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1986-06-15
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GUARD.DOC - Guard 2.0 Documantation
by Jan R. Terpstra (6-15-1986)
WHAT IS GUARD?
--------------
GUARD is a somewhat enhanced version of WATCHDOG.COM, originally by
James R. Reinders.
GUARD will monitor the asynchronous communications port of your PC and
soft reboot your machine when the carrier is lost.
This is of special interest to Sysops of Bulletin Boards running
programs like FIDO or RBBS-PC.
Both RBBS-PC and FIDO have a way of 'dropping out' of the bulletin
board program and running a program in the PC, using the remote PC as a
console.
FIDO calls this mechanism OUTSIDE, RBBS-PC calls it DOORS.
RBBS-PC and FIDO also have a 'remote sysop' mode, i.e. a sysop calling
his BBS is able to drop to DOS and do some maintenance on the BBS, his
PC being a remote console of the DOS in the BBS machine.
If a user uses Outside or Doors, or Remote Sysop is invoked, the
carrier monitoring of the BBS program will not longer work, for you
actually leave the BBS program and return machine control to DOS.
DOS, however, has no way of monitoring the communications port.
If the carrier of the remote computer is lost, your PC will be idling
in DOS and your modem will no longer auto-anwer incoming calls. The
only way to get your BBS online again is restarting it locally.
And that's were GUARD comes in.
By invoking GUARD the moment a user or the sysop uses FIDO's Outside
or RBBS-PC's Doors, GUARD will look if the remote modem's carrier is
still present. GUARD will do that every timer-tick (18.2 times per
second) and will reboot your machine the moment the carrier is lost.
In fact, the same job Watchdog will do for you.
There are two things that Watchdog didn't and GUARD does:
- It will run in a multi-tasking environment under control
of Multilink(tm) or DoubleDos(tm).
- It will 'soft reboot' your PC, where Watchdog did a hard reset.
The soft reboot is the same as pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del on your
PC keyboard, NOT invoking the Power On Self Test, but rebooting
the PC immediately. This will save a minute or two compared to
Watchdog's reset, having your BBS up and running in about 20
seconds (depending on the complexity of your AUTOEXEC.BAT......)
GUARD.DOC Version 2.00
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GUARD.DOC - Guard 2.0 Documantation
by Jan R. Terpstra (6-15-1986)
HOW TO USE GUARD?
-----------------
GUARD can be invoked by a batch-file. The command to start guard is:
GUARDx ON This will load and activate GUARD and reboot the PC the
moment the carrier from the remote modem is lost.
GUARD will print a welcome message and tell you it is
'loaded and watching COMx:.'
Every time after the first invocation of gurd it will only
tell you that is is 'watching COMx:'
GUARDx OFF Will put GUARD to sleep, and wil not monitor the carrier
for you. GUARD will stay resident until the PC is
rebooted again.
GUARD1.COM is for COM1:, GUARD2.COM will monitor COM2:
WARNING!
--------
If you are using Multilink in a multitasking environment, don't mix
GUARD1 and GUARD2 in the same partition. This will lead to very
peculiar behaviour of your two partitions.
GUARD has been tested with IBM PC-DOS 3.00, and 3.10, using single
programs and under Multilink Advanced Version 3.02.
It has been reported that GUARD will also do the proper job under
DoubleDos. As I do not have DoubleDos, I was not able to test it.
GUARD was tested on an IBM PC, PC/XT and PC/AT.
GUARD (like Watchdog) will not work properly with some of the
multifunctionboards that do not use the 8250 async controller.
UPDATE HISTORY
--------------
06-05-86 Initial Version.
06-15-86 Changed the 'welcome message' and added support for PC/XT
clones. Some PC/XT clones didn't like the soft reboot and
kept restarting for ever. Well, so much for the manufacturers
claim of 100% compatability........
USERS PLEASE NOTE
-----------------
Suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated on Bamestra RBBS,
phone xx31 2998 3603 (300 bd CCITT) or xx31 2998 3602 1200 & 2400 baud.
Or written, to Bamestra RBBS, P.O.Box 66, 1462ZH Beemster, Netherlands.
GUARD is public domain, and may be copied and distibuted in unmodified
form for used any purpose you like.
GUARD.DOC Version 2.00
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