Using a Cisco 3845 and a NM-24DM for a Dial-in (Dial-up) BBS modem pool. Using Telnet to traverse. How can I make that possible? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ramsaso · 2020-05-23 00:19 I wanted to post this on the r/Cisco area but after reading the rules there, it would be pointless since they don't allow for "brain dumps" there. I originally posted this on DSLReports to get information on how I could possibly achieve this and well, I want more advice as to how to get this idea to fruition. I can assure you this is not click-bait or anything like that. https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r32725020-Dial-Up-Modem-Pool-using- Cisco-equipment-for-BBS To sum it up, I have a POTS line, connected to a computer with a Winmodem and it is set up to be connected to a program called SexPOTS (Forgive me, I didn't come up with the term) which acts as a POTS to Telnet link basically and it works fine... However, several people have complained to me that they cannot dial in at the same time and that the POTS line have call waiting on it so people can find themselves disconnected. I have a solution. On eBay, I happen to have come upon search results for a Digital Modem modules, for their routers or IADs https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cisco- Digital-Modems-Module-800-02316-05A0-w-4x-6-Port- Cards-73252203/152440566789 and they're perfect for my needs, since all I would be doing is, as soon as someone dials into the modem pool, the module and the router would process it and establish a telnet connection to the BBS my friend is using and voila! I also have an IAD2431 from Cisco as well, with it being used to connect to my Nortel Meridian via ISDN PRI to SIP (VoIP) to realize the cost savings between SIP and PRI (I ordered ISDN before and it was cost-prohibitive) so I thought, why not have a caller call in through the IAD or through this Cisco 3845 router (it was the only thing I could find that can accept this module) I have? I am looking for any input that can help me reach my goal to provide my friend exceptional service. Anything you need, pertinent to this topic of course, will be reasonably given. The BBS by the way, can be accessed via telnet at (bbs.interlinked.cf) or via telephone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Scoth42 · 2020-05-23 00:33 I may be slightly missing the setup/details here, but if you have a single POTS line then only one person can call in at a time. That's how it works. There's nothing you can do on your side to fix that other than order more POTS lines (and maybe use a hunt group to cycle through real lines). The bottleneck is your provider and single pots line, not any hardware on your end. You'd have multiple copper pairs that can go into a modem bank, which could well be connected to an IAD2431 with an analog card in it. That digital modem module may not be what you think it is - it takes analog/phone calls from other interfaces and converts them to PRI/BRI over ISDN. You'll still need a bunch of real, analog modems each with their own separate POTS copper pair. There's probably a star code to disable call waiting on your end. The caller can also typically do \*70/1170 to disable it on their end. I'd never really thought about call waiting on the host's side; back in the day you'd typically specifically disable it for BBS/data lines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- johann8384 · 2020-05-23 01:40 You'll need multiple lines for multiple users. A PRI would give you 23 lines for example, it's a 24 channel T1 but 1 channel is used for signalling. This is knowledge I haven't needed for 15 years! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhotoJim99 · 2020-05-23 01:49 One could possibly devise an answer string that would disable call waiting, but it would have to be done for every call, and it would be complex. It's much easier to just get another phone line or two or four. And absolutely, a separate line will be needed for each. Incidentally, the setup here sounds really complicated. I just have a USR Courier on a Linux machine's serial port. Anyone who dials in can log into the host, and then telnet from there to anywhere. It would probably not be too hard to set up a passwordless account that could only do telnet. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Scoth42 · 2020-05-23 02:11 Yeah, this is a massively (over)complicated setup. I was going to get into that but I wanted to make sure I understood the base config first. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sinesawtooth · 2020-05-23 16:51 Do you have a DID setup for your ISDN? Do you have a BRI / multiple isdn line coming in? If you do it might be possible to setup a dial plan as a hunt group with multiple entries of the same number but only if you have a dial in with your isdn. You can’t handover the POTS line unfortunately. It’s basically a trunk that’s used up when someone calls in. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ramsaso · 2020-05-23 19:39 Well, technically no because the ISDN part is really just SIP converted to PRI. The DID portion, I can just create with the programming in the IOS command base. I got the SIP to PRI converter to talk with the router hosting the digital modem modules but I just need to figure out what the right dial-peer settings it needs to have in order to have any calls processed from the converter over to the router, where it'll establish a modem session and automatically telnet to the specified BBS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ramsaso · 2020-10-31 15:47 I got this to work! I used a Patton 2960, terminated an ISDN trunk from my Cisco to it, and presto! Also helps that one has to set up dial out to a telnet ip address. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2020-11-01 15:14 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- YeezysMum · 2021-11-02 10:40 Hi, I stumbled across this thread and it seems relevant to my interests. To clarify, a caller can dial into a BBS and the Digital Modem module automatically telnets into the BBS? I'd be very interested in seeing the configuration. Thanks