CLIENT SETUP AND OPERATION
HylaFAX is based on a client-server architecture. A single fax server machine with one or more fax modems may service a network of client machines that do not have fax modems. Client and server machines typically communicate using a special HylaFAX client-server protocol that is transported on top of the TCP/IP protocols. Alternatively, clients can be setup to submit facsimile using other transport mechanisms such as electronic mail or a network printing service. This chapter discusses only the setup of a UNIX system as a client machine that uses the standard HylaFAX client applications to submit and manage outbound facsimile jobs. Building a mail-to-fax gateway is discussed in a separate chapter. You are on your own if you want to use a printer protocol to hook clients up; though it is not much more complicated than the mail route (you should look at how the mail support is done).


From the IRIX Binary Distribution

When installing HylaFAX from the IRIX binary distribution format, client machines can be setup simply by installing the hylafax.*.client images: (actually, the default packages to install should be the ones needed to setup a client machine). If you do not have the font metric files installed on the client (they are part of the dps_fonts image) you will also want to install hylafax.sw.afm.


From the Source Distribution

From the source distribution configure and build the software as described in Building HylaFAX From Source Code (NB: this will build both client and server software). To install only the programs and files required on a client then do The set of files required for a HylaFAX client is specified in the hylafax(1) manual page (see the FILES section).


Setting up the ``fax'' Service

With the applications and data files available on a client machine, the only other task to perform on the client machine is to setup an entry in the /etc/services file or equivalent YP/NIS database for the ``fax'' service. This work is automatically done on the server machine by the faxaddmodem script using a line of the form: On the client machine however you will want to set this up by hand unless the the system is configured to use YP/NIS and the fax service is registered globally through YP/NIS. Note that if no service entry exists for the ``fax'' service then a default builtin port number is used. If the HylaFAX client-server software is configured to communicate on a port other than the default port, then the server must be registered.


Setting up Server Access

Once a client machine is setup for use the server machine may need to be configured to permit jobs to be submitted. Specifically, the file etc/hosts in the spooling area on the server machine must be setup to permit each client machine access. Consult the hosts(4F) manual page for information on how this is done.

HylaFAX table of contents.


Sam Leffler / sam@engr.sgi.com. Last updated $Date: 1995/04/04 16:33:44 $.