Subj : Re: Net2BBS
To   : Marceline Jones
From : Nick Andre
Date : Sun Mar 07 2021 12:31 am

On 07 Mar 21  18:10:00, Marceline Jones said the following to All:

MJ> I heard D'Bridge can be used with Net2BBS. Is this true ? can Net2BBS pass 
MJ> connection to D'Bridge, and then D'Bridge passes a caller to the BBS ?

Yes it can. It can accept mail packet transfers, file requests, EMSI sessions
over Telnet just as if it was using a modem.

MJ> I am not sure how Net2BBS works. I tend to think of it as something that
MJ> allows programs to piggyback off a live connection (ie. Data Carrier Detect
MJ> has to be high) (which is why it will not work with a program in Wait For
MJ> Caller mode).

Correct, it won't work in WFC mode because the BBS or mailer is not 
telnet-aware, only serial-aware.

The logic is Net2BBS accepts an incoming telnet connection and spawns a new 
CMD process. That usually consists of a batch file that should first load the
included Fossil driver NetFOSS. Then the NetCOM program is called with the
telnet socket handle passed to it along with whatever command or batch file to
start the mailer or BBS.  After the connection has ended, the Fossil driver
is uninstalled and the batch file exists.

For example, a batch file called DBRUN.CMD. Parameter %1 is the telnet handle
from Net2BBS (*H I think)

cd \DB
echo > LINE1.OTL
netfoss /n1 /x
netcom /n1 /h%1 db.exe
netfoss /u
del LINE1.OTL
exit

D'Bridge must first be told that when it runs to assume that a caller is "on
the line" and to exit when the call completes. So you create a dummy
semaphore file called LINE1.OTL in the DB directory.

In D'Bridge Setup, Config-Advanced, BBS Configuration you specify the
commands to run your DOS-based BBS. Then in Config-Comm/Modem you would 
specify COM1 along with the OTHERMDM (Generic modem) template. Exit and save.

Start Net2BBS, test by telnetting locally. Net2BBS should spawn DBRUN.CMD 
which loads D'Bridge. In your telnet session you see the D'Bridge logo
followed by "Press ESC twice to access the BBS". Doing so will swap the mailer
out to execute whatever commands you specified. When the BBS terminates, the 
session returns to the mailer which at this point has sensed "dropped carrier"
and thus terminates back to DBRUN... which exits.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
 * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

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