                  address

               This will generate five attempts.  You should have more than
               0  % success.   Otherwise  your gateway is  down or  your ip
               address or gateway is wrong.

               If  you  had success,  try pinging  the  ip address  of your
               nameserver.

               eg.  ping  129.97.128.196  5

               Now check your nameserver by trying to resolve the name of a
               local machine.  Near me is a machine named 'cupid'.

                    ping  cupid  5

               If that did  not work, your  various nameserver entries  are
               incorrect, your  gateway or network mask  is incorrect, your
               nameservers did not want to provide name service, or you did
               not specify a valid name.

               These tests will  help your  guru figure out  what might  be
               wrong.





























          Applications          Applications
               TCPINFO               TCPINFO
                    Displays the current Ethernet/TCP configuration.  It is
                    useful for  testing spelling and contents  of files and
                    for determining ethernet addresses.


               PING               PING

                         PING  [-d|/d]  [-s|/s]  hostname  [attempts]

                    You  have already  seen PING  described briefly  in the
                    installation section.  PING will not generate more than
                    one  request  per second,  it  also  attempts to  block
                    broadcast attempts.


                    PING can be used in a debugging mode (-d or /d).
                    eg.  PING  -d  129.97.128.1

                    If  you do  not specify  the number  of attempts  to be
                    made, only one attempt will be made.
                    eg.  PING  129.97.128.196

                    Specifying  /s will  ping  the other  machine once  per
                    second for a very long time.
                    eg.  PING  -s  129.97.128.196


               COOKIE               COOKIE

                         COOKIE [host]
                    eg.  COOKIE
                         COOKIE  conehead.uwaterloo.ca

                    Print a witty saying from one of the cookie servers.


               DAYTIME                DAYTIME
                    Print the time of day using TCP

                         DAYTIME  host
                    eg.  DAYTIME  129.97.128.1
                         DAYTIME  watmath.uwaterloo.ca

                    If the  host supports TCP based  DAYTIME text services,
                    the time of  day will  be displayed as  a text  string.
                    See also NTIME


               FINGER               FINGER
                    Determine user or system information
                         FINGER [user]@host
                    eg.  FINGER  erick@engmail.uwaterloo.ca












                         FINGER  @engmail.uwaterloo.ca

                    Finger returns  the remote computer's information  on a
                    particular user.

                    If no user  is specified, FINGER will return  the names
                    of currently logged users on that machine.


               LPR               LPR
                    Spool print jobs
               LPQ               LPQ
                    Query the print queue

                         Run these commands with no arguments for the exact
                         syntax.   Check to  see that the  appropriate host
                         privileges are extended to the pc.

                         An explanation beyond this  is beyond the scope of
                         this brief document, see your local UNIX guru with
                         HOSTS.LPR   or   whatever   s/he   feels   is     
                         appropriate.


               NTIME               NTIME
                    Set DOS time from the Network.

                    NTIME  host  [addminutes]

                    NTIME contacts the host  and requests the current time.
                    Computers are  supposed to  respond with the  number of
                    seconds  since Jan 1, 1900 GMT.  Many simply return the
                    current time adjusted to  the daylight savings time and
                    time  zone.  I allow  you to specify  addminutes if you
                    need  to add or subtract a certain number of minutes to
                    the returned time.

                    I was considering using  a DST conversion algorithm but
                    have not yet done so.

               TCPPORT                TCPPORT
                    Treat the serial port as a TCP connection

                         TCPPORT host port "program options"

                    Host is the name  or ip address of the  remote computer
                    and port is the TCP port number on that computer.

                    You  may  specify  the  terminal  emulation desired  by
                    setting the environment variable
                         set  tcpterm=termtype
                    eg.  set  tcpterm=vt102

                    See the section on TCPPORT below













               REXEC               REXEC
                    Execute the following command on a remote host
              
                    REXEC  host  [user [pass]] cmd

                    The  "cmd"  command  will  be executed  on  the  remote
                    computer.  If  you fail to specify  either the password
                    or the userid, you will be prompted for them.