Cream of the Crop 26/Cream of the Crop 26.iso/os2/phome102.zip/PHONHOME.TXT

Text File | 1997-08-13 | 27KB | 502 lines

                                   PHONHOME  1.02

 INDEX

        1.0  INTRODUCTION

        2.0  INSTALLATION

        3.0  HOW DOES IT WORK?

        4.0  DIALER CHOICES

        5.0  HOST
                5.1 User Telnet  Servers
                5.2 General information about Host
                5.3 Host Heartbeat
                5.4 Host Reconnect on Disconnect

        6.0  REMOTE
                6.1 User Telnet Clients
                6.2 General Information about Remote
                6.3 Remote Alarm

        7.0  QUICK TEST

        8.0 SCHEDULING PROGRAM START-UPS AND KILLS
                8.1 Start-ups
                8.2 Kills
                8.3 FTPs

        9.0  FAXVIEW

        10.0  MODEMS

        11.0  CALENDER

        12.0  DISCLAIMER

        13.0 BUGS AND SUGGESTIONS


 1.0  INTRODUCTION

 Phonhome provides the means to simply link with another (your home)
 computer through the Internet thereby avoiding long distance charges.
 You only need one Internet ID/PASSWORD and a national/international
 provider with a local Internet access telephone number at the remote site.
 Such providers include AOL, Compuserve, IBM, MSN and many others.
 You DO NOT need a permanent IP address or web site. Phonhome
 dynamically seeks the IP Address of your home-base computer when it
 connects to the Internet, and using your preferred Telnet, FTP or other
 remote control program, links your remote computer to this IP Address.
 Depending upon which Telnet program you use, you can manipulate
 your home computer in Presentation Manager if desired.
 You can retrieve faxes from your home computer, or any other files or
 messages. With the start/kill capability you can kill your home
 computer's fax or any other program, sign-on to the Internet, run
 phonhome and retrieve your faxes, or do whatever you need to do.
 The home system will then sign off and Phonhome will then restart
 your home computer fax if it is on the same line, or any other program.
 You must have the 'OS2 Internet' software installed. If it is installed,
 there will be a TCPIP directory on your hard drive.
 If preferred, you can use an FTP program or other software to give
 voice communication, You can run them together, or individually.
 Phonhome has been tested and configured for Warp 3 and 4 but should
 work on 2.x, although the IBM Telnet and Ftp servers and clients may not
 be included.

 2.0  INSTALLATION

 Phonhome can be installed from its own directory or from a floppy
 drive.  The installation program will install an icon on the desktop.
 To install from its own directory unzip the files into a directory of
 choice (default is C:\PHONHOME), and at the C:\PHONHOME>
 prompt type INSTALL.
 To install from a floppy, at the A:> prompt type INSTALL.
 Phonhome requires the runtime library file VROBJ.DLL and it is in
 the phome100.zip file.  If you already have VROBJ.DLL installed, you
 do not need this file. VROBJ.DLL can remain in the Phonhome
 directory or can be moved to a directory listed in the LIBPATH list
 defined in the configuration file config.sys.
 To minimize CPU time, Phonhome only status checks every 20 seconds.
 Between these checks there is no demand on the CPU. If you are
 watching, this delay can sometimes give the impression of being slow
 to respond to changes. Just remember, we are saving resources!
 In 'Settings' there is a preferences file which can remove some of the
 pop-up boxes for the experienced user.
 Note: A 'System Proportional Italic' font is used in phonhome to
 distinguish inputted data. In one test computer at 1024x768 there were
 slight imperfections in the appearance of the font. I have stuck with
 the italic font, but please let me know if there are other systems
 with this problem, and I will change the font back to a normal font.
 The 'Settings' and 'Dialer' in the 'Configure' drop-down menu must be
 completed before the program can be used. The 'Host set-up' &
 'Remote set-up' must also be completed.

 3.0  HOW DOES IT WORK

 Phonhome provides your dynamic Internet Host Address, assigned to you
 when your home-base computer signs on to the Internet, to your remote
 computer. Your remote computer then uses this address to connect to
 your home computer. In the 'Host Set-up' drop-down menu you can
 schedule the host to connect to the Internet on virtually any time
 schedule desired. When the scheduled time arrives, Phonhome runs the
 dialer and connects to the Internet. Upon confirmation through the
 'heartbeat' feature, Phonhome reads the Host Address of the connection,
 creates a small E-mail and sends the address to your mail box, then
 starts your Telnet server.
 At the Remote end when you click on ' Connect to Host ', Phonhome
 checks your mail box and looks for the specific Host Address E-mails. It
 collects those files and extracts the address from the most current file.
 Phonhome then uses this address in your preferred Telnet Client and
 connects the Remote computer to the home-base computer. The 'Remote
 Sign-on Box' displays the most recent Host Address used. This is useful if
 you have permanent host address, or for some reason your remote drops
 and you want to reconnect.
 Phonhome deletes only the files with the Host Address.
 NOTE: Your  E-mailer will  down load and clean these Host Address files.
 Check your mail after you make your Phonhome host connection. If you
 forget - no real worry, Phonhome gives you the opportunity to enter the
 Host Address, which you would then need to retrieve from your E-mailer
 manually, during the sign-on procedure.
 There is a log file called WARPLOG which will confirm whether your
 E-mail connections are okay. If this file gets large - delete it!

 4.0  DIALERS

 You can choose a dialer from the drop down list in the 'Dialer' menu
 under 'Configuration'. You must have the dialer you choose installed
 on your system. The first time you choose a dialer other than the OS2
 dialers, you get the opportunity to enter (and must enter) the directory
 where the dialer program is installed. If parameters are required you
 need to enter the command line parameters at this time. For example,
 when you choose "ILink/2 Dialer" or "Injoy Dialer", in addition to the
 directory where, ILink/2 or Injoy is installed, you need to enter the
 "Name" of the entry as shown in the ILink/2 or Injoy window as the
 parameter. Clicking the right mouse button on the entry allows you
 to modify it at any time. When you click on "IBM SLIPPM Dialer", you
 only get the opportunity to add the 'Name' parameter. You do not need
 to enter in the directory box and it is disabled.
 If you are using the 'IBM Dialer', you must open 'Settings', then click
 'Program' and under 'Parameters:' enter your account name, userID
 and password, leaving a single space between each. For example, in
 Canada enter:
                                cainet userID password
 Under 'Timeouts', set the idle time to be greater than you set in the
 Phonhome 'Set-up Host' menu and do not enable the call duration box.
 Do this for any alternative dialer you use.
 Alternatively, you can use any 'user entered' dialer that allows
 command line execution. Start pop-up and wait boxes are a NO NO.
 Phonhome uses every entry field (other than the 'user dialer').
 Make sure you enter all the appropriate address. If you enable the
 'user dialer' box, ONLY the command line parameter entry field will be
 added to the dialer. The userID and password entries will be ignored,
 and if needed, must be entered in the command line parameter box.
 Unfortunately the Phonehome 'Start Minimized' dialer setting is often
 overruled by the dialer program itself. So set the required condition in
 the dialer program settings.

 5.0  HOST

 Phonhome allows any Telnet server to be used as a Host for the
 Remote call. There is a drop down schedule of pre-programmed Telnet
 servers and an alternative user means of entering any other Telnet
 server. The only requirement is that the server allow command line
 execution. Of cause, the Host server must be installed on your computer.
 For OS/2 Version 3 & 4, Phonhome gives you informational boxes on the
 built-in Telnet programs.
 The installation program copied a file ACCECALL.ZRX to the ZOC\SCRIPT
 directory, if the program was able to find an installed version of ZOC.
 This is the file that makes ZOC start in the receive-call mode. You need
 to enter the version number for ZOC as this gives Phonhome the
 information needed to turn-off the pop-up boxes.
 If you use OS2YOU and/or PM2YOU (Presentation Manager) for remote
 control, the host has been configured for Telnet use, and you must save
 your OS2YOU configuration setup to OS2YOU_I.CFG (os2you_i.cfg). You
 need to use a compatible terminal program such as Terminal/2.
 Unfortunately Terminal/2 does not seem to have command line capability
 to dial the Host Address. Consequently the Terminal/2 program has not
 been included in the pre-configured Clients. For Terminal/2 you need to
 manually put the displayed Host Address in a 'Dial Entry' after the
 program is executed.

 5.1  User Telnet Servers

 When the user Telnet Host box is enabled you must complete at least
 the first two entry fields in this group. 'Window (Fullscreen) Cmd. exe
 Shell and kill on exit' is shown as the shell in which to run the program,
 as it is likely that this shell setting will insure the program terminates
 properly. Use the 'Run Now' and 'Terminate Now', along with the
 'Continue' without connecting to debug your choice. Use the 'Run without
 using Start' as a last resort, as even though such programs are run in a
 separate thread, they still monopolize the system.

 5.2  General Information about Host

 Avoid killing and starting programs Phonhome is using while it is
 connecting to the Internet, otherwise you may get residual boxes.
 (Normally you are not there to do anything.) If the connection fails,
 Phonhome will time out and KILL the dialer and the Telnet server,
 then dial again, so let it time out (usually 30 - 45 seconds). Phonhome
 has a 'start-again' feature in addition to its multiple connect attempts
 feature. If the connection is broken and the duration time limit has not
 expired, the Host will reconnect.
 If you click on 'Host connect now' in the 'Host' menu or 'Connect to Host'
 in the 'Remote' menu while the Internet is up, the 'Disconnect' and 'Exit'
 commands do not terminate the Internet connection.
 The call duration time limit is overcome by the idle time disconnect.
 Consequently if you set the call duration to 10 or 15 minutes to allow the
 remote time to log on, as long as the remote is active within the idle time
 limit, the connection will be maintained.
 Once connected the Host will try up to 10 times to connect to the SMTP
 server to send the Host Address. If it does not connect within that
 number, it assumes the SMTP server is down and terminates that
 scheduled connection.
 To increase reliability there is a bit of redundancy which slows the
 program a little. Phonehome does a 'kill-clean' before it runs a Dialer,
 Telnet or FTP session. It also pauses 5 seconds between start-ups so
 that it does not get its PID numbers tangled up.
 The 'Foreground/Background' and 'Minimize/Maximize' buttons may not
 always work as expected. The program itself may overrule, even though
 the window it started in behaved properly. Also you may need to start
 'Fullscreen' sessions in the 'Background' if the intention is to remove the
 session from view. What ever you do - TEST it!
 NOTE:  In OS2 Warp 4, when you run TelnetD or FtpD without the Internet
 up (to test it), when the application finds it cannot bind the connection,
 it bombs to a CMD.EXE shell. It still shows if your entries are working as
 you can see the programs before they pop back to a CMD.EXE shell.
 OS2 version 3 and below do not bomb you out if there is no Internet
 connection.
 If you set the idle disconnect time to be more than the duration time,
 the idletime will be set equal to the call duration time.

 5.3  Host Heartbeat

 Often you seem to be connected and nothing happens. That's because
 you are not connected properly. The Heartbeat feature is to get around
 this problem. Under the heartbeat, on a separate thread, the Host asks:
 'who am I '. If it does not receive its Host Address back as an answer,
 the Host terminates the connection and establishes the connection again.
 If you disable the heartbeat feature, the default is every 30 seconds.

 5.4  Host Re-connect on Disconnect

 Within the duration time limit, the Host will reconnect if the connection
 is broken. The 're-connect on disconnect' feature must be enabled.

 6.0  REMOTE

 Phonhome allows any Telnet client to call the host, however server and
 client must be compatible. There is a drop-down menu of
 pre-programmed Telnet clients, and an alternative user means of
 entering any other Telnet client. The only requirement is that the user
 entered Telnet client allow command line execution.
 For Warp 4, the installation program copies files WSFORM.WS,  and
 WSREMOTE.WS to your TCPIP\PCOMOS2 directory. If you need to
 change the settings for the PCOM OS2 Telnet 3270 session save the new
 settings to WSFORM.WS in order that Phonhome has access to the new
 settings.
 NOTE: For the IBM Telnet Clients the password as defined in the
 CONFIG.SYS file SET TELNET.PASSWORD.ID=pwd68923 is not the same as
 PWD68923. When using the Telnet programs, you must enter the password
 with case as shown in the CONFIG.SYS

 6.1  User Remote Clients

 When the user Telnet Client box is enabled you must complete at
 least the first two entry fields in the enclosed group. 'Window
 (Fullscreen) Cmd. exe Shell and kill on exit' is shown as the shell in
 which to run the program, as it is likely that this shell setting will insure
 the program terminates properly. Use the 'Run Now' and 'Terminate Now',
 along with the 'Continue' without connecting to debug your choice. Use
 the 'Run without using Start' as a last resort, as even though such
 programs are run in a separate thread, they still monopolize the system.

 6.2  General Information about Remote

 Avoid killing and starting programs Phonhome is using while it is
 connecting to the Internet. Otherwise you may get residual boxes. If the
 dial fails Phonhome will time out, kill the dialer, and if the
 're-connect on disconnect' is enabled, it will attempt to re-connect.
 If you click on 'Host connect now' in the 'Host' menu or 'Connect to Host'
 in the 'Remote' menu while the Internet is up, the 'Disconnect' and 'Exit'
 commands do not terminate the Internet connection.
 It can take several minutes for the Host Address to be moved from your
 SMTP server to your POP mail box. This is particularly true at the peak
 hours. If the 'Remote' is not able to find the Host, it may be because the
 Host Address is not yet in your outgoing mailbox. Recall also that it often
 takes time and may not be successful the first time when accessing
 your E-mail, although you will get a notice of any difficulty. Unfortunately
 this mostly depends on your provider's reliability. If the Host Address you
 retrieve is more than 10 minutes old you get a pop up box to allow you to
 'Cancel' and wait. It is wise to wait until you have a current address
 because someone may have been assigned your old address by your
 provider and the ping to that address will show it is active and the Telnet
 programs will start (but cannot connect), and that is a nuisance.
 If you do not succeed in a reasonable time, click on 'Connect to Host'
 in the 'Remote' drop-down menu and try again.
 To increase reliability there is a bit of redundancy which slows the
 program response a little. Phonehome does a 'kill-clean' before it runs a
 Dialer, Telnet or FTP session. It also pauses 5 seconds between start-ups
 so that it does not get its PID numbers tangled up.

 6.3  Remote Alarm

 If Phonhome is active and you have enabled the alarm feature,
 Phonhome will notify the remote with a musical message box about
 pending Host connection times. The Remote does not automatically
 connect, it just gives you the alarm when to connect, that is if you
 set it up to notify you when the host is connected.

 7.0  QUICK TEST

 Due to the capabilities of OS2, you can check your system without ever
 needing a Remote. Follow both procedures: Host first, followed by
 Remote, and you should be connected to your own computer through
 the Internet on separate threads. Both Telnet and FTP connect this way.
 In fact you can down load your Faxworks FAX.LOG and a file fax file to
 the PHONHOME\DOWNLOAD directory and use Faxview to look at them just
 as if you were truly remote.

 NOTE: 1. It can take several minutes for the mail you sent with the
             Host Address to get transferred by your server to your outgoing
             mailbox.
          2. The response is slow as both Host and Remote are competing for
             the Internet connectionon the same telephone line and there is
             limited 'baud' available.
          3. Do not use ZOC for this test as both server and client have the
             same executable zoc.exe and the Phonhome Remote clean-up
             program finds the Host ZOC and cleans it before running the
             Remote ZOC. Use the OS2 Telnet and TelnetD for the test.

 8.0  SCHEDULING PROGRAM  START-UPS AND KILLS

 Start-ups can be scheduled to start prior to connection to the Internet
 and/or the Telnet server, after connection and after termination of the
 connection. The kill programs can be scheduled prior to connection and
 upon termination of the connection.

 8.1 Start-ups

 Click on 'Start-ups' in the 'Host' drop down menu. There are hints
 shown at the bottom of most windows to assist in entering data.
 You can start an FTPD program and set it to terminate at the end
 of the Internet connection.
 There is virtually no limitation on how you can set-up the start-ups.
 For OS2 programs, It is best to start with the 'Default' setting and to
 test your choice by clicking on 'Run now' and then 'Terminate now'
 if you are using this feature. It is unlikely that incorrect set-up of a
 program will crash the program, but in some cases the program may
 not run as scheduled. It is wise to test the start-up by clicking the
 'Run Now' button before saving it to the container list.
 DO NOT run Dos and Windows programs with the 'Default' setting.
 Although they may generally run, phonhome does not keep track of
 the session PID number and can not terminate it.
 The file extension must be included in order for the search check to
 work properly although the 'Terminate when connection terminated'
 will still work properly. For 'Dos Window' and 'Dos Fullscreen'
 applications (including WinOS2 applications started in Dos), the
 'Terminate when connection terminated' option, keeps track of the
 start-up PID number and uses that to terminate the program. If several
 programs are started at the exact same time, phonhome could grab the
 wrong PID number, so beware.
 Windows programs may only run in full screen and are tricky.  Success
 in making windows programs run depends on the video resolution and
 other factors. Also, you should enter the directory that is the working
 directory for the program you are running. For example enter:

           Entry Title:                             Windows Eudora
           Program path & file name:         eudora.exe
           Parameters:
           Directory:                                c:\eudora

 to run Eudora. The 'Run in a WinOS2 Window session' only runs if the
 video resolution is 640x480.
 Terminating of windows programs is not supported, other than you
 can terminate a windows program YOU start through Dos.
 NOTE: If you start a Dos (WinOS2) and something odd happens the
 clean-up program can not remove it. I strongly suggest you place a
 shadow of the Phonhome icon in the 'Startups' folder in the OS/2 System
 folder on the Desktop and add:
            SET RESTARTOBJECTS=STARTUPFOLDERSONLY
 to your CONFIG.SYS right above the line:
 SET AUTOSTART=PROGRAMS,TASKLIST,FOLDERS,CONNECTIONS,LAUNCHPAD
 In an unexpected power crash, the Dos and Winos2 programs will not
 resart and this will help.

 Hints:
 1. If you intend to start-up a 'Run in a WinOS2 Fullscreen session' while
    you have a 'Dos Fullscreen' session active, the Dos session should be
    started in the background or questionable results may occur.
 2. OS2 Windows do not start in the 'Background'. Use the 'Min' box and
    start minimized.
 3. Fullscreen programs do not start minimized. Use the 'Background'
    box and start in the background.

 8.2 Kills

 The 'Kills' use a program called 'go' written by Carston Wimmer, and
 further information about this program can be found in the file go.doc.
 The 'Program started in an OS2 Window' check box is to be used for
 programs started in an OS2 Window or started with a .cmd batch file.
 For example, Maximus could be started with a batch file 'max.cmd'.
 In this case the executable to be entered would be the Maximus
 'maxp.exe' file and the 'Program started in an OS2 Window' box
 should be checked in order that the OS2 window is closed at the
 termination of (maxp.exe) Maximus.
 The 'Fullscreen (Window) Cmd.exe Shell & kill on exit' does not use the
 /C of START which is not too reliable. Rather the program 'kills' the shell
 after the program is found and killed.

 8.3 FTPs

 To make it a little simpler than having to enter FTPs in the program
 start-ups section, there is a pre-configured 'Setup FTP Host' menu and
 'Setup FTP Client' menu. This allows the Host Address to be automatically
 added to the program when it is executed. Those programs that accept
 command line parameters such as FTPPM, VxFTP and Simple FTP will sign
 on automatically, as they have been configured to add the usedID and
 password to the sign on process. Neologic FTP is an excellent program, and
 although it will connect automatically, it does not sign on with command
 line 'userID Password Name'.
 If you are using "IBM FTPD" do not forget to modify your TRUSERS file in
 the \TCPIP\ETC directory (Warp 3) or \MPTN\ETC directory (Warp 4).
 If you do not wish to edit the file directly, you can add your userID and
 password by:
   Warp 3:  Open Folder:  Internet Connection for OS/2
                                  TCP/IP
                                  TCP/IP Configuration
                                  Click on the tab 'Security' and add your password
                                  in the box & userid in the entry field
   Warp 4:  Open Folder:  Programs
                                  TCP/IP Internet (LAN)
                                  TCP/IP Configuration (LAN)
                                  Click on the tab 'Security' and add your password
                                  in the box & userid in the entry field
 Make sure the FTP transfer mode is set to 'Binary'.
 When the user FTP Client box is enabled you must complete at least the
 first two entry fields in the enclosed group. 'Window (Fullscreen) Cmd. exe
 Shell and kill on exit' is shown as the shell in which to run the program,
 as it is likely that this shell setting will insure the program terminates
 properly. Use the 'Run Now' and 'Terminate Now', along with the
 'Continue' without connecting to debug your choice. Use the 'Run without
 using Start' as a last resort, as even though such programs are run in a
 separate thread, they still monopolize the system.
 FTP compatabilities are a bit tricky. The following combinations seem to
 function properly:
                         IBM FTPD        IBM FTP, IBM FTPPM, Neologic FTP
                         Neologic FTP   All
                         PenFTPD         All
 Neologic FTP signs on automatically but needs to have the userID and
 password added manually.
 VxFTP works with IBM FTPD but does not seem to be able to handle
 multiple drives.
 The non IBM apps seem more stable and work without problems which
 seem to occassionally crop up with IBM FTPD, FTP and FTPD, although
 they work most of the time.

 9.0 FAXVIEW

 Faxview is supplied to facilitate viewing of retrieved Faxworks faxes. If
 you use the default PHONHOME\DOWNLOAD as a local directory to retrieve
 your recent faxes (and the FAX.LOG), faxview will allow you to view them
 without affecting the remote's fax capabilities. You need to add
 -L[faxworks directory] to the 'Parameters' in the 'Settings' of your remote
 fax in order that it still operate correctly with its own FAX.LOG. If Faxworks
 is installed in directory d:, then add -Ld:\faxworks. Leave a space between
 the -r parameter (receive mode) and this new parameter.
 NOTE: You must close Faxworks if it is active as Faxview needs to access
 Faxworks to run it with the down loaded FAX.LOG and faxes.

 10.0 MODEMS

 Although you can use one modem and Phonhome can kill your fax program,
 start your Internet connections as scheduled and re-start the fax program,
 it is better to use 2 modems (even with one telephone line). Route the line
 through the fax modem to the high speed modem. Set the fax modem to
 COM 1 and the high speed modem to COM 2. The fax modem needs only to
 be a 14400 to match the maximum fax speed. With this setup you do not
 need to kill the fax when the time arrives and Phonhome signs on to the
 Internet for a scheduled connection.

 11.0 CALENDAR

 There is a built in 50+ year calendar and access to this feature has been
 conveniently located in the 'Remote' menu.

 12.0 DISCLAIMER

 The author makes no representations about the accuracy or suitability
 of this material for any purpose.  It is provided "as is", without any
 express or implied warranties.  The author will assume no liability for
 damages either from the direct use of this product or as a consequence
 of the use of this product.

 13.0 BUGS AND SUGGESTIONS

 Should an unexpected dump occur, check the Phonhome.err file for an
 explanation. Please report any bugs (or suggestions) and I will take
 action on them if possible and practical.