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All contents on this page are copyright (c) 1998 by Tilo Christ. All rights reserved.
This page was last rebuilt on Wed Dec 9 11:46:03 CET 1998 .

Networking with your Palm Computing platform device

Palm Computing platform devices from the PalmPilot Professional up (PalmPilot Professional connected organizer, PalmIII connected organizer, IBM WorkPad PC companion, IBM WorkPad II PC companion, Symbol SPT1500) contain a TCP/IP stack which allows them to dial-up via PPP and then utilize this connection for e-mail and other applications (e.g. Telnet, WWW browsing). The TCP/IP stack is also being used for a special mode of synchronization, called Network HotSync. Network HotSync allows one to do remote synchronization with any machine that can be reached through a PPP terminal-server and/or a TCP/IP-network.

Here are a few useful pointers to information that is related to TCP/IP dial-up and Network HotSync.
 

Network HotSync

The software which is neccessary for Network HotSync is not included with the PalmPilot Professional or the PalmIII. PalmIII users may download the software at Palmīs web-site. PalmPilot Professional users who wish to play it safe need to purchase the Network HotSync software for $69. Those who do not care about Palmīs claim that there is no way this software could possibly work on a PalmPilot Professional may use the same link to get the same software. It worked great on my PalmPilot Professional, but your mileage may vary.
 

Local Dial-Up

For the purpose of software-development (testing, debugging), you may wish to establish a PPP-connection without employing a modem. This is entirely possible. Your Palm device comes with a null-modem cable (cleverly disguised as a 'cradle') and that is all the hardware you need.
CAUTION: You need to use a null-modem cable! You can use either the cradle or the HotSync cable, but you cannot use the modem-cable.
The PalmPilotīs serial sub-system is rather weak. Do not expect to reach very high transmission speeds. My own device reached a whopping 19,200 with the built-in software, and a full 57,600 with DirectLink.
It is entirely possible to do a Network HotSync over a TCP/IP connection which you have already established before. This means, you can establish a connection through the DirectLink software and then initiate the Network HotSync procedure in order to enjoy great through-put!
 

DirectLink

DirectLink is an addition for the PalmPilotīs built-in PPP software. It is only suitable for a local null-modem connect (cannot be used with a real modem). Through some kind of magic it allows you to reach connection-speeds that you could otherwise only dream of (57,600).

Download DirectLink from http://www.metasync.com/pilot/vitallink.html.

Network HotSync over DirectLink

This piece of wisdom has been contributed by Emmanuel Pirsch

I can connect to my desktop with DirectLink, then I go to the Hotsync App. You have to select the SAME network connection than the one used by DirectLink (that is the last one used) then you press the Modem Sync Graphic Button and it WORKS.  
Also a quick way to go to the hotsync app once youīre connected with DirectLink is to press the hotsync button on the cradle, the hot sync app will appear with a message telling you that the serial port is already in use, press OK then press on the Modem Sync graphic button.  
  The thing to remember is that the network connection selected in the hotsync app should be the same as the  one used by DirectLink.

I can confirm that this trick works with my own setup. Thanks Emmanuel!

Linux pppd

The pppd software that comes with Linux allows you to establish a working PPP connection. It can serve a modem, but it also allows you to establish a local connection through a null-modem cable.

Do this on your Linux box (assuming the name of your serial device is /dev/ttyS0):
/usr/sbin/pppd /dev/ttyS0 19200 persist -detach crtscts local passive 10.0.0.1:10.0.0.2
The pppd-daemon will run in an endless loop, accepting one connection after the other. If you want it to accept only one connection and then quit you need to omit the persist option.

On your PalmPilot set up PPP with an empty login and empty password. Set the phone-number to '00'. This will start PPP w/ a null-modem (no dialling, no waiting for a CONNECTED-message). If you wish to run the Network HotSync software you will also have to set the appropriate parameters for the remote PC to which you wish to sync (IP 10.0.0.1, leave the name blank).

If these instructions should fail to work, there may be numerous reasons. Try to lower the speed from 19,200 to 9,600. Check out the debug-messages from pppd (use the debug-option). Make sure no CHAP or PAP-authentification is required.

If the connection has been established you should see a small blinking vertical bar in the upper-right corner of your PalmPilotīs display.
 

Windows NT RAS Server

Windows NT comes with the RAS-server software which allows you to establish PPP connections between your PalmPilot and your Windows NT box. I have tried the instructions from the link below and they worked for me (I am using Windows NT 4.0 SP3 Workstation). This setup allowed me to successfully do a Network HotSync with both the Palm Desktop 3.0 and with my own SyncBuilder software.

http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/TSpaces/Pilot/NTRAS.html

In addition to the method described in this document I also managed to install Palmīs free MSCHAP extension onto my PalmPilot Professional, which allowed me to use encrypted Challenge-Response authentification. Palm recommends to upgrade PalmOS to version 2.0.5 or 3.0.2 if you wish to use Windows NT RAS, which I have done.

Modem dial-up

Modem hooked up to the Palm device

You can easily hook up an off-the-shelf modem to your Palm device. I tried this with a US-Robotics Sportster and it worked quite well. All you need is the special modem-cable from 3COM. You can also use an adapter that turns null-modem-cables into modem-cables and put that adapter between your cradle and your modem.

Modem hooked up to the PC

If you have a Win32 system with both a cradle and a modem you can install the PilotNet software on your machine. This will allow your Palm device to reach your modem through your PC. The software may be found at the following URL (I havenīt tried it out):

http://members.xoom.com/PilotProgs/
 

Complete replacement for Network HotSync technology

Waveware has announced a package called WaveSync which is supposed to be a complete replacement for Palm Computingīs Network HotSync technology on both the Palm device and on the host. WaveSync can work with existing conduits, but it is capable of synchronizing several Palm devices at the same time, with added security, faster data-transfer, and better user-management features.
Waveware is currently looking for beta-sites.