Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!elroy!usc!bloom-beacon!husc6!encore!xylogics!loverso From: loverso@Xylogics.COM (John Robert LoVerso) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sequent Subject: Re: Systech MTI-1600 tty problems. Summary: Annex Terminal Servers Message-ID: <1409@xenna.Xylogics.COM> Date: 25 Apr 89 17:30:05 GMT References: <834@htsa.uucp> <2400042@kailand> Reply-To: loverso@Xylogics.COM (John Robert LoVerso) Organization: Xylogics, Inc., Burlington MA Lines: 65 In article <2400042@kailand> pwolfe@kailand.KAI.COM writes: > The Annex is an ethernet terminal server, sold by Encore Computer Corp. I > read somewhere that Encore sold the whole annex works to Systech The product line was sold to and is now being developed and manufactured by Xylogics, Inc. As for some problems he reports: > The only problems I've run into is getting any parallel printers to work on > the parallel port This is something new. The Annex printer port supports a standard centronics interface and shouldn't have problems with parallel printers. I've played with such things as Printronix P600s to HP Laserjets on Annexes with no problems. In additional to the physical interface, the Annex receives printjobs from a host via a BSD-lpd-like spooling protocol. The Annex host tools include two ways of getting BSD-lpd print jobs to an Annex: either through a simple change the lpd sources or by an auxillary print program, which can be used as part of an output filter for a printer. > getting an Apple Laserwriter to work on any serial port > (the LaserWriter talks back, and there's no way I know to get something to > read that) This is true for any Postscript printer, which generally requires a bi-directional interface to pass back status messages. The way to use such a printer is via a reverse-telnet program. This is a daemon that runs on a host, and uses a "pty" to fool the Adobe postscript driver into thinking its got a tty. Such a program ("rtelnet") is provided on with the Annex host tools. A similar program ("annexf") was written by John Sloan of Wright State Univ , for use just as a printer filter. "rtelnet" lets you do other things (like use an Annex port for things like a host "getty", etc). > and the annex cannot be made a "trusted" host, since Encore made > some silly mistakes in their rlogin protocol (when a user types "rlogin host > -l otheruser", the annex sends "otheruser" as both the local and remote > usernames, no matter when they originally logged on with). This is probably true of most terminal servers that implemented "rlogin". Don't, repeat DON'T, put them in your hosts.equiv files unless you're sure about them! Even worse, don't EVER put "+" in a hosts.equiv file (assuming YP support). This particular slipup on the Annex is fixed in Annex R4.1. The Annex will assure the validity of the rlogin protocol messages. Even better, if you use Annex security to authorize users, the Annex *will* fill in the rlogin protocol message correctly, meaning that you won't be "needlessly" prompted for a host password if that host has you in its hosts.equiv file. > Also, it's > possible, but really painful to get someone else's UUCP to dialup through an > annex. I gave up, as it was much easier to just leave one modem directly > connected to a host, and only tell people we uucp with what that phone > number is. This is something that can be gotten around in a few ways, such as using rtelnet, or "dedicated ports". A "modern" UUCP also makes such chat scripts easy. -- John Robert LoVerso Xylogics, Inc. 617/272-8140 loverso@Xylogics.COM Annex Terminal Server Development Group {encore,sequent}!xylogics!loverso [formerly of Encore Computer Corp]