Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!munnari!otc!metro!basser!usage!csdgwy!decus!huston
From: huston@decus.com.au
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: VMS <-> Usenet
Message-ID: <163@decus.com.au>
Date: 27 Jul 88 22:36:13 GMT
References: <421@dragos.UUCP>
Organization: DECUS, Australian Chapter
Lines: 44

In article <421@dragos.UUCP>, work@dragos.UUCP (Dragos Ruiu) writes:
>   Well, we finally got a copy of News for VMS from ANU. It looks like
> a really nice package, unfortunately there are no mechanisms for transfering
> news other than NNTP. The software will unbatch Unix news batches, but it
> makes no provisions for transfering those news batches to the VMS site.
> 
>   In the documentation there are mentions of systems that have mail links
> to pure Unix sites. Is there any software that does this VMS MAIL <-> UUCP
> communication. Does anyone out there have any software that will
> automatically transfer news batches from a pure Unix system to a VMS site ?

To transfer either News batches as files or as mail items between VMS and
Unix systems is not a simple matter - and one which I was (and still am)
reluctant to re-invent just for NEWS. The following products have
been used on my site (ANU) and other sites who have posted back to me:

	CMU/Tek TCP/IP - you can use either FTP and ship the files
	    over as files, or configure the SMTP mailer, or configure
	NNTP over TCP/IP (I supply the NNTP code, but you still require
	    the transport), or you can use
	PMDF, using the mailer as the transport link.

        Virtually anything that gets files over intact, or doesn't disturb
	    the innards of mail messages will work.

> 
>   Has anyone ever tried to do this using a kermit server as the transport
> mechanism ?
not to my knowledge, but it is possible - as long as file integrity is
preserved you can probably use it!!

By the way, Version 5.4 will be available from me early August.  This version
has a fair deal of bug fixes, and some additional commands at the user
level, and some more management options. I'm working on speed improvements
and better scanning control, and sundry other features that I've always wanted
to see in a news reader!!


Geoff Huston,
Australian National University



gih900@csc3.anu.oz