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From: root@zswamp.uucp (Geoffrey Welsh)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: DOS BBS on a Unix Box
Message-ID: <109.28432780@zswamp.uucp>
Date: 28 May 91 13:55:39 GMT
Organization: Izot's Swamp BBS (FidoNet), Kitchener, Ontario
Lines: 31

In a letter to All, Evan Champion (evanc@isishq.fidonet.org ) wrote:

 >A friend of mine is trying to set up a DOS BBS (Searchlight 
 >BBS) which uses a FOSSIL driver, on a Unix box (I believe
 >it is Xenix, most likely the latest version).  He is having
 >lots of toubles, one of them being that the modem would
 >answer and only garbage would be sent.  The system is a 386
 >with a 16550AFN locked at 38400 bps, and a USR HST (latest 
 >version).  Thanks for any help.

   I have found that Xenix and VP/ix (Interactive System's DOS emulator for 
ISC Unix and SCO Xenix) work reasonably well with DOS devices that access the 
'standard' DOS serial ports *if* you tell VP/ix that the port belongs to 
VP/ix, and keep your hands off.  Naturally, this only applies to the standard 
ports (i.e. COM1=$03F8,IRQ4, COM2=$02F8,IRQ3) and won't work at all well with 
'dumb' multiserial boards like the Arnet Multi-4 and Multi-8.

   I did my testing with Telix on a 386 running SCO Xenix 2.3.2 and the VP/ix 
1.0 (I think) about two years ago; the box had a multiserial board in it, so 
it wasn't a major hassle to reserve one of the two DOS-type serial ports for 
my VP/ix experiments.

   Have your friend check the BBS' VP/ix configuration file to make sure that 
it claims exclusive access to the serial port in question.
 

--  
Geoffrey Welsh - Operator, Izot's Swamp BBS (FidoNet 1:221/171)
root@zswamp.uucp or ..uunet!watmath!xenitec!zswamp!root
602-66 Mooregate Crescent, Kitchener, ON, N2M 5E6 Canada (519)741-9553
"He who claims to know everything can't possibly know much" -me