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- Setting up a gateway between LANtastic and the Internet
- -------------------------------------------------------
-
- I've got a machine running both LANtastic/AI version 3.03 (both
- workstation and server), and at the same time, running the FTP
- Software TCP/IP package to connect with the Internet. I have the
- cc:Mail (Lotus) "SMTPLINK" product transferring electronic mail
- between the SMTP mail format used on the Internet, and the cc:Mail
- format used on our LANtastic LAN. The Internet is a worldwide
- internetwork connecting schools, universities, government agencies,
- military installations, and commercial organizations. I work for a
- non-profit professional/academic society.
-
- The trick is that I have TWO network boards in the machine, which
- serves as an e-mail gateway between SMTP mail on the Internet and
- cc:Mail (Lotus) on the LAN in our office.
-
- I've had several requests to comment on how this works, so here goes.
-
- The gateway machine is a 486-33 clone running MS-DOS 4.01 with 4
- megabytes of RAM, a 330 megabyte Micropolis ESDI drive with the
- Ultrastor 12-F controller, VGA video and TWO Western Digital (now
- SMC) Elite Combo ethernet adapters. I have both adapters set for the
- 10-Base-T option, and they are both seated in 8-bit slots because
- apparently there's a timing problem with these network boards in
- 486-based machines, but that's another problem not related to this
- note.
-
- First, configure one of the network cards for FTP Software's TCP/IP
- software. Do it by the book, so to speak, and test the TCP/IP
- installation without LANtastic. Make note of the IRQ, IOBASE and
- RAMBASE settings that work for the TCP/IP adapter. In my machine, I
- use IRQ=7, IOBASE=280 and RAMBASE=D000. At this point, you should be
- able to reliably SMTP, FTP and Telnet to other TCP/IP hosts. If you
- can't, then the problem is not LANtastic; it's the TCP/IP software.
- Configuring the TCP/IP drivers is not obvious - you need some
- knowledge about the "domain" in which you machine resides, and you'll
- need the network address of at least one "Domain Name Server" in your
- domain. If you don't know what a domain is, then you probably won't
- be able to set up TCP/IP software.
-
- Next, configure the second network card for LANtastic using ANOTHER
- IRQ, IOBASE and RAMBASE. It's very important that each card have its
- own setting for each of these. For LANtastic, I'm using IRQ=5,
- IOBASE=240 and RAMBASE=D400. Set up your WD8003.EXE LANtastic driver
- to use the settings of the second card. Then load the LANtastic
- software and test it without using the TCP/IP software.
-
- Now you're ready to test both networks at one time. The order in which I
- load everything is:
-
- WD8003.SYS (device driver CONFIG.SYS for TCP/IP)
- IPCUST.SYS (device driver CONFIG.SYS for TCP/IP)
- WD8003.EXE (h/w driver for LANtastic - version 1.10)
- AILANBIO.EXE (AI lanbios for LANtastic - version 1.15)
- REDIR.EXE (network shell for LANTASTIC - version 3.03)
- WD8003.EXE (network shell for TCP/IP)
-
- Note: there are two programs named WD8003.EXE. One's from Artisoft and
- the other's from FTP Software. Don't get confused: these are two very
- different programs with different purposes.
-
- My suggested test is:
-
- 1. Do a NET SHOW. You should see the servers available on your
- LANtastic LAN. Log in to one of them and connect a drive letter to a
- shared area. Check the directory of that shared area and be sure you
- see what you expect to see.
-
- 2. Switch to the directory with the FTP Software package. Telnet to your
- favorite TCP/IP host - preferably the one you used when you tested the
- TCP/IP software alone.
-
- 3. After logging off the TCP/IP host, check that your shared area drive
- is still connected and working ok.
-
- 4. Another test: copy the TCP/IP software program called "FTP" to a
- LANtastic file server shared area, switch your DOS default drive to that
- shared area, and run FTP. Connect to your favorite FTP host and "get" a
- file. After you close the FTP connection, that file should be sitting
- in the shared area on the LANtastic file server.
-
- If test 4 succeeds, congratulations - you will have transferred a file
- directly from a TCP/IP host machine to a LANtastic file server.
-
- Since you've got SIX separate network driver programs to load into memory
- before running application software like Telnet, you may want to use
- one or another utility to load one or more drivers "high". Also, since I
- am using this double network machine as a gateway for e-mail, it must
- be dedicated to that task, and therefore gets locked up in the computer
- room where it does nothing else. Obviously the machine can do other things,
- but we have chosen to have the gateway available around the clock.
-
- Feel free to send additional questions.
-
- James L. Goldman, CDP, CSP
- Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
- Compuserve: 72137,3401
- Internet: goldman@siam.org
-
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