Telix / MS-DOS on VirtualBox / Linux reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevebourg · 2019-06-27 05:29 I got the nostalgia bug and setup a MS-DOS VM under VirtualBox. It didn't take me long to get drawn into the BBS end of the experience. I got setup to dial telnet-based BBS's from Telix on MS-DOS on VirtualBox on my Host OS, Ubuntu Linux. Sharing in case anyone else has the interest. My VM's Network Adapter is setup as a "Bridged Adapter". I setup a Serial Port in VirtualBox for my MS-DOS VM. This will pass traffic for the VM's Serial Port in/out of tcpser (a modem emulator), running on my Host OS. - Port Mode: TCP - Connect to existing pipe/socket: checked (seems backwards) - Path/Address: localhost:25232 At my Ubuntu Linux Host OS, I compiled the FozzTexx fork of tcpser https://github.com/FozzTexx/tcpser (the Ubuntu package for tcpser mostly works, but doesn't handle file transfer very well). I start tcpser with "-v 25232" so that it accepts ip232 connections from VirtualBox (both configured to use TCP port 25232). The -n parameters tell tcpser to telnet into the destination hostnames/ports when a client (Telix/VirtualBox) dials the corresponding "number" (can be non-numeric if supported by the client. ./tcpser -v 25232 -s 115200 -n 2568954786=bbs.sursum-corda.com:23 -n ah-bbs.com=ah-bbs.com:2335 I found that I could not use DOSIdle while using Telix w/ the serial port. An ugly day of figuring that one out. Telix configuration is fairly standard. 115200,8,N,1 I set baud rate to 115200 because the higher rate may have the best file transfer experience (higher baud is either irrelevant or better). I disabled all flow control, again on the suspicion that it was affecting file transfer. Telix can dial by number or by hostname, just map these to hostname:port with -n in your tcpser statement. Connections and BBS navigation are stable and perform well. So far my zmodem transfers are successful at bbs.sursum-corda.com:23, with sprinkles of CRC errors. I've had a less successful file transfer experience at another BBS. I'd like to see clean file transfer. Open to advice/feedback. Happy BBS'ing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2019-06-27 05:51 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevebourg · 2019-06-27 06:13 I was after a bit more of original experience, but good to know. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- shogun333 · 2019-06-27 10:24 For DOS specifically is it better to install real DOS via a VM, or [DOSbox](https://www.dosbox.com/)? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- samalex01 · 2019-06-27 11:17 You can also run Telix in Dosbox which will redirect the serial port to a the telnet port through a simple config change. Then just dial the BBS... ATDT whatever.com instead of ATDT 5551212. Works great and no need to mess with the overhead of a VM if bbsing is the goal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevebourg · 2019-06-27 13:37 DOSbox is probably the better experience if you're just trying to re- use a piece of DOS software (samalex01 provides good feedback). I was trying to rebuild an original experience (a full-on DOS / Windows 3.11 world). With all the reboots, lock-ups and connectivity troubleshooting, I got pretty close. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevebourg · 2019-06-27 13:50 I think you're referring to minicom (you had me searching for a minute). Definitely a good option if you're looking for a native Linux dialer. Not sure that minicom supports telnet connections without adding something else to the mix (let us know). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- stevebourg · 2019-06-27 14:29 Do you have CRC errors in your downloads when using DOSBox? I tried a zmodem download from within the Kermit linux dialer over telnet connection (no emulation, no modem simulators) and encountered download errors at a level worse than my Telix / DOS / Virtualbox / tcpser hackery. Don't know if this is a typical artifact of a telnet BBS or if my larger world is somehow broken. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2019-06-27 18:51 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joho68 · 2019-07-10 22:26 My best results, thus far, have been with Virtualbox under Linux, running a Windows 10 (32-bit) client, and then use something like [NetSerial](http://pcmicro.com/netserial/). If your "DOS software" is FOSSIL-driver capable, you can add [NetFoss](https://pcmicro.com/NetFoss/). ​ \-joho