QRZ! Ham Radio 8/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 8.iso/pc/files/p_term/ad16dis.exe/SYSOP.DOC

Text File | 1992-12-31 | 26KB | 459 lines

SYSOP.DOC      ARES/Data V. 1.6 Sysop Information and Reference

The ARES/Data software was written in Turbo Pascal 5.5 on an IBM PC by
WN6I, W. E. Moerner, and N6KL, Dave Palmer.  It may be run in either
of two modes: (a) stand-alone with no TNC support and no remote access, or
(b) by changing the configuration file, the program will control up to four
ports (TNC's), each of which can have up to 10 simultaneous connections.
If TNC support is chosen, the program requires that each port be either
(a) a TNC with WA8DED firmware or (b) a Digital Radio Systems PC*PA
Packet adapter card (because WA8DED's host mode is used for
communication between the computer and the TNCs), OR a KISS-mode TNC
with the G8BPQ node switch code running as a terminate and stay resident
program in the computer.  NOTE:  NO REQUIREMENT IS PLACED ON THE OTHER
TNC's THAT ARE REMOTELY CONNECTED TO THE ARES/Data DATABASE MACHINE,
except that they use AX.25 link-layer protocol!  The ARES/Data program
utilizes the Turbo Database Toolbox V.  4.0 for management and searching
of its B-plus structured indexing tree.


1.  These instructions are aimed at those who will be actually running
the ARES/Data program, or for those interested in some of the
operational detail.  You need not read this file in order to effectively
use the program as a remotely connected packet operator.  These
instructions are abbreviated, so be sure to read the ARES/Data
documentation file USERMAN.DOC first for general background information
and the commands available to the remote packet operator.  You may also
want to read about the ancestor of ARES/Data, the FINDER system, in the
6th ARRL Computer Networking Conference Proceedings.  An article about
ARES/Data V. 0.1 appeared in the 7th ARRL Computer Networking
Conference Proceedings, and the revised text of this article is included
with the documentation.  In addition, the text of an article on ARES/Data
Version 1.0 from the 8th ARRL Computer Networking Conference Proceedings
is included on the distribution diskette.  For applications of ARES/Data,
see QST, December 1990, p. 75.

2.  You need an IBM PC or compatible to run the program with at least
two drives, one of which should be a hard disk or hard card, if
possible.  ARES/Data has been tested on a PC, XT, AT, PS/2 and a PC
Convertible using DOS 3.21 and higher.  (The program also appears to run
fairly well on the PCjr.) In addition, if you want to allow remote
packet radio access to the database, you need at least one serial port
OR at least one Digital Radio Systems PC*PA packet adapter.

3.  Assuming you want to allow remote access to the database with
packet, you have three alternatives for the TNC configuration at the
host database station where ARES/Data is running:

IF YOUR TNC IS:

****A****:  A TNC that operates in WA8DED host mode, then you must
connect the TNC to the computer with a standard serial port, and you
must load the terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program MBBIOS.COM
before running ARES/Data.

WA8DED host mode is implemented for the TNC1, true TNC2 clones, and the
PK-87/88 by using firmware (an EPROM) written by Ron Raikes, WA8DED.
(Note - this is not referring to NET/ROM firmware, but rather to the
user-mode TNC firmware written by WA8DED.) ARES/Data has been tested on
several TNC-1's with WA8DED firmware Version 1.3 modified for 8
simultaneous connects, on several TNC-2's with WA8DED firmware Version
2.5, on several PK-87's with WA8DED firmware (32K).  If your usage is
totally non-commercial, you can get the WA8DED public domain firmware
yourself from many sources; see your local packet hacker, or it is
available from the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio group--TAPR.  For
details, call TAPR at [phone].

Take a few minutes to learn the "DEDware" user mode command syntax - it
is different from the TAPR syntax, but easy to learn.  The WA8DED user
mode documentation is included on the distribution diskette in the files
TNC1DED.DOC, TNC2DED.DOC, and PK87DED.DOC.

Some hints:  Remember that you are always in converse mode, and pressing
"<esc>" puts you into command mode for one line at a time.
"<esc>S 0<cr>" selects channel 0, the unproto channel,
"<esc>I callsign<cr>" sets callsign (do this only from channel 0),
"<esc>S 1<cr>" selects channel 1 to start a connection,
"<esc>C callsign<cr>" causes a connect (requires channel > 0)
"<esc>D<cr>" a disconnect, etc.


****B****:  A Digital Radio Systems Inc.  (DRSI) PC*PA packet adapter,
then you will load the TSR program TNCTSR-S.EXE before running
ARES/Data.

DRSI boards automatically speak the WA8DED host mode.  READ DRSI.DOC FOR
DETAILS.


****C****:Any other kind of TNC (such as PK-232, KAM, etc.), then you
must use a standard serial port to connect the computer to your TNC, and
you must put your TNC into KISS (keep it simple, stupid) mode.  You then
must load the G8BPQ switch terminate-and-stay-resident code to make your KISS
TNC a true packet switch.  You must also load the TSR DEDHOST.COM to force
the switch to talk to ARES/Data as if it were a WA8DED TNC, before
running ARES/Data.  READ G8BPQ.COM FOR MORE DETAILS.  YOU MUST BE SURE
THE G8BPQ SWITCH IS OPERATIONAL BEFORE EVEN TRYING ARES/DATA!!!


4.  The ARES/Data program, a relative of the FINDER program, is in the
public domain and is available for no-cost distribution from WN6I or
N6KL by sending a blank, formatted 5 1/4" (360 kB) or 3 1/2" (720 kB)
floppy with SASE for return to you.  The program may be distributed
freely, so long as the distribution is for no cost.  Therefore, the cost
to you is the cost of the diskette and return postage.  We have included
a configuration file facility so that you can tailor many parameters to
your system.  If you want small changes in the code, we will try to
accommodate you, but we cannot make any guarantees.

5. ARES/Data database file usage:

Main database files:
   ARESDATA.DAT                 the database itself - all records
   FIELD1.NDX                   index file for field1
   FIELD2.NDX                   index file for field2
   FIELD3.NDX                   index file for field3
   FIELD4.NDX                   index file for field4

Backup files:
   ARESDATA.JRN                 journal file - a normal ASCII file containing
                                a listing of all valid current information
                                packets.  May be edited, printed, or used as
                                input to the ARES/Data program to recover a
                                damaged or erased database.

   ARESDATA.BAK                 backup of the database
   FIELD1.BAK                   index file for field 1 backup
   FIELD2.BAK                   index file for field 2 backup
   FIELD3.BAK                   index file for field 3 backup
   FIELD4.BAK                   index file for field 4 backup


6.  Before starting ARES/Data, be sure your hardware is set up correctly.
Test the TNC and WA8DED firmware by using your own terminal emulator first.
If you have a DRSI board, test it with the TNCX-S.EXE program that comes
with it.  If you are using a KISS TNC and the G8BPQ switch code, test
the switch independently first using PAC4.EXE (supplied with BPQ code).

7.  Edit the configuration file ARESDATA.CFG to reflect your system
configuration.  As distributed, ARESDATA.CFG is set up for NO packet
support, so you must edit this file to tell the system what kind of TNC
you are using.  READ THE FILE CONFIG.DOC for details on ARESDATA.CFG!
NOW.

8.  Edit the startup file STARTUP.XXX you specified in ARESDATA.CFG to
set your callsign.  If you are using BPQ, the callsign is set separately
by the switch configuration, and there is no need for a STARTUP.XXX
file.

9.  IMPORTANT:  YOU MUST MAKE SURE A LINE LIKE THE FOLLOWING APPEARS
IN YOUR SYSTEM'S CONFIG.SYS FILE ON THE BOOT DISK(ETTE):

FILES=20

ARES/Data uses many disk files while running, so if an entry for FILES=
doesn't exist, or is set lower than 20, the program may not run correctly.
(Setting FILES= to a value higher than 20 typically has no effect).
For better performance, you may also want to set BUFFERS=20 or some
higher value.  BUFFERS=20 is probably a good choice; use of a higher
value will consume additional DOS memory without much greater
performance gain.  You may want to set a lower value for BUFFERS= if
you are using some form of disk caching program.

10. To start ARES/Data:  If you have selected automatic startup, be
sure the drives have disks in them.  If you have defined some TNC
interfaces, be sure that the TNC(s) is(are) on.  If you are using the
BPQ switch code, load it first using STARTBPQ.BAT.  Then start the
execution of ARES/Data by typing "ARESDATA<CR>".  This runs the batch
file ARESDATA.BAT.  Be sure to edit ARESDATA.BAT to load MBBIOS if you
are using any serial ports for connection to TNCs.  Also, be sure to
edit this file to load TNCTSR-S if you have any DRSI boards.

11.  The startup sequence is fairly self-explanatory.  If you have not
selected TNC support, all TNC-related functions are disabled.  The sysop
console is the only input/output port in the system.

If you have defined some TNC interfaces and have selected automatic
startup, no prompting will be done and after processing the .cfg file
and opening the database files, the program will automatically enter
host mode and begin polling the available channels for data.  Note that
sometimes the TNC and the computer will not synchronize immediately.
Don't be alarmed at the messages scrolling across your screen regarding
"TNC Recover" at initial startup time.  If this occurs for more than 60
sec., cycle the power on the TNC.

If you have selected prompted startup, you will be prompted to put a
diskette in the drive you have selected for the backup/journaling
function.  Then you are prompted to turn on the TNC.  When TNC-computer
synchronization is established, the run-time status screen is displayed
and several TNC parameters are set.  Don't be alarmed at the messages
scrolling across your screen regarding "TNC Recover" at initial startup
time.  The program does not know the state of the TNC, and if the TNC
does not respond to host mode commands, the program will eventually
issue the appropriate "JHOST1" command.  (TCP/IP users:  If you have the
TNC2 WA8DED+KISS Mode Combination EPROM, ARES/Data works fine with that,
too.  You need not enter the initial "H" command following power up).

In all cases, if previous database files are found, they are opened.  If
none are found, new database files are created.  NOTE: after each
disaster, you should rename the database files to start with a fresh
(empty) database.  You can do this easily with the batch file ZAPDB.BAT
that is provided with ARES/Data.  ZAPDB.BAT takes one argument: a name
identifying the event, i.e., you type "zapdb medex1<cr>".  The batch
file copies the database and index files to new files with the filenames
"medex1.dat", "medex1.nd1", etc. and then erases the standard database
and index files.  Presto - the next time you start ARES/Data, new
database and index files will be created.

11.  The sysop keyboard can enter current information input and search
requests like any connected channel, but don't try to type too fast if
TNC polling is in progress.  If you have problems with this, press F5 to
stop polling for ten seconds so that you can enter your data.  See the
file USERMAN.DOC for a summary of the standard packet operator commands.

12.  The sysop status screen (assuming at least one TNC interface or
port is defined):  The top half of the screen starts out showing the
channel activity for the first interface defined (interface A).  The
lower half of the screen has at the very bottom an input line for sysop
commands and above this an information window where recent commands and
database functions are echoed.  The interface that is showing at the top
half of the screen is called the "default interface".  You can change
the displayed interface to any other interface that you have defined by
pressing "<alt><F1>" for interface A, "<alt><F2>" for interface B,
"<alt><F3>" for interface C, and "<alt><F4>" for interface 4.  If you
press one of these key sequences for an interface that is not defined,
the status screen disappears.  This is useful if you really want a
larger sysop screen, for example.  To get a status screen back for a
particular interface, just press the <alt> key sequence for that
interface.

13.  The sysop can also send commands directly to the default interface
by typing <ESC> and the one-letter command as is usual for the WA8DED
user-mode firmware.  Some commands (such as "d" for disconnect) can
reference a specific channel:  to set the channel for these commands,
first type "<ESC>Sn<CR>", where n is the channel number.  The currently
selected channel is marked with a triangular arrow on the sysop screen.
For example, to force a disconnect on channel 3, type "<ESC>S3 <CR>
<ESC>d <CR>".

14.  The sysop can send messages to connected channels for the default
interface in several ways:  (a) by typing "<ESC>n message<CR>" where n is
the channel number, or (b) by using the "tell" command described in
USERMAN.DOC.  Note that the sysop can send a QST to all connected
channels on all valid interfaces by typing "tell all msg"<CR> or "tell *
msg"<CR>, where "msg" is the text to be sent.

15.  Special SYSOP-only commands:

        deleteon                enables use of delete command by connected
                                stations for default interface

        deleteoff               disables use of delete command by remote
                                stations for the default interface.  Note
                                that the delete command is always enabled
                                for the sysop.

        labels=label1,label2,label3,label4,msglabel

                                sets labels for database fields 1-4 and
                                msg field.  Note that this command can
                                be in ARESDATA.CFG to give a standard
                                startup default label set.

        widths=wid1,wid2,wid3,wid4

                                sets default printing widths for fields
                                1-4.  Note that this command can also
                                be in ARESDATA.CFG.

        export filename         sends complete database to filename
                                specified with date and time attached to
                                the beginning of each record.  I.E.,
                                Date,Time,Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Msg

        import filename         reads filename specified in same format
                                used by the export filename command
                                and adds the data found to the current
                                database, using the dates and times specified.
                                Note that the input format for each record is:
                                Date,Time,Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Msg
                                If you don't have a meaningful date and time
                                to attach to each record, use "importraw".

        rawimport filename      reads filename specified in standard ARES/Data
                                input format and adds the data found to the
                                current database.  Input format for each record
                                is:
                                Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Msg
                                This command is useful is you have a large
                                database available in advance that you want
                                to read in and make available to remote
                                stations.  The date and time added to each
                                record is the current date and time.

        logallon                enable/disable logging of every packet
        logalloff               entered to the sysop screen.  If the printer
                                is on, this causes logging of all
                                transactions.


16.  Special PF keys:

        F1              Immediate database backup: closes all files, copies
                        current database files to the .BAK versions, and
                        flushes the last few valid current information
                        packets into the .JRN file.  Note 1: if communication
                        is lost on the computer to TNC wire link, a backup
                        is performed automatically, and the program
                        attempts to resynchronize with the TNC.
                        Note 2: Backup can also occur automatically after
                        a desired number of new database entries have been
                        entered.  This number is set by the "backup" parameter
                        in ARESDATA.CFG.

        F2              Mode selector for the currently selected channel.
                        Pressing the key cycles through three modes:
                            Mode 0 - all packet operator functions enabled
                            Mode 1 - "tell" and "users" only enabled
                            Mode 2 - chat mode only, which looks like normal
                                       terminal operation.

                        There is a fourth mode, mode 3 - degraded mode, which
                        occurs automatically when disk full or near-disk-full
                        conditions occur.  For mode 3, the database becomes
                        read-only, but the user/tell functions are still
                        operable.  The current mode for each channel is
                        indicated on the sysop screen.  Mode 0 has no character
                        next to the channel number, mode 1 has a small square,
                        mode 2 has an "x", and mode 3 has a slash ("/") next to
                        the channel number.  Upon startup, all channels are set
                        to mode 0.  Mode 2 is useful to prevent a "jammer" from
                        tampering with the database, or for normal terminal-mode
                        connection to another station or BBS.  Mode 1 is useful
                        for a round-table discussion only, without access to the
                        database.

        <CTRL>F3        Shut down the program gracefully.  If the program is
                        subsequently restarted from DOS, it will pick up where
                        it left off.

        F5              Suspend polling of channels.  Use this if you
                        experience missed characters during keyboard
                        input.  Polling automatically restarts in 10 seconds.

        F6              Redraw the sysop screen.

        F7              Send a full ASCII report of the database to file
                        ARDAhhmm.RPT on drive A:, where "hhmm" is the
                        current time.   This includes summaries
                        on all four fields plus a listing of every
                        record.

        F8              Same as the F7 command, but sends the report to
                        drive B:.

        F10             Toggle printer.  All lines printed in the main part of
                        the sysop screen will be echoed on the printer.  NOTE:
                        this can slow down the polling loop dramatically.
                        If your printer runs out of paper or has an I/O
                        error, the program will retry for about 30 seconds,
                        then give up on the printer.  Polling will continue,
                        but no further output will be sent to the printer
                        until you hit F10 again.  NOTE FURTHER: turning
                        the printer on is a nice way to catch responses
                        that scroll off the sysop screen.  When connected users
                        use the "tell sysop" command, these messages go to
                        the screen and, optionally, to the printer, if the
                        printer is enabled with this F10 command.

17.  To terminate execution, use the sequence <CTRL><F3>.  <CTRL><BREAK>
may be used to exit only during a tncrecover.  At other times,
<CTRL><BREAK> has no effect.  <CTRL><F3> is best, because the program
then properly closes all files.

18.  If you have TNC errors, under certain conditions the program will
execute a TNC reset and/or a TNC recovery procedure.  When this occurs,
the first thing that happens is a backup.  The program should recover by
itself.  Be patient.  As a last resort, you can try turning off the TNC
and then turn it on again.  Note that you will then lose all packets in
the receive and transmit queues, however.  If you are really paranoid
and you are using an IBM PC, you can connect the cassette motor relay to
the reset circuit on your TNC.  The TNC reset procedure will close the
relay if it appears that the TNC fails to respond.  We haven't seemed to
ever need this feature, though!  If you still are having TNC errors, try
lowering the baud rate or increasing the serial port retry count
parameter.

Occasional errors stating "INVALID COMMAND" from the BPQ switch are
"normal" - they don't cause any problems, and we don't know their source.
It has something to do with an extra junk character being sent by DEDHOST
under certain conditions.

New for version 1.4 is recovery from the TNC Busy condition.  With
version 1.4, if the TNC responds "BUSY", ARES/Data will do the
following:  The database will be backed up, a message will print on the
SYSOP screen that the TNC was busy, and the program will loop in this
mode, resending the data that the TNC rejected, until the TNC accepts
the data.  In other words, polling is interrupted to allow the TNC
buffer to empty.  In this way, no data should be lost.  This condition
is usually caused by the program attempting to transmit too much data to
users either because someone issued a GET command to download a large
file, or because of a "list all" command, or other command that
generated a large amount of output.

Note that you can always terminate a long GET or a "l all" by asking the
remote user to disconnect from ARES/Data.  The only way the sysop can
interrupt a long GET or a "l all" is to use <ctl>-C to kill the program.

19.  Usually, most search requests will be satisfied by the portion of the
index file that is in memory.  However, if you have a very large database (over
2000 records), more and more disk accesses will be required for each search.
If you think you would like to use a very large database, remember that it may
be hard to fill it over 1200 baud packet radio!  If you really expect to have
an especially large database, you may want to contact us so that we can
recompile the program with different database and index file parameters.  For
example, we can control the number of pages of the index file that are kept in
memory, etc. and in so doing we can optimize the database performance for these
special cases.  Version 1.2 has been tested with 5000 records and will probably
work fine for 10,000 records.  If you need more than that, we can re-compile
the program for you.  Later versions have been compiled with 10,000 records.

20. In case of difficulty:  If data returned from the database does
not make sense, or records appear to be missing that you thought were
present, it may be that your database has become corrupted.  This can
occur if you do not have FILES=20 in your CONFIG.SYS (see Section 8,
above) or if power to the computer was lost in the middle of an
update, etc.   If you were using a test database, move the database to
new names using the ZAPDB batch file and start over:

C:\DATA>zapdb junkdata

ZAPDB copies your existing database, journal, and index files to new
names, and erases the existing database files.  Restarting ARES/Data
will result in a clean slate.  If the database contained useful
information, then run ZAPDB as above, but then try to IMPORT the old
journal file.  If only some of the data was of value, you can edit the
journal file with any DOS text editor.  In the example above, the old
journal file is now called "junkdata.jrn", and the SYSOP command to
import it would be:

import junkdata.jrn


21.  Remember that ARES/Data is designed to be general and flexible.
This means that little error checking is done on input packets.
Garbage in, garbage out!  Warn and train your users.


22. Good luck!

23.  If good luck is insufficient, you can contact either of us at

W. E. Moerner, WN6I, 1003 Belder Drive, San Jose, CA 95120-3302  408-997-3195
     (WN6I @ K3MC, [e-mail] (internet), wn6i@sanjose (TCPIP))

Dave Palmer, N6KL, 7628 Estate Circle, Longmont, CO 80503-7261  303-652-3559
     (N6KL @ ????, [e-mail] (internet) or 73357,3157 (Compuserve))

END SYSOP.DOC